Bryce Poe II (October 10, 1924 – November 20, 2000) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

four-star general who served as Commander,

Air Force Logistics Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(COMAFLC) from 1978 to 1981.

Military career

Poe was born in 1924, in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. He attended the Colorado School of Mines, the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1946. He completed Army Air Forces pilot training prior to graduation from the academy. He received a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Omaha in 1964 and a Master of Science degree in international affairs from

The George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, in 1965. He is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

and the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

Fort Lesley J. McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Cha ...

. From November 1946 to September 1948, Poe was a member of one of the first jet-equipped units in the U.S. Air Force and flew in more than 80 air shows demonstrating the new aircraft. He then transferred to Japan and was assigned to the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, which was equipped with RF-80As. At the beginning of the Korean War, he transferred to South Korea and flew 90 combat missions including the first U.S. Air Force jet reconnaissance sortie. He returned to the United States and, from January to April 1951, was assigned to a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

fighter escort squadron at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. He then transferred to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, as commander of a reconnaissance replacement training unit. Poe was assigned to

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allie ...

, Oslo, Norway, in August 1952 as a fighter operations officer flying de Havilland Vampires, Gloster Meteors, F-84 Thunderjets and F-86 Sabres with the Royal Norwegian and Royal Danish air forces. He returned to the United States in July 1956 and served as aide and then executive officer to General

Bernard Adolph Schriever Bernard Adolph Schriever (14 September 1910 – 20 June 2005), also known as Bennie Schriever, was a United States Air Force general who played a major role in the Air Force's space and ballistic missile programs. Born in Bremen, Germany, Sch ...

, commander, Air Force Western Development Division in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. In August 1959 he entered the Armed Forces Staff College. After graduation in January 1960, he went to

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

, Nebraska, as operations officer of an

Atlas D The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dyna ...

squadron. In October 1961 he transferred to SAC headquarters as a missile plans officer and later as chief, Missile Plans Section, Operations and Training Division. In August 1964 Poe entered the National War College. Following his graduation in July 1965, he served as chief, Plans Group, Office of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. He transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base in July 1967 as vice commander of the

75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 75th may refer to: *75th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2002, held on March 23, 2003 * 75th Avenue–61st Street Historic District, a national historic district in Ridgewood, Queens, New York *75th Grey Cup, the 1987 Canadian Football Lea ...

. He went to Southeast Asia in July 1968 as vice commander,

460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 46 may refer to: * 46 (number) * ''46'' (album), a 1983 album by Kino * "Forty Six", a song by Karma to Burn from the album '' Appalachian Incantation'', 2010 * One of the years 46 BC, AD 46 AD 46 ( XLVI) was a common year starting on Saturday ...

, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. During this tour of duty, he flew 213 combat missions, 200 in

RF-4 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...

s. From July 1969 to July 1970, Poe was commander of the

26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing The 26th Information Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 5 July 2006. The wing was first establi ...

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, Germany. In July 1970 he assumed duties as deputy chief of staff, logistics, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Wiesbaden, Germany. Poe became commander of the Ogden Air Materiel Area (now Ogden Air Logistics Center) at

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent to ...

, Utah, in February 1973. In June 1974 he returned to Germany as vice commander in chief of the

U.S. Air Forces in Europe The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at Ramstein Air Base. He was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in July 1976 as commander of the Air Force Acquisition Logistics Division and assumed commander of AFLC in February 1978. He retired from the Air Force on July 31, 1981, and died of a stroke on November 20, 2000.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poe, Bryce 1924 births 2000 deaths United States Air Force generals United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Air Forces pilots American Korean War pilots American Vietnam War pilots Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal People from Wichita, Kansas University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Elliott School of International Affairs alumni United States Military Academy alumni