Hockensmith, William R.

William Ralph Hockensmith (Bill) was born February 21, 1940 in Kansas City, MO, the son of Clarence Ray Hockensmith and Nina Marceille Peck Hockensmith. Bill was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Paseo High School in Kansas City.  In 1962, he graduated from William Jewel College, Liberty, MO with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Utah in 1972. He attained the rank of Colonel in the United States Air Force and is a distinguished graduate of both Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.

Bill was commissioned a second lieutenant in the USAF November 1962 as a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School at Lackland AFB, TX. After missile officer training at Sheppard AFB, TX, he was assigned to Vandenberg AFB, CA as deputy commander of a Strategic Air Command Atlas E missile combat crew. In 1964, at the suggestion of a crewmate, he began flying lessons with the Vandenberg aero club, earned his Private Pilot License, and soon applied for USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training.

In 1965, First Lieutenant Hockensmith entered UPT at Williams AFB, AZ and earned his wings a year later as an outstanding officer graduate and winner of his class’ flying award. He completed advanced flight training in the F-100 aircraft at Luke AFB, AZ, earning the class “Top Gun” award. Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater presented him with the Top Gun trophy.

On October 7, 1966, only months before being posted to Vietnam, he met and married the former Sharon Elizabeth Fogleman of Phoenix, AZ. She was a recent Stanford University graduate at home for the summer and between graduate school semesters at Indiana University. In Vietnam, Captain Hockensmith flew 300 combat missions in the F-100 from Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases.

Still flying the F-100, Bill was next assigned to Royal Air Force Station, Wethersfield, England. Bill and Sharon’s first child, Melinda Lorraine, was born at RAF Lakenheath on January 29, 1969. At Wethersfield, Bill deployed to Aviano AB, Italy; Cigli AB, Turkey, and Wheelus AB near Tripoli, Libya until U.S. operations were closed there in June 1970 by Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi.

From England, Bill returned to Luke AFB as an F-100 instructor pilot, where his son, William David, was born on June 18, 1971. When the USAF ended F-100 training in 1971, Bill transitioned to the F-104G aircraft, serving both as a flight and academic instructor in the German Air Force F-104G program.

Following graduation from Air Command and Staff College in 1973, now Major Hockensmith was assigned to the Air Force Military Personnel Center, Randolph AFB near San Antonio, TX, where he served as Chief of Rated Departmental/Joint Resource and Career Management, which was responsible for the identification and assignment of senior pilots and navigators to the Pentagon and Joint command staffs. He lived with his family in Schertz, TX and enjoyed camping and water skiing at nearby lakes with his wife, children, and military friends.

In 1976, now promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he began a year of Arabic language, security assistance, and F-5 flight training in preparation for his next post as Air Attaché and Chief of the Air Force Section, Military Assistance Program in Amman, Jordan. As senior Air Force representative in Jordan, he was the principal advisor to the U.S. Ambassador and the Commander of the Royal Jordanian Air Force on USAF matters. He routinely flew all models of the F-5 with the RJAF to assess their capabilities and USAF support. During that time, Sharon served as President of the American Women of Amman.

On his return to the U.S. in 1979, LtCol Hockensmith joined Tactical Air Command’s AT-38 lead-in fighter training wing at Holloman AFB, NM, where he served as Chief of Operations Training and Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations. On August 14, 1980, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and in 1981, he became the Deputy Commander for Operations, 388 TFW at Hill AFB, UT, the first operational wing equipped with the F-16. During that time, he led a group of F-16s from Hill AFB to Egypt for Operation Bright Star and was photographed flying over the Pyramids in an F-16. One of those photos was made into a well-known Air Force lithograph poster.

After graduation from Air War College in 1983, the Colonel began a tour with the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly AFB, TX. Until 1985, he served as Chief of the Fighter/Tactical/Trainer System Program Management Division in the Directorate of Materiel Management, where he initiated the Pacer Classic program to update the T-38 Talon, earning the sobriquet, “Father of Pacer Classic.” From 1985-1987, he headed Materiel Management’s Resources Management Division, and in 1987, he became Director of Communications and Computer Systems for the entire Logistics Center. Colonel Hockensmith retired from the Air Force September 1, 1989.

After retirement, Bill began a civilian career at Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems in Waco, TX as Program Manager for a Black program. Sharon worked as a Technical Editor at the same company. They left Waco in 1991 and moved to Eagan, MN when Bill assumed the position of Director of Fleet Managers for Northwest Airlines.

In 1998, Bill moved to Pomona, CA to become program manager for several airline clients for Rockwell Collins Aviation Services. He and Sharon lived in nearby San Dimas until Bill retired in August 2005. During that time, Sharon worked as a Research Manager for WesCorp Corporate Credit Union, Jackson Federal Bank, and later Wescom Credit Union in Pasadena.

After retirement, Bill and Sharon relocated to McKinney, TX to be near their first grandchild Chase, who was soon followed by Grace, Caitlin, and Colton.  They are the children of their son Bill and his ex-wife Stephanie. Bill and Sharon’s daughter Melinda is a nephrologist in private practice in Colorado Springs, CO.  She married David E. Hyatt November 3, 2007.  Son Bill married Erika Deschane on May 23, 2023 in Frisco, TX.

Colonel Hockensmith is a command pilot with over 3,000 flying hours. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with 14 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with palm.