Donald Henley Jr
Military
Uploaded additional photo of Lt Henley due to poor copy already on site.
Object Number - UPL 38070 - Lt. Donald [NMI] Henley Jr 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group.
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Lt. Colonel after service in WW2, Korea and Vietnam. Has "Jug Pilot" on his grave stone.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Unit: 56th Fighter Group 62nd Fighter Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
Fort Slocum, New York | 6 February 1923 | |
|
Died Promoted |
Redlands, California | 20 October 2008 | etired Air Force Lt. Col. Donald Henley Jr., a resident of Redlands since 1962, died Oct. 20 in Redlands. He was 85. He was born Feb. 6, 1923, at Fort Slocum, N.Y., to Col. Donald and Virginia Henley and grew up in a military family, the eldest of four children. With his parents, sister and two brothers, he spent his childhood years living in several places within the continental United States, as well as Manila, Philippine Islands. As a young adult he developed a passion for aviation, and amateur radio technologies, interests that were to serve him well in his professional and private life. After graduation from Louisville Male High School in Louisville, Ky., in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Upon completion of flight training he was assigned to the Eighth Air Force's 56th Fighter Group, 62nd Fighter Squadron as a first lieutenant, and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. He flew a P-47 Thunderbolt out of Boxted, England, accumulating more than 500 hours of combat flight time. He was officially credited with destroying nine and a half enemy aircraft, and received several citations and decorations for bravery in aerial combat. His many awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with multiple oak leaf clusters. He was decorated for his role in the aerial defense of the Ludendorff Railroad Bridge that spans the river Rhine at Remagen, Germany. Returning to civilian life, he married Jean Engleman and together they raised three sons. Under the auspices of "Operation Bootstrap" he attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, graduating in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. After earning his degree he engaged in a variety of business enterprises until he was recalled to active duty with the U.S. Air Force in 1952. During the next 24 years he enjoyed a military career in which he continued to serve as a pilot and develop his expertise in radio, wired, wireless and voice communications systems. His overseas assignments included tours of duty in England with the 84th Light Bombardment Wing as a pilot of a nuclear-armed B-45 jet bomber, and in Morocco as a pilot and executive officer of a communications squadron. He became a recognized expert on HF (high frequency) and UHF (ultra high frequency) technologies that were applied in the development and deployment of the Atlas and Titan ballistic missiles. His last duty assignment was as the chief of communications and instrumentation support of the Ballistic Systems Division at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, where he retired from active duty in 1966. Over the course of his military career he accumulated more than 2,500 hours of flying a wide variety of single- and multi-engine piston and jet aircraft. He had a long second career with San Bernardino County as the director of Communications and Disaster Services Department from 1966 until his retirement in 1983. During his tenure, he provided oversight for the countywide implementation of the 911 emergency communications system. In 1983 he married Kathleen Marks. They made their home in Redlands, and their combined family includes three daughters, four sons and seven grandchildren. After his final retirement from public service, he continued to pursue his passions of aviation and radio technology. He acquired and flew a Cessna 152 Aerobat, and later a Citabria. He was active in amateur radio under the call sign of W6BAD and was a mentor to several young men and women interested in acquiring HAM radio skills. He turned the back yard of his home into what was often referred to as the "antenna farm." Not long into retirement, he found a way to combine his two major pastimes with his desire to serve the community, leading to a long association with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Aero Squadron. From 1981 until recently, he shared his aeronautical skills and expertise in mobile communications with this newfound "band of brothers" as a reserve lieutenant and citizen volunteer. He considered that association to be one of the most valued of his lifetime. His family said he was widely read and could discuss philosophical and spiritual topics as easily as he could describe the physics of sunspots or the life cycle of a hummingbird. His family said he had many interests, appreciated music of all kinds (with a partiality to flamenco and the banjo) and loved the yard and garden where he enjoyed many hours of companionship with his much-loved dog. They said he was "a man of great compassion, selfless generosity, unbounded intellect and amazing creativity." He made friends "with astonishing ease," they said. "He may have entered a room as a stranger, but he never left as one. He loved a joke and would often surprise those around him with an unexpected burst of whimsical song or an impromptu dance step in spontaneous celebration of the moment. And, as the targets of such know, he was not above the occasional cunningly planned and exquisitely executed prank." Survivors include his wife Kathleen, his daughters, sons and grandchildren and his sister Virginia Bohling of San Antonio, Texas. A memorial celebration of his life will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Aero Squadron, 1776 Miro Way, Rialto. Burial will be at Riverside National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Aero Squadron, and his family encourages people to perform an act of kindness to honor his memory. |
|
Buried |
Riverside National Cemetery, California | 24 October 2008 | Riverside National Cemetery Riverside, Riverside County, California, USA |
| Louisville, Kentucky |
Revisions
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
Changes
Sources
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm
