United States of America

Robert Alexander Arrington

Died September 17, 1971

Robert Alexander Arrington.

How He Died
Manner Accident
Cause Multiple traumatic injuries
What Happened

Major Robert Arrington was killed when his plane crashed while transporting an escaped inmate from Oregon to Texas.

Major Robert A. Arrington and Major George A. May, flew a Texas Department of Corrections airplane to Oregon to pick up an inmate who escaped from a Texas prison on March 31, 1970 and was captured in Oregon. The officers stopped in Pueblo, Colorado, back to Huntsville, Texas. On the morning of September 17, 1971, the TDC plane left the airport and crashed around 9:04 a.m., 15-25 miles southwest of Fowler in Pueblo County, Colorado. All three men were killed. The airplane flew into a late summer storm that dropped the earliest snowfall in the Pueblo area since record-keeping in 1888. Search planes were delayed because of low visibility.

Major Arrington was a Vietnam veteran with the United States Army. He served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division for over two years.

Major Arrington was a Vietnam veteran with the United States Army. He served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division for over two years.

Survivors
Major Arrington was survived by his wife.
Service Record
Also Served
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division
Major
Memorials
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Panel 41W · Line 27 cut as ROBERT ALEXANDER ARRINGTON
In Our Keeping
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Record added August 2, 2026 neuraweb.nw
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Last updated August 2, 2026

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In tribute

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.

Major Arrington gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 2 years.

Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.

Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

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