Francis Walter Nye (June 29, 1918 – January 13, 2019) 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 who was a B-24 Liberator and

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...

combat pilot. He was commander, Field Command, Defense Atomic Support Agency,

Sandia Base Sandia Base was the principal nuclear weapons installation of the United States Department of Defense from 1946 to 1971. It was located on the southeastern edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico. For 25 years, the top-secret Sandia Base and its subsidi ...

, New Mexico.

Education and career

Nye graduated from

Barton Academy (Vermont) Barton Academy was a high school in the town of Barton and also served surrounding towns for over a century. The high school (the Academy) was replaced by the Lake Region High School on September 11, 1967. The Academy alumni continue to meet an ...

(1936) and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

(

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

, 1941). He enlisted as

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

flight cadet A flight cadet is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombardi ...

after graduation. In February 1942, he completed flight training and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Through April 1943, he flew 36 missions with the 98th Bombardment Group from bases in Palestine,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. He flew

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

s, and

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s. Nye returned to the United States in April 1943 and, in September, entered the B-29 aircraft program, first as an acceptance test pilot at the

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

plant in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

. Nye's crew was formed at

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

, and assigned B-29 serial # 42-6232 in April 1944. This aircraft was named "Kickapoo II." Captain Nye had finished a tour of duty previously with 36 missions in a B-24's named "Kickapoo" in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Nye was Aircraft Commander of an original crew that departed from Salina on April 4, 1944, for

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...

, India, and was one of the first to leave Salina, and arrive at Kharagpur, with stops in

Presque Isle, Maine Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,797 at the 2020 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, Hus ...

; Marrakech, Morocco;

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, Egypt; and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, India. This crew flew several "operational" over-the-hump missions to Pengshan A-7, the forward base in China. This crew flew the first mission by B-29's to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand from Kharagpur (June 5, 1944), and the first mission from Pengshan A-7 to Yawata, Japan on June 15, 1944. On June 20, 1944, Nye was ordered to the

468th Bombardment Group The 468th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force. The 468th B ...

as assistant S-3 (deputy group operations officer). In August 1944, Nye flew the longest B-29 mission (over ) in World War II by any type of aircraft to Palembang, Sumatra, from a forward base at China Bay, Ceylon. Nye flew this mission while substituting for a pilot who had become ill. Nye flew 11 combat missions with the 468th Bombardment Group in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was offi ...

. In May 1945, he went with the 468 BG to Tinian Island and then to Roswell, New Mexico. Nye finished World War II on Tinian as group operations officer. In September 1946, he began duty as a

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

professor of air science and tactics at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

. Nye flew 19

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

combat missions with the 22d Bombardment Wing. Following an assignment to SAC Headquarters in May 1953 and attending the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operation ...

(July 1956-June 1957), Nye became a commander of various military organizations. He also served as chairman of the Rated Personnel Requirements and Allocations Committee at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

and was appointed deputy director for plans and policy in the Directorate of Plans in August 1968. In November 1968, he was appointed chairman of the U.S. delegation of the

Inter-American Defense Board The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) is an international committee of nationally appointed defense officials who develop collaborative approaches on common defense and security issues facing countries in North, Central, and South America. The ...

, the Joint Brazil-U.S. Defense Commission, and the U.S. section, Joint Mexican-U.S. Defense Commission. In July 1969, General Nye became deputy director of plans. Nye was later assigned as commander, Field Command, Defense Atomic Support Agency, Sandia Base, New Mexico.

Personal life, family, and death

He born to Percy and Clara Murphy Nye, in Barton, June 29, 1918. His wife, Nina, died in 2017. Nye died in January 2019 at the age of 100.

Awards and decorations

His military decorations included the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster,

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with oak leaf cluster,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with three oak leaf clusters,

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem with three oak leaf clusters, and

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...

Ribbon. * Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit * Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon

Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster * Bronze Star ribbon

with oak leaf cluster * Air Medal ribbon

with three oak leaf clusters *

Distinguished Unit Citation with three oak leaf clusters * Outstanding Unit ribbon

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nye, Francis W 1918 births 2019 deaths People from Barton, Vermont Military personnel from Vermont University of Vermont alumni United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II American centenarians Men centenarians United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American Korean War bomber pilots United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Air Forces officers Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery