Major General Edward J. Mechenbier (born 29 June 1942) is a retired

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 ...

(USAF) officer.

Early life and education

He was born on 29 June 1942 in Morgantown,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Military career

He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy as a second lieutenant on 3 June 1964. From July 1964 to August 1965 he attended undergraduate pilot training at

Vance Air Force Base Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert V ...

, Oklahoma. From September 1965 to February 1966 he attended

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...

flight training at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona. From February 1966 to November 1966 he flew with the 92nd Fighter Squadron at

RAF Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In December 1966 he was transferred to the

390th Fighter Squadron 39 may refer to: * 39 (number) * one of the years: ** 39 BC ** AD 39 ** 1939 ** 2039 * ''39'' (album), a 2000 studio album by Mikuni Shimokawa * '39", a 1975 song by Queen * "Thirty Nine", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Almost Heathen'' ...

Da Nang Air Base Da Nang Air Base () (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. During the Vietnam ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. In June 1967, he was shot down on his 80th mission over

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

and was a prisoner of war for nearly six years. During his captivity he was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 3 December 1967. He was released during

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On 27 January 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

on 18 February 1973. Captain Edward J

Following his return from captivity he served as a pilot in the Fighter Branch, 4950th Test Wing,

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 ...

, Ohio from May 1973 to June 1975. He resigned his regular commission in 1975 and then served as pilot, command post controller and operations officer, 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron,

Ohio Air National Guard The Ohio Air National Guard (OH ANG) is the aerial militia of the Ohio, State of Ohio, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Ohio Army National Guard an element of the Ohio Na ...

, Springfield Airport from July 1975 to June 1984 and then as commander of that squadron until June 1991 flying the

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

and then the

LTV A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

. He was promoted to

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 3 June 1978 and to lieutenant colonel on 14 January 1984. In 1991, he transferred to the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

, where he served with the Joint Logistics Systems Center and Headquarters

Air Force Materiel Command The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...

. The command conducts research, development, test and evaluation, and provides acquisition management services and logistics support necessary to keep Air Force weapons systems ready for war. From June 1991 he served at Wright-Patterson AFB first as senior mobilization assistant to the commander, Joint Logistics Systems Center until January 1995. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 15 March 1992. From January 1995 to July 1997, he served as mobilization assistant to the director of Logistics, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command. He was promoted to brigadier general on 20 May 1997. From July 1997 to April 2000, he served as mobilization assistant to the commander, Aeronautical Systems Center. He was promoted to major general on 30 June 1999. From April 2000 to June 2004, he served as mobilization assistant to the commander, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command. In late May 2004 in his last military mission, he piloted the

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...

'' Hanoi Taxi'' to Hanoi to repatriate the remains of two US servicemen killed in the Vietnam War. He retired in June 2004 as the last Vietnam-era POW serving in the military. He was a command pilot with more than 3,700 flying hours in A-7, F-100, F/RF-4,

T-39 T39 may refer to: * Cooper T39, a British sports car * Ericsson T39, a mobile phone * Guerchais-Roche T.39 a French touring monoplane * , a minesweeper of the South African Naval Services * North American T-39 Sabreliner, an American jet tr ...

and C-141C, plus more than 20 other aircraft for familiarization including the

F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's des ...

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

and

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

Later life

He co-authored ''Life on a $5 Bet'' with Linda D. Swink, an account of his time as a POW.

Decorations

His military decorations and awards include the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster,

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Medal with "V" device,

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

with oak leaf cluster,

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters, Air Force

Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

Prisoner of War Medal The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is . The ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

with eight service stars,

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry () is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal was created on August 15, 1 ...

with Palm and

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal (), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949 and awarded during the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechenbier, Edward J. 1942 births United States Air Force generals United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Living people Military personnel from Morgantown, West Virginia