Lawrence Albert Skantze (June 24, 1928 – June 18, 2018) was a four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

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). He served as commander,

Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

, Maryland.

Biography

Skantze was born on June 24, 1928, in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. After graduation from

Cardinal Hayes High School Cardinal Hayes High School is a private, Catholic high school for boys in the Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York. The school serves the Archdiocese of New York. It is a member of the Catholic High School Athlet ...

in 1946, he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and served as a radio operator. In 1948 he received a competitive appointment from the

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

at Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated in 1952 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and a commission as a second lieutenant in the

. He received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide ...

from the

Air Force Institute of Technology The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a postgraduate institution and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson ...

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, in 1959. He completed

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the ...

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

, Alabama, and

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 ...

. Skantze completed his basic pilot training at

Marana, Arizona Marana () is a List of municipalities in Arizona, town that mostly lies in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County with a small portion in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located northwest of Tucson, Arizona, ...

, and advanced training at

Reese Air Force Base Reese Air Force Base was a former U.S. Army Air Base located near Lubbock, Texas. It was closed in 1997 and converted into a research center. History Reese Air Force Base began as the Lubbock Army Air Corps Advanced Flying School in 1942. It ...

, Texas, where he received his pilot wings in August 1953. He next entered B-26 combat crew training and in February 1954 was assigned to the

90th Bombardment 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 ...

Kunsan Air Base Kunsan K-8 Air Base () is a United States Air Force base located at Gunsan Airport, on the west coast of the Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is located in the town of Gunsan (also romanized as Kunsan), about south of Seoul. Kun ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. In January 1955 he returned to the United States to become aide to the commanding general of

14th Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, Warner Robins, south-southea ...

, Georgia. Skantze entered the Air Force Institute of Technology in August 1957 and graduated in 1959. Skantze's initial research and development assignment was as project engineer with the joint Air Force-Atomic Energy Commission Nuclear Powered Airplane program in

Germantown, Maryland Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous community in Maryland, after Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland, Col ...

. In August 1961 he was a staff officer assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. From June 1963 to August 1965, he was assistant executive officer to the under secretary of the Air Force. Graduating from the Armed Forces Staff College the following year, Skantze served for three and a half years as director of system engineering and advanced planning in the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program at the

Space and Missile Systems Organization Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's research and development, space development, Military acquisition, acquisition, space launch, launch, and Military logistics, logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los An ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. From August 1969 to May 1971, he was assigned to Headquarters Air Force Systems Command at

, initially as director of assignments and later as an assistant for senior officer management. He then became deputy for the AGM-69A Short-Range Attack Missile at the

Aeronautical Systems Division The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) was a U.S. Air Force product center that designed, developed and delivered aviation weapon systems and capabilities. It developed systems for the U.S. Air Force, other U.S. Department of Defense customers, ...

, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. After serving as deputy for the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System program at

Hanscom Air Force Base Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located predominantly within Bedford, Massachusetts, with portions extending into the adjoining towns of Lincoln, Concord and Lexington. The facility is adjacent to Hanscom Field ...

, Massachusetts, from June 1973 to June 1977, he returned to Air Force Systems Command headquarters as deputy chief of staff for systems. Skantze took command of the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in March 1979. In August 1982, Skantze was named deputy chief of staff for research, development and acquisition at Air Force headquarters. He was responsible for all U.S. Air Force research, development and acquisition programs. Skantze was appointed

Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The vice chief of staff of the Air Force (VCSAF) is the second-highest-ranking military officer in the United States Air Force. If the chief of staff of the Air Force (CSAF) is absent or is unable to perform his duties, then the VCSAF assumes ...

, Washington, D.C., in October 1983. He assumed command of

in August 1984. Skantze was named as a

payload specialist A payload specialist (PS) was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a NASA Space Shuttle mission. People assigned as payload specialists included individuals selected by t ...

for the classified

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

mission STS-61-N, scheduled for launch on 4 September 1986. This mission was cancelled after the

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Can ...

on 28 January 1986. Most of the crew (excluding Skantze and Frank J. Casserino) flew on mission

STS-28 STS-28 was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to United States Department of Defense (DoD) purposes, and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The ...

in 1989. Skantze was a

command pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has be ...

and earned the Senior Missile Badge. His military decorations and awards include the

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United S ...

with oak leaf cluster,

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

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 ...

with oak leaf cluster and

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

. He was promoted to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

on October 6, 1983, with same date of rank, and retired from the United States Air Force on July 31, 1987. He died on June 18, 2018.Lawrence A. Skantze's obituary
/ref> Skantze and his wife Patricia Ann "Pat" (Bowers) Skantze (March 20, 1930 – December 15, 2012) were interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skantze, Lawrence 1928 births 2018 deaths Military personnel from the Bronx Cardinal Hayes High School alumni United States Navy sailors United States Naval Academy alumni United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Air Force Institute of Technology alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Vice chiefs of staff of the United States Air Force Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States) Military personnel from McLean, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery