William W. Momyer

William Wallace Momyer
General William W. Momyer
Nickname	Spike
Born	September 23, 1916 (1916-09-23) Muskogee, Oklahoma
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1938–1973
Rank	General
Commands held	Tactical Air Command 7th Air Force 33rd Fighter Group
Battles/wars	World War II Vietnam War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit (3) Distinguished Flying Cross

General William Wallace Momyer (born September 23, 1916) was commander of the U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command.

Early life

Momyer was born in 1916, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, attended Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington in 1937. His nickname within the service was "Spike".

Momyer entered military service in 1938, and after successfully completing primary basic pilot training, attended pursuit school at Kelly Field, Texas, graduating in 1939. He was assigned to pilot and flight commander duties until February 1941, when be became military observer for air with the military attach in Cairo, Egypt. In this capacity, he was technical advisor to the Royal Air Force in equipping the first squadron of the Western Desert Air Force with Curtiss P-40 aircraft.

Service in World War II

In October 1942 Momyer, as commanding officer, led the 33d Fighter Group in flying combat missions in the Tunisia, Sicily and Naples-Foggia campaigns. For his performance during several combat actions of the North African campaign, he received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters. In North Africa he single-handedly engaged 18 Junkers Ju 87 aircraft escorted by German and Italian fighters and had four confirmed kills. He has more than 200 combat flying hours and became an ace with eight credited aerial victories.

In the process, then-Colonel Momyer ignored cautions from his superiors, Generals Jimmy Doolittle and Howard Craig, and committed small forces to battle far from base, in areas where the Luftwaffe had overwhelming air superiority. It took only a month for the 33rd Fighter Group to be knocked out of combat by their losses. The 33rd had to be reconstituted with replacement pilots and airplane before it could return to action.

Coincidentally, Momyer accused one of his group's units, the 99th Fighter Squadron, as being a failure because its pilots were incompetent and cowardly. Ignoring both their winning of a Distinguished Unit Citation and the fact he personally had ordered them into a ground attack role, he blamed them for seeing little air to air combat. He stated, "It is my opinion...they have failed to display...aggressiveness and daring for combat...It may be expected that we will get less work and less operational time out of the 99th FS than any squadron in this group." A hearing before the House Armed Services Committee refuted Momyer's accusations. This first squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen thus survived despite his recommendation, and became the nucleus of the all-African-American 332nd Fighter Group.

Momyer returned to the United States in 1944 and became chief of the combined operations of the Army Air Forces Board. As a member, he played a significant role in the development of Air Force doctrine for air-ground operations.

Post World War II and Korea

Lt. Gen William W. Momyer, Commander, Air Training Command

He became assistant chief of staff, A-5, for Tactical Air Command in 1946 during the formation of Tactical Air Command headquarters, and continued serving with TAC until he entered the Air War College in 1949.

Upon graduation from the Air War College in 1950 he became a member of the faculty. He attended the U.S. Army War College in 1953-1954 and then went to Korea where he commanded the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing. With the redeployment of units from Korea to Japan, the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing moved to Itazuke Air Base.

Post Korean service

In March 1955 Momyer returned to Korea to establish the 314th Air Division and command all U.S. Air Force units in Korea. Returning from Korea in October 1955, he assumed command of the 312th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico, (subsequently renamed Cannon Air Force Base).

Momyer assumed command of the 832d Air Division, Cannon Air Force Base, in May 1957. As commander of the two F-100D Super Sabre fighter wings, he had the distinction of commanding the first units to take top honors for both conventional and special weapons teams during the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

Momyer was director of plans, Headquarters TAC, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, from July 1958 to October 1961. He was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force from October 1961 to February 1964 as director of operational requirements, and during the period of February–August 1964, as assistant deputy chief of staff, programs and requirements.

Vietnam era service

In August 1964 Momyer became commander of the Air Training Command and held that post until July 1966, when he went to Vietnam to serve as deputy commander for air operations, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, and also, commander, Seventh Air Force. He served in this important dual role until August 1968, at which time he assumed command of Tactical Air Command.

It was during this time, according to the autobiography by Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, that the then-Colonel Yeager had a serious run-in with Momyer. Yeager's career was saved when he was promoted to Brigadier General - apparently over Momyer's objections. It is inferred by Yeager's book that Momyer had highly prejudiced views, which contrasted greatly with his tactical expertise.

Momyer retired from the Air Force on September 30, 1973.

Awards and decorations

Momyer was a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours. Among his military awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, French Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, and the British Distinguished Flying Cross.

•   Distinguished Service Cross
•   Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
•   Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters
•   Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
•   Distinguished Flying Cross
•   French Légion d'honneur
•   British Distinguished Flying Cross.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "[2]".

• 332nd Fighter Group: Tuskegee Airmen. Chris Bucholtz. Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1846030447, 9781846030444.

• The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men who Changed a Nation. Charles E. Francis, Adolph Caso. Branden Books, 1997. ISBN 0828320292, 9780828320290.