Henry Russell Spicer (February 16, 1909 – December 5, 1968) was a major general in the United States Air Force. He was a World War II fighter pilot and prisoner at

Stalag Luft I Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. About 9,000 ...

Early life and education

Spicer was born on 16 February 1909 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He attended the University of Arizona and received a bachelor of science degree in economics in 1932.

Army Air Corps

Spicer joined the Army Air Corps 1n 1933 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1935. He was assigned to the

95th Pursuit Squadron The 95th Fighter Squadron (95 FS) is a disbanded F-22 Raptor squadron of the United States Air Force. Last activated on 11 October 2013 and stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, the squadron's aircraft and personnel were distributed acr ...

at March Field near Riverside California. In 1936, he joined the

6th Pursuit Squadron The 6th Weapons Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School, based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It was previously assigned to the Seventh Air Force, being inactivated at Yokota Airfield, ...

at Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Hawaii.

World War II

In July 1942, Spicer was assigned as director of training at the Army Air Forces Training Command single-engine training school at Moore Field, Mission, Texas. Spicer was assigned as executive officer of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

66th Fighter Wing The 66th Fighter Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Chicago Municipal Airport, Illinois. It was withdrawn from the Illinois Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950. History World War II Est ...

in October 1943. He took command of the

357th Fighter Group The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as the Yoxfor ...

in February 1944 and was shot down March 5, 1944 He was captured by the Germans and was a prisoner of war at German World War II prisoner-of-war camp

near Barth, Germany, until May 14, 1945.

Cold War

Spicer commanded the 36th Fighter Group in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

from 1946 until 1949. He took command of the 3525th Pilot Training Wing at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona in 1950. In 1951, he assumed command of the Crew Training Wing at

Wichita Air Force Base McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States., effective 2007-12-20 The airbase was named i ...

in Kansas. In 1953 he was vice commander of crew training at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas and commander in 1957. Spicer became commander of

Seventeenth Air Force The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force (17 EAF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and AFAFRICA, United Sta ...

at Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli in 1958. He became deputy commander of the Seventeenth Air Force at

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 ...

in Germany in 1959 and commander in 1960. He took command of the

25th Air Division The 25th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). It was inactivated on 30 September 1990 at McChord Air ...

in 1962. Spicer retired in 1968.

Awards and decorations

Spicer's decorations include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the French Croix de Guerre with palm.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spicer, Henry R. 1909 births 1968 deaths People from Colorado Springs, Colorado United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Colorado