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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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McCollum, William A.

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  • McCollum, William A.

William A. McCollum

Preferred Name: Mack
Nickname/Call Sign: Mack the Knife
Date of Birth: December 12, 1931
Highest Military Grade: 0-6 – Colonel
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Headed West Date: December 3, 2022
William A. McCollum - before
William A. McCollum - now
Biography
Pilot Information
Headed West
Album

After the USAF, Bill flew the following aircraft.

9/1975-1/1978 Jet Avia Las Vegas, NV Lear 23, 24, 25
1/1978-7/1978 Las Vegas Airline, Grand Canyon Tours – Piper Navajo, Cessna 206
8/1978-10/1978 Royal Crest, Las Vegas NV C421
10/1978-7/1986 Sold A/C for Hughes Aviation, Las Vegas, NV
1/1987-8/1988 Flight Systems, Sembach AB, GermanyLear 35/36
4/1990-12/1991 IP, Air Training Center – Goodyear AZ F-33 Bonanza, B-58 Baron
9/1992-11/1996 Tracor Flight Systems, DART tow for Luftwaffe – Witmund AB, Germany F-100
8/1998 Recurrency F-100 El Paso GrecoAir Check pilot
8/2000 Recurrency F-100 El Paso GrecoAir Check pilot
10/2002 Recurrency F-100 El Paso GrecoAir Check pilot

Units Assigned

  • 1954 561st Fighter-Bomber Squadron/388th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Clovis AFB, NM (F-86F)
  • 1955-1957 561st Fighter-Bomber Squadron/388th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Etain AB, France (F-86, F-100)
  • 1957-1958 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron/49th Tactical Fighter Wing, Etain AB, France (F-100-May 1957)
  • 1959-8/1962 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron/35th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach AFB, SC (F-100)
  • 8/1962-8/1963 353rd Tactical Fighter Squadron/354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach AFB, SC (F-100)
  • 8/1963-3/1965 HQ TAC Stan Eval, Langley AFB, VA (F-100, T-33)
  • 3/1965-7/1965 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, TDY Danang AB, Bien Hoa AB, RVN (F-100)
  • 9/1965-1/1968 Fighter Weapons Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV (F-100)
  • 1/196-11/ 1968 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa AB, RVN (F-100)
  • 12/1968-8/1970 20th Tactical Fighter Wing, O&T RAF Weathersfield, UK (F-100)
  • 9/1970-8/1971 HQ USAFE, IG, Wiesbaden AB, Germany (T-39)
  • 4/1971-5/1971 Last flight (F-100)
  • 8/1971-7/1972 Air War College Maxwell AFB, AL (U-3)
  • 8/1972-9/1974 Fighter Weapons Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV (F-111F, T-38 Aggressors)
  • 9/197-7/ 1975 HQ USAF Pentagon, Washington, DC (T-34)
  • 7/1/1975 Retired

Awards & Decorations

Flight Info

F-86F
F-100)
T-33
T-39
U-3
F-111F
T-38 Aggressors
T-34

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • 1952 Radio Mechanic
  • 1953 Aviation Cadet 53H
  • 1954 ABC
  • 1960 Instrument Pilot Instructor School
  • 1965 Fighter Weapons School
  • 1975 Air War College

Civilian Education:

  • 1962 BGE, University of Omaha

William A. “Bill” McCollum, Col USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on December 3, 2022.

On this 12th day of December, which would have been his 91st birthday, we honor and deeply miss William Albert McCollum who passed away surrounded by family on December 3, 2022, after a brief illness.

William (“Bill”) was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 12, 1931, to loving parents Nova Leo McCollum and Mae Donice McCollum. Bill spent his early years in small towns outside of Kansas City where his Dad ran a gas station during the war. Later Bill and his younger sister Janet moved with the family back to Kansas City where his father became a mechanic for TWA (Trans World Airlines). Many hours spent with his Dad watching planes flying in and out of the airport gave Bill a lifelong passion for aviation and travel.

An excellent student, Bill once thought of becoming a math teacher, but his dream of becoming a pilot drew him to enlist in the Air Force. Bill made friends easily. He was very personable, respectful, and hard-working and he excelled in the military. The Air Force afforded him the opportunity to go to college in Omaha, Fighter Weapons School, and later Air War College. He became a highly-decorated fighter pilot, primarily flying F100s, and served tours in Europe protecting the Eastern Front and later did two tours in Vietnam. He was a respected officer, a “Mustang” who had worked his way up from the enlisted ranks. Bill eventually rose to the rank of Colonel and was transferred to the Pentagon in the early 1970s. Bill retired from the Air Force in 1975 to return to Las Vegas to focus on his family.

Bill had a tremendous love for his family and was a loyal and loving friend to many. He had two children from his first marriage, and gained three additional children with his second marriage and then three grandchildren that he adored. Bill didn’t stop there, he loved, mentored, and guided so many more children over the course of his life through programs like Big Brothers or more often from just virtually adopting people into his life. It is a testament to his huge heart that many of these additional children were by his bedside at the end.

In addition to flying, Bill also loved to ski and loved to race cars (he definitely loved going fast!) He taught all of his family to ski and anyone else he could convince to join him. He also insisted that all the children learn to drive a stick shift and insisted that everyone learn how to accelerate through a turn. He loved the outdoors and loved taking long hikes with his dogs. Bill also loved to golf, though that was one thing he did not excel at despite decades of trying. He always made sure to wear a nice hat and made it fun! Bill continued all of these passions throughout his life. He loved that you could ski for free when he got over 75 and was once referred to as the “flying dinosaur” by a German newspaper that wrote about him being the oldest pilot still flying fighter planes which he flew into his 70s.

Bill’s extended family and friends will miss his laugh, his mischievous boyish wit, his crazy attempts at DIY projects, and his hugs that always made you feel safe and loved.

Bill was predeceased by his parents, his sister Janet Lawrence, his granddaughter Alicia Lee and sons-in-law Jon Lee and Kurt Bergen. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Sandy McCollum, children Lauren McCollum, Stacy McCollum Spahle (Bob Spahle), Cathie Lee, Dewitt Hoopes, and Laura Hoopes Bergen, and grandchildren Jasmine Lee and Shaelin Spahle, as well as the entire Bayuk family – Amanda, Cody, Dylan, Haley, Katlyn, Mackenzie, Susan, Tanner, and William Peyton.

A celebration of life will be held for William A. McCollum at a later date.

Please share your stories, memories, photos, and videos about Bill, on the Memoriam page. (at the link below)

If you would like to be notified about memorial service plans, please sign the guestbook (at the link below) on the site or contact the family.

Source: https://www.weremember.com/william-mccollum/8h9c/memories

McCollum, William A
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