Col Heckel always knew he was going to fly. After enlisting at age 18, he was sent to 9thAF in France, Sept 1944. Flying P-38's for the 474thFG for about 6 weeks, he had a mid-air collision with another P-38 after downing a BF 109 during a very large dogfight. He successfully bailed and went to Stalag Luft III. He endured the "Marches" and was liberated at Stalag 7A on April 29th, 1945. He went on to fly F-82's and F-84's, 27 combat missions in Korea, B-47s and RB-47's, F-100's and F-4's and RF-4C's during 101 combat missions in Vietnam. He retired base commander for the 77th wing at McClellan in Sept 1975. He was married to Jacqueline for 70 years from 1945 to 2015 when he finally flew his last mission. His laugh was unforgettable as was his generosity.