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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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Sawyer, Julian D.

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  • Sawyer, Julian D.

Julian Delmo Sawyer

Preferred Name: Julian
Nickname/Call Sign: Buzz
Date of Birth: September 2, 1928
Highest Military Grade: 0-6 – Colonel
Headed West Date: July 1, 2012
Biography
Pilot Information
Headed West
Caterpillar Club
Album

Buzz was the driving force for decades of the airport in Demopolis. Sawyer was honored by induction into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Military Hall of Fame. And, in April 2011, the Demopolis City Council voted to rename the Demopolis Airport to the Julian D. “Buzz” Sawyer Airport.

Units Assigned

  • 1948 Entered USAF
  • 1959 Myrtle Beach AFB, SC (F-100)
  • 1/1968 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phan Rang AB, Vietnam (F-100 – 325 combat missions)
  • 1971 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, Commander, Takhli RTAFB, Thailand (F-4)

Awards & Decorations

Soldier's Medal Ribbon
Soldier’s Medal
Silver Star
Silver Star
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (5)
Air Medal
Air Medal (23)

Flight Info

F-100
F-105
F-4

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • USMA

Julian D. “Buzz” Sawyer,  Col USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on July 1, 2012.

Julian D. Sawyer, age 83, of Demopolis, died July 1, 2012, at Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital in Demopolis. Graveside services with full military honors were held July 6, 2012, at Alabama National Cemetery.

Buzz was the driving force for decades of the airport in Demopolis. Sawyer was honored by induction into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Military Hall of Fame. And, in April 2011, the Demopolis City Council voted to rename the Demopolis Airport to the Julian D. “Buzz” Sawyer Airport.

He is survived by his wife, Kaye Miles Sawyer; daughters, Pamela Marker of North Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Skylar M. Sawyer of Fairhope; brother, Donald Sawyer of The Philippines; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A distinguished veteran, Sawyer grew up in Mobile and started his Air Force career in 1948. He served in the United States, Europe, and Vietnam on assignments after flight training.

He was awarded the Soldier’s Medal after helping rescue an injured crewman whose F-100F aircraft crashed and burst into flames on Sept. 24, 1959, at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C.

As the 615th TFS Commander in the 35th TFW at Phan Rang AB, Vietnam, and was awarded the Silver Star, 5 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 23 Air Medals!

“Buzz wasn’t just about military flying — he truly felt the call to continue to serve his community and As the airport manager, Buzz single-handedly built the Demopolis Municipal Airport from an underfunded, substandard airport into the vital economic portal it is today,” “His efforts developed the Demopolis airport into a valuable economic resource for the City of Demopolis, Alabama. This earned him the distinction of having the airport renamed in his honor … In addition, Buzz’s long-term accomplishments in support of aviation in Alabama were recognized by his induction into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame in 2011.

Sawyer, Julian D On Aircraft
Album Slideshow
Slideshow
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