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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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Edsall, Philip V.

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  • Edsall, Philip V.

Philip V. Edsall

Preferred Name: Phil
Date of Birth: December 18, 1934
Highest Military Grade: 0-6 – Colonel
Hometown: Jordan, MT
Headed West Date: August 8, 2013
Biography
Pilot Information
Headed West
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After “starting school in a 1-room schoolhouse, where he would ride his horse to school, he graduated from Garfield County High School, the last public boarding school in the U.S. He left the ranching life in 1955 to enlist in the Air Force as an Aviation Cadet to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, graduating in 1957. His Air Force career spanned 29 1/2 years.

He flew many different aircraft to include PA-18, T-I6, T-33, F-86, F-100 (3600 hours), T-39, A-7, A-10 and C-12. While assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson AZ, he was Dep Chief of Ops for the only active AF A-7D combat crew training squadron, and later Director for the first A-10 Operational Test Squadron.

During his 2 yr assignment as 12AF Director of Standardization/Evaluation at Bergstrom AFB, TX he also flew 10 other AC to include the F-111, F-4, and F-16. He was a command pilot with over 5,000 flying hours, with most of those hours spent in a single-seater fighter jet.

While serving two assignments in Vietnam, he flew 190+ missions, which resulted in receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters. He also received the Legion of Merit and three Meritorious Medals. While serving in the Air Force, he had many assignments to include California, Japan, Vietnam, Florida (participating in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as an F-100 pilot), Spain (his unit was stranded in Libya when Gaddafi took power), Louisiana, Virginia, Arizona, Texas, with his final AF assignment with the US Embassy in Athens, Greece. These assignments included many deployments which required 18+ ocean crossings in an F-100 single-seater fighter jet. During his AF career, he received his undergraduate and master’s degrees, retiring from the Air Force in 1984.

After retirement from the Air Force, he accepted a position with McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company in St Louis MO, working in International Marketing. He traveled extensively to the Far East (Japan and Korea) with this position. After living in Williamsburg VA, he then moved to Singapore and then Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as VP for Southeast Asia. While living in SEA, he and Sandy were able to travel on many adventures to include Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and many of the far-flung Indonesian islands. After his retirement from MDC in 1998, he returned to the US to live in Garden Ridge, TX where he has resided for 13 years.”

Source: findagrave.com

Units Assigned

  • 8/1955 -12/1955 Lackland AFB, TX
  • 1/1956-6/1956 Primary Training, Stallings AB, NC (PA-18, T-6)
  • 6/1956-12/1956 Laughlin AFB, TX (Advanced Pilot Training – T-33)
  • 1/1957-4/1957 Gunnery, Williams AFB, AZ (F-86)
  • 4/1957-6/1957 Gunnery, Nellis AFB, NV (F-100)
  • 6/1957-10/1958 George AFB, CA (F-100C)
  • 10/1958-10/1961 Misawa AB, Japan (F-100)
  • 11/1961-4/1962 George AFB, CA (F-100)
  • 4/1962-7/1962 Maxwell AFB, AL (T-33)
  • 7/1962-4/1966 Homestead AFB, FL (F-100)
  • 5/1966-10/1969 Torrejon AB, Spain (F-100)
  • 11/1969-7/1970 Tuy Hoa AB, RVN (F-100)
  • 8/1970-7/1972 England AFB, LA (F-100)
  • 7/1972-7/19 Lan75gley AFB VA (T-39)
  • 8/1975-6/1980 Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ (A-7, A-10)
  • 6/1980-12/1981 Bergstrom AFB, TX (A-10)
  • 12/1981-7/1984, US embassy, Greece (C-12)

Awards & Decorations

Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
Air Medal
Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters
Legion Of Merit
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Award
Meritorious Service Medal (3)
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal

Flight Info

PA-18
T-6
T-33
F-86
F-100 C -3600 hours
T-39
A-7
A-10
C-12
F-111
F-4
F-16

Rating: C0mmand Pilot
Total Flight Hours: 5000

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • 1962 Squadron Officers School
  • 1975 Industrial College of the Armed Forces

Civilian Education:

  • 1952 Harfield County High  School, Jordan, MT
  • 1972 BA, Northwestern State University of Louisiana
  • 1984 MA, Troy State University, Troy, AL

Philip Vernon Edsall (Col, USAF, Ret) “Headed West” on August 8, 2013.

Colonel Edsall, 87, of Garden Ridge, TX, passed away after a lengthy illness with pulmonary fibrosis. He was born to Roy and Hazel (Miller) Edsall on Dec 18, 1934, on the ranch his parents homesteaded in Jordan, Montana on the far eastern plains of Montana. His values throughout his life were imbued by his father and his Montana ranch upbringing to include honesty, integrity, fairness, respect for all, and love for his family.

After starting school in a 1-room schoolhouse, where he would ride his horse to school, he graduated from Garfield County High School, the last public boarding school in the U.S. He left the ranching life in 1955 to enlist in the Air Force as an Aviation Cadet to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, graduating in 1957.

His Air Force career spanned 29 1/2 years. He flew many different aircraft to include PA-18, T-I6, T-33, F-86, F-100 (3600 hours), T-39, A-7, A-10, and C-12. While assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson AZ, he was Dep Chief of Ops for the only active AF A-7D combat crew training squadron, and later Director for the first A-10 Operational Test Squadron. During his 2 yr assignment as 12AF Director of Standardization/Evaluation at Bergstrom AFB, TX he also flew 10 other AC to include the F-111, F-4, and F-16. He was a command pilot with over 5,000 flying hours, with most of those hours spent in a single-seater fighter jet.

While serving two assignments in Vietnam, he flew 190+ missions, which resulted in receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters. He also received the Legion of Merit and three Meritorious Medals. While serving in the Air Force, he had many assignments to include California, Japan, Vietnam, Florida (participating in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as an F-100 pilot), Spain (his unit was stranded in Libya when Gaddafi took power), Louisiana, Virginia, Arizona, Texas, with his final AF assignment with the US Embassy in Athens, Greece. These assignments included many deployments which required 18+ ocean crossings in an F-100 single-seater fighter jet. During his AF career, he received his undergraduate and master’s degrees, retiring from the Air Force in 1984.

After retirement from the Air Force, he accepted a position with McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company in St Louis MO, working in International Marketing. He traveled extensively to the Far East (Japan and Korea) with this position. After living in Williamsburg VA, he then moved to Singapore and then Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as VP for Southeast Asia. While living in SEA, he and Sandy were able to travel on many adventures to include Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and many of the far-flung Indonesian islands. After his retirement from MDC in 1998, he returned to the US to live in Garden Ridge, TX where he has resided for 13 years.

Phil is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sandra Digby, children Deborah (John) VandenBerg, Arroyo Grande CA, Wendy Edsall, Tucson AZ, David (Aimee) Edsall, Cayucos, CA, Sidney (Cesar) Villanueva, Vicenza Italy, and Jason Owens and his fiancée Gaileon Thompson, Jacksonville, FL, and 7 grandchildren: Cole, Kendall, Casey, Scarlet, Ian, Elliott, and Olivier. He is also survived by his brother Glen (Martha), Bozeman MT, and his sister Rheta (Bill) Kissler, Garden Ridge TX. He is a member of the Super Saber Society (F-100 pilots), Daedalians, Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, and the Garden Ridge Lions Club.

A very special thank you to the doctors and staff at Kindred Hospital who made his last few months comfortable with their care, compassion, and friendship. Also, to his many loyal friends from the Garden Ridge Lion’s Club who visited him regularly and kept his spirits high.

Col. Phil Edsall is buried at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Soure: Philip Vernon Edsall (1934-2013) – Find A Grave Memorial

Philip V. Edsall - before
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