John Philip Henebry

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(February 14, 1918 – September 30, 2007) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

major general.

Early life

He was born in

Plainfield, Illinois Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census. The village includes land in Will County's Plainfield and Wheatland townships, as well as Na-Au-Say and Oswego tow ...

. In 1936, he graduated from

Campion High School Campion Jesuit High School was a Jesuit boarding school for boys in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, named for the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion. The school operated from its founding in 1880 until closing in 1975, and educated several notable figure ...

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...

, and then went to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in Notre Dame, Indiana, where he graduated from in 1940.

Military career

On July 30, 1940, he was appointed a flying cadet and after graduating from Air Corps basic and advanced flying schools was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Reserve March 14, 1941, and assigned to active duty with the

22d Bombardment Group D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History Th ...

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

in Virginia. In May, 1941, General Henebry was appointed leader of “C” Flight and armament and chemical officer of the 39th Bombardment Squadron, 13th Bombardment Group, with which he served at various stations in the United States.

World War II

In August, 1942, he went to the Southwest Pacific theater as commander of the

13th Bomb Squadron The 13th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 509th Operations Group, Air Force Global Strike Command, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The squadron is equipped with the Northrop Gru ...

, and soon thereafter assumed command of the 90th Attack Squadron there. Flying

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

bombers, he helped plan attacks utilizing

skip bombing Skip bombing was a low-level bombing technique independently developed by several of the combatant nations in World War II, notably Italy, Australia, Britain, Soviet Union and the United States. It allows an aircraft to attack shipping by skippi ...

and took part in the

Battle of the Bismarck Sea The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troop ...

, where he attacked a damaged Japanese destroyer and two freighters in low-level runs. On November 2, 1943, he was shot down after leading a major air attack on the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul, but was rescued by a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...

, after ditching off the coast of the island of

Kiriwina Kiriwina is the largest of the Trobriand Islands, with an area of 290.5 km². It is part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Most of the 12,000 people who live in the Trobriands live on Kiriwina. The Kilivila language, also known ...

. He later served as operations officer and commander of the

3d Bombardment Group 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

in that theater, and in January, 1945, assumed command of the 360th Air Service Group of the Far East Air Force. He flew a total of 219 missions during the war and was present aboard the battleship in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

when the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945.

Post war

Henebry returned to the United States in October, 1945, for duty with the Air Technical Service Command at

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...

in Ohio. He was relieved of active duty the following December to work with a pneumatic tools company in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. From 1948 to 1950, he was assistant utility sales manager for a coal company in Chicago. He was recalled to active duty on August 14, 1950, and appointed commanding general of the 437th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), which he later took to Korea. In January, 1951, he assumed command of the

315th Air Division The 315th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Originally designated the 315th Bombardment Wing, it was activated in July 1944 at Peterson Field, Colorado as a command and control organization for four very heavy B-29 Su ...

(Combat Cargo) in Korea and took part in Operation Courageous. Henebry was hospitalized in

Tachikawa 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a population density of 7600 persons per km2. The total area of the ci ...

, Japan, in February, 1952. He returned to the United States for further hospitalization at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, it se ...

, until his release in June, 1952. Henebry continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve, including duty with the Air Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in connection with Air Force Reserve Policy. He also served as president of the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is ...

in 1956-1957. Among his varied business concerns, he was the founder and president of Skymotive Aviation Management Corporation, an airline service company with offices at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. He remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1976, retiring at the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Later life

Henebry and wife Mary had two sons and three daughters, and several grand and great-grandchildren. His wife predeceased him on 2005. After his retirement from the Air Force, Henebry and his family lived in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

. He died in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

on September 30, 2007, at the age of 89. He was buried at Bement Cemetery in Bement, Illinois.

Awards and decorations

His awards include:

Published works

* Henebry, John, ''The Grim Reaper At Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Air Force'', 2002.

References

External links

The Death of General John Henebry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henebry, John 1918 births 2007 deaths United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War People from Plainfield, Illinois People from Winnetka, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Aviators from Illinois University of Notre Dame alumni Shot-down aviators Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Korea) United States Air Force reservists Burials in Illinois