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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a b o u t t h e a u t h o r ........................................................... Jimmy, Duke, Jim, Major Jim, Eddie, Colonel Jim, General Jim, and Gentle Jim were all nicknames for my dad, the author of this book. Each nickname was from a different period. When visiting Mother and Dad at their home, if the phone rang and it was for Dad, I could pretty much pinpoint the time when the caller and my dad had known one another. I would say, ‘‘It’s So and So from the 468th’’ or ‘‘It’s So and So from The Canyon.’’ I enjoyed this little impromptu quiz, and my success delighted Dad. His Sea Scout buddies gave him the name Duke in the mid-’30s because he was such a strong swimmer and his style reminded them of Duke Kahanamoku, who was considered the greatest freestyle swimmer in the world. Ercell Hart was one of those Scouts, and he was the one who introduced Mother and Dad in Hawaii. Ercell naturally introduced Dad as ‘‘Duke,’’ and that is what Mother always called him. During 36 years of military service, he commanded units and bases at every level up to Air Forces. He had over 11,000 hours of flying time in 138 different types of aircraft, and he flew 181 combat missions in three wars. He survived 107 combat missions in World War II, 36 missions in the Korean War, and 42 in the Vietnam War. Dad earned 45 medals and commendations. They include three Distinguished Service Medals, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, eight Air Medals, three Legion of Merits, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Navy Commendation Medal, and a Purple Heart. After returning to the United States, he served with the Air Policy Branch in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations. He completed the Air War College in 1949, and in 1950, he was the commander of the 22nd Bombardment Group stationed at March Air Force Base in California. On July 1, 1950, Dad’s red phone rang. ‘‘Edmundson, this is LeMay. Is your outfit ready to go to war?’’ ‘‘Yes, sir!’’ was Dad’s response, and on July 4th, the 22nd group was the first to head to Korea. Near the end of the war, he was commander of the 92nd Bombardment Wing, and General LeMay’s plans came into focus again. As Dad says, Operation ‘‘Big Stick’’ was one of the most unusual missions we flew in the 92nd. In August 1953, negotiations were underway for the ending of the Korean War, and nobody trusted the North Koreans. It was decided to send 20 B-36s to the Far East with atomic weapons on board, to be sitting on the alert on Okinawa, in case they were needed. Big Stick was an appropriate name for the operation. We sat on the alert on Okinawa for about 10 days in all our atomic splendor. The peace treaty got signed successfully up in Korea, Big Stick was declared concluded, and we took off for Fairchild like a flight of ten engined geese. The 92nd was later given the Outstanding Unit Award for Big Stick. It was a one-of-a-kind operation. Later, he took over command of the 57th Air Division at Fairchild. He was transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona to command the 36th Air Division. From there, he and Mother moved to Omaha, Nebraska , where he was the Director of Operations at Strategic Air Command Headquarters for General LeMay. In 1962, he was finally able to fly jets full-time when he assumed command of the 17th Air Force, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. As he explained: Throughout my career as a bomber pilot, I have never quite gotten over my love for the little planes and my desire to fly them. I have always been a fighter pilot at heart, and my greatest pleasure in flying has been in small airplanes. I’m sure I qualify as truly as possible as a square peg who succeeded in spending his life in a round hole. The 17th Air Force consisted of all the U.S. Air Force fighters in Europe, and had a demanding mission as part of NATO. We provided all of the air support to the American 8th Army, were responsible for the air defense of central Europe, and had an atomic strike mission against targets behind the Iron Curtain in the event...

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