Bryce Poe II (October 10, 1924 – November 20, 2000) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

four-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

who served as Commander,

Air Force Logistics Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

(COMAFLC) from 1978 to 1981.

Military career

Poe was born in 1924, in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. He attended the

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

, the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1946. He completed Army Air Forces pilot training prior to graduation from the academy. He received a Master of Arts degree in history from the

University of Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

in 1964 and a Master of Science degree in international affairs from

The George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first ...

, in 1965. He is a graduate of the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

and the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

Fort Lesley J. McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair, also historically known as the Washington Arsenal, is a United States Army post located on the tip of Buzzard Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C ...

. From November 1946 to September 1948, Poe was a member of one of the first jet-equipped units in the U.S. Air Force and flew in more than 80 air shows demonstrating the new aircraft. He then transferred to Japan and was assigned to the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, which was equipped with RF-80As. At the beginning of the Korean War, he transferred to South Korea and flew 90 combat missions including the first U.S. Air Force jet reconnaissance sortie. He returned to the United States and, from January to April 1951, was assigned to a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

fighter escort squadron at

Bergstrom Air Force Base Bergstrom Air Force Base was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years, it was a major base for the United States Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom reconnaissance fighter fleet. History Bergstrom was originally act ...

, Texas. He then transferred to

Shaw Air Force Base Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdict ...

, South Carolina, as commander of a reconnaissance replacement training unit. Poe was assigned to

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate command (military formation), Command of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war ...

, Oslo, Norway, in August 1952 as a fighter operations officer flying

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

s and

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

s with the Royal Norwegian and Royal Danish air forces. He returned to the United States in July 1956 and served as aide and then executive officer to General Bernard Adolph Schriever, commander, Air Force Western Development Division in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

. In August 1959 he entered the Armed Forces Staff College. After graduation in January 1960, he went to

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

, Nebraska, as operations officer of an Atlas D squadron. In October 1961 he transferred to SAC headquarters as a missile plans officer and later as chief, Missile Plans Section, Operations and Training Division. In August 1964 Poe entered the National War College. Following his graduation in July 1965, he served as chief, Plans Group, Office of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. He transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base in July 1967 as vice commander of the

75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 75th may refer to: *75th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2002, held on March 23, 2003 *75th Avenue–61st Street Historic District, a national historic district in Ridgewood, Queens, New York *75th Grey Cup, the 1987 Canadian Football Leag ...

. He went to Southeast Asia in July 1968 as vice commander, 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing,

Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base () (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), stationing ...

, Republic of Vietnam. During this tour of duty, he flew 213 combat missions, 200 in RF-4s. From July 1969 to July 1970, Poe was commander of the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing,

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany. It serves as the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and NATO Alli ...

, Germany. In July 1970 he assumed duties as deputy chief of staff, logistics, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Wiesbaden, Germany. Poe became commander of the Ogden Air Materiel Area (now Ogden Air Logistics Center) at

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...

, Utah, in February 1973. In June 1974 he returned to Germany as vice commander in chief of the

U.S. Air Forces in Europe The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

at Ramstein Air Base. He was assigned to

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

in July 1976 as commander of the Air Force Acquisition Logistics Division and assumed commander of AFLC in February 1978. He retired from the Air Force on July 31, 1981, and died of a stroke on November 20, 2000.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poe, Bryce 1924 births 2000 deaths United States Air Force generals United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Air Forces pilots American Korean War pilots American Vietnam War pilots Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Military personnel from Wichita, Kansas University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Elliott School of International Affairs alumni United States Military Academy alumni