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This Day in History – June 10, 1969 – The X-15 gets a place in history

10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and

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Viccellio, Henry, Jr.

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  • Viccellio, Henry, Jr.

Henry Viccellio, Jr.

Preferred Name: Butch
Date of Birth: August 4, 1940
Highest Military Grade: 0-10 – General
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Biography
Pilot Information
Album

Dreams become reality…
My love affair with the Hun (F-100) began in 1955 at Foster Field, Texas.  As an Air Force brat in his high school years, I lived on base with other families and three squadrons of F-100Cs, flown by “supermen” who all seemed to be either carefree bachelors or married to Miss America finalists.  As the son of an Air Force fighter pilot and Academy aspirant, my destiny was clear.  I just HAD to fly the Hun!

Five years later, my dreams became reality.  Luke Air Patch was heaven on earth…a new red convertible, numerous opportunities of the female persuasion, 4 a.m. breakfasts leading to daily dawn patrols to Gila Bend and elsewhere, and the Valley of the Sun my personal sandbox.  Awesome!  With our Instructor Pilots spinning yarns of Itazuke, Lakenheath, Aviano, and Wheelus, qualification in the Hun passed in the blink of an eye.  I was ready for Prime Time!

Prime Time turned out to be spelled TAC (Tactical Air Command).  As each of my classmates rejoiced in his overseas posting, I buried myself in the Rand McNally, trying to locate someplace called Homestead.
I shouldn’t have worried.  The convertible proved just as effective in the environs of South Miami as it had in the sands of Arizona.  Sharing a pool-equipped rental with the likes of Frank Gioco and his block-long Cadillac helped the good times roll.  With three squadrons of Huns but only two squadrons of pilots, flying time was plentiful, even if half of it was found at Cigli Air Base near Izmir, Turkey.

In just over an all-too-brief year, it seemed I was able to do it all.  3-ship formation takeoffs with live nape (napalm) at Seymour, recovery on the wing in below-minimum weather during east coast storms, unlimited cross-country opportunities, six months flying formation acro on BV Johnson’s wing over Ephesus (Turkey), and, believe it or not, an on-time, OTS shack at Avon during an ORI.  Hey, Toto…even better than our dreams!

I’ve got to admit…the fact that this heavenly rendezvous with the Hun came to an abrupt end was my own doing.  Convinced that the war in SEA (Southeast Asia) was going to be over before I could get there, I jumped at a chance to fly the A-1 at Bien Hoa in Vietnam and was off to short course training at Hurlburt in a nanosecond.  Imagine my chagrin when I stepped off the jet in country, only to be greeted by my former Hun squadron, which had deployed in the interim!  Nonetheless, I never regretted my decision…it took me to Nha Trang, then on to Udorn flying the Sandy rescue mission(1).  I got to see the war from a vantage point that would never have been mine as a tour of duty Hun driver down south.

What a way to start a career!  The Hun represented all that was good, all that was exciting, all that was SPECIAL about being a fighter pilot…and has ever since.  I went on to serve for 35 years, operationally flying five different jets.  But the “light on the star” and the men with whom I flew in those first two years remain my brightest memories.

Sandy Rescue Missions: A-1 Skyraiders were used by the USAF to perform one of the Skyraider’s most famous roles: the “Sandy” helicopter escort on combat rescues. The designation SANDY originated with an Air Force rescue pilot based in Thailand whose call sign was Sandy, the name of his dog. Over time, Sandy became a generic term for all A-1 Search-AND-destroY rescue flights.

Units Assigned

  • 6/1962-9/1963, Webb Air Force Base, TX, pilot training
  • 10/1963-6/1964, Luke Air Force Base, AZ,  F-100 combat crew training
  • 6/1964-10/1965, 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Homestead AFB, FL (F-100)
  • 10/1965-10/1966 602nd Fighter Squadron, Udorn Royal Thai AFB, Thailand (A-1E)
  • 10/1966-10/1968 National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Olmsted Scholar
  • 10/1968-6/1969 MA/ Latin American studies, American University, Washington, DC
  • 6/1969-8/1970 Air Staff Training program, staff officer, Directorate – concepts and doctrine, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC
  • 8/1970-11/1971 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Maintenance officer, Holloman AFB, NM (F-4D)
  • 11/1971-1/1973 36th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Flight commander, Osan Air Base, South Korea (F-4D)
  • 1/1973-7/1973 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA
  • 7/197-10/1975 U.S. Senate, liaison officer
  • 11/1975-4/1976 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Chief-standardization and evaluation division, Eglin AFB, FL
  • 4/1976-11/1976 59th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Operations officer, Eglin AFB, FL
  • 12/1976-5/1977 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Commander, Eglin AFB, FL
  • 5/1977-11/1977 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Assistant deputy commander for operations Eglin AFB, FL
  • 11/1977-3/1981 Chief, rated officer career management branch, Air Force Manpower and Personnel Center, Randolph AFB, TX
  • 3/1981-9/1981 507th Tactical Air Control Wing, vice commander, Shaw AFB, SC
  • 10/1981-3/1983 56th Tactical Training Wing, Vice-commander/Commander, MacDill AFB, FL
  • 3/1983-6/1985 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, Commander, Langley AFB, VA
  • 7/1985-9/1986 San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Vice commander, Kelly AFB, TX
  • 9/1986-4/1989 Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Deputy chief of staff for logistics, Langley AFB, VA
  • 5/1989-9/1989 Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Vice commander, Langley AFB, VA
  • 9/1989-2/1991 Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Deputy chief of staff for logistics and engineering, Washington, DC
  • 2/1991-5/1991 Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Deputy chief of staff for logistics, Washington, DC
  • 5/1991-12/1992, Joint Staff, Director, Washington, DC
  • 12/1992-6/1995 Air Education and Training Command, Commander, Randolph AFB, TX
  • 6/1995-6/1997 Air Force Materiel Command, Commander, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
  • 6/1/1997 Retired USAF

Awards & Decorations

Defense Distinguised Service Medal
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal
Legion Of Merit
Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster
Meritorious Service Award
Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Air Medal
Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters
RVN Gallantry Cross With Palm
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm

Flight Info

F-100
A-1 E
F-4 D/E
F-16
F-15
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,300

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • 1962 BS, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
  • 1973 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA

Civilian Education:

  • 1968 Olmsted Scholar, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City
  • 1969 MA/Latin American studies, American University, Washington, DC

Viccellio, Henry Jr
Album Slideshow
Slideshow
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