US Air Force Lieutenant General. A veteran combat fighter pilot during World War II who was shot down and captured by German forces, he rose in rank to become the commander of the US Air Force Aerospace Defense Command (now inactive). Born in San Antonio, Texas, he grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas and enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas after completing high school. In 1937 he left college for a year to enroll as an aviation cadet in the US Army Air Corps and after completion of flying training at Randolph and Kelly Fields (now Randolph Air Force Base and Kelly Air Reserve Base, now a part of Joint Base San Antonio), Texas, he received his aviation wings and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. He then returned to the University of Texas and in 1939 he completed his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He resumed his active military duty and obtained a regular officers commission through competitive examinations and served in various squadron duties as pilot, flight commander and operations officer at Barksdale Field (now Barksdale Air Force Base), Louisiana, and Savannah Army Air Field, Georgia until February 1942 when he departed for England and served as chief of tactical operations at Headquarters 8th Air Force. In January 1944 he became the assistant air chief of staff for operations for the US Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The following September he was assigned to the 1st Fighter Group in Italy and became commander of the Group two months later. After he completed 45 combat missions, with a total of 220 combat hours, he was shot down over Weiner-Neustadt, Germany in March 1945 and interned as a prisoner of war until just prior to the German surrender in May 1945. He then returned to the US and was assigned to the Personnel Services Division, Headquarters US Army Air Force in Washington DC and became the head of that Division in January 1946. In August 1946 he became the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, Air Defense Command, and later Deputy for Personnel and Administration, Continental Air Command, both at Mitchel Field, New York (now decommissioned). In February 1949 he became the commander of the 4th Fighter Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and three month later became commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Otis Air Force Base (now Otis Air National Guard Base), Massachusetts. In 1951 he was assigned to Stewart Air Force Base (now Stewart Air National Guard Base), New York as the commander of the 32nd Air Division, and remained there until September 1951, when he attended the Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Air Force Base, and the following month he was assigned to the school staff there. He then attended the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base and graduated in June 1953. In August 1953 he went to Korea to become commander of the 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing. The following year he returned to the US and was assigned to Headquarters Eastern Air Defense Force at Stewart Air Force Base, where he served as deputy for operations and later as Chief of Staff, Continental Air Defense Command Eastern Region. In August 1957 he was assigned to Roslyn Air Force Station, New York (now closed) and became commander of the 26th Air Division. In September 1958 he became commander of the New York Air Defense Sector at McGuire Air Force Base (now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst), New Jersey, the first operational Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Sector in the nation. The following year he was reassigned to Headquarters Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado (now closed), serving as Deputy for Plans, later re-designated Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and in July 1963 he was reassigned to Hancock Field (now Hancock Air National Guard Base), New York, as the commander of the 26th Air Division (SAGE). In July 1964 he became the Director of Plans, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations at Headquarters US Air Force in Washington DC and the following December he became the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations. In September 1966 he became the Vice Commander-in-Chief of US Air Forces in Europe and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In August 1967 he returned to the US and became the Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado, and retired at that position in March 1970 with 33 years of continuous military service. Among his military and foreign decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, the Prisoner of War Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 gold service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the United Nations Service Medal, the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. He died at the age of 88.