John Philip Henebry

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(February 14, 1918 – September 30, 2007) 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 ...

major general.

Early life

He was born in

Plainfield, Illinois Plainfield is a village (Illinois), village in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the C ...

. In 1936, he graduated from

Campion High School Campion Jesuit High School was a Jesuit boarding school for boys in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, named for the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion. The school operated from its founding in 1880 until closing in 1975, and educated several notable figu ...

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

, and then went to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

, where he graduated from in 1940.

Military career

On July 30, 1940, he was appointed a flying cadet and after graduating from Air Corps basic and advanced flying schools was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Reserve March 14, 1941, and assigned to active duty with the 22d Bombardment Group at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885–1947), one ...

in Virginia. In May, 1941, General Henebry was appointed leader of “C” Flight and armament and chemical officer of the 39th Bombardment Squadron,

13th Bombardment Group In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is the ...

, with which he served at various stations in the United States.

World War II

In August, 1942, he went to the Southwest Pacific theater as commander of the

13th Bomb Squadron The 13th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 509th Operations Group, Air Force Global Strike Command, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The squadron is equipped with the Northrop Gru ...

, and soon thereafter assumed command of the

90th Attack Squadron 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

there. Flying

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

bombers, he helped plan attacks utilizing

skip bombing Skip bombing was a low-level bombing technique independently developed by several of the combatant nations in World War II, notably Italy, Australia, Britain, Soviet Union and the United States. It allows an aircraft to attack shipping by skippi ...

and took part in the

Battle of the Bismarck Sea The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying tro ...

, where he attacked a damaged Japanese destroyer and two freighters in low-level runs. On November 2, 1943, he was shot down after leading a major air attack on the Japanese stronghold of

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

, but was rescued by a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...

, after ditching off the coast of the island of

Kiriwina Kiriwina is the largest of the Trobriand Islands, with an area of . It is part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Most of the 12,000 people who live in the Trobriands live on Kiriwina. The Kilivila language, also known as Kiriwina, ...

. He later served as operations officer and commander of the 3d Bombardment Group in that theater, and in January, 1945, assumed command of the 360th Air Service Group of the Far East Air Force. He flew a total of 219 missions during the war and was present aboard the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

when the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945.

Post war

Henebry returned to the United States in October, 1945, for duty with the Air Technical Service Command at

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Loc ...

in Ohio. He was relieved of active duty the following December to work with a pneumatic tools company in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. From 1948 to 1950, he was assistant utility sales manager for a coal company in Chicago. He was recalled to active duty on August 14, 1950, and appointed commanding general of the

437th Troop Carrier Wing 437th may refer to: *437th Airlift Wing, active unit of the United States Air Force *437th Bombardment Squadron, a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard *437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 437th Operations G ...

(Medium), which he later took to Korea. In January, 1951, he assumed command of the

315th Air Division The 315th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Originally designated the 315th Bombardment Wing, it was activated in July 1944 at Peterson Field, Colorado as a command organization for four very heavy Boeing B-29 Superf ...

(Combat Cargo) in Korea and took part in

Operation Courageous Operation Courageous was a military operation performed by the United Nations Command (UN) during the Korean War designed to trap large numbers of Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and Korean People's Army (KPA) troops between the Han and Imj ...

. Henebry was hospitalized in

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, in February, 1952. He returned to the United States for further hospitalization at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

, until his release in June, 1952. Henebry continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve, including duty with the Air Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in connection with Air Force Reserve Policy. He also served as president of the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...

in 1956-1957. Among his varied business concerns, he was the founder and president of Skymotive Aviation Management Corporation, an airline service company with offices at

O’Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

in Chicago. He remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1976, retiring at the rank of major general.

Later life

Henebry and wife Mary had two sons and three daughters, and several grand and great-grandchildren. His wife predeceased him on 2005. After his retirement from the Air Force, Henebry and his family lived in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

. He died in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

on September 30, 2007, at the age of 89. He was buried at Bement Cemetery in

Bement, Illinois Bement is a village in Piatt County, Illinois, Piatt County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,484 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2010 census, Bement has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the cens ...

Awards and decorations

His awards include:

Published works

* Henebry, John, ''The Grim Reapers At Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Air Force'', 2002.

References

External links

The Death of General John Henebry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henebry, John 1918 births 2007 deaths United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War People from Plainfield, Illinois People from Winnetka, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Aviators from Illinois University of Notre Dame alumni Shot-down aviators Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea) United States Air Force reservists