Major General Salvador Enrique Felices (August 13, 1923 – July 14, 1987) was the first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of major general in the

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 ...

. In 1957, he participated in "

Operation Power Flite Operation Power Flite was a United States Air Force mission in which three Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses became the first jet aircraft to circle the world nonstop, when they made the journey in January 1957 in 45 hours and 19 minutes, using in- ...

", the first round-the-world nonstop flight by a jet airplane.

Early years

Felices was born in the Santurce section of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

the capital city of island. There he received his primary and secondary education. After graduating from the Santurce Central High School, he enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

and joined its Air Force ROTC program.

West Point

In 1943, Felices was granted a congressional appointment to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, the U.S. Military Academy in New York. While he was a cadet at the academy, he undertook flying lessons at Curtis Field,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and Stewart Field in New York. On June 4, 1946, he was awarded his pilot wings and the following day he graduated from the academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

Military service

On September 18, 1947, he became part of the newly formed branch of the armed forces, the

. Felices received training in multi-engines and also completed the weapons training course. He was assigned in 1952, to the 303rd Bombardment Wing as the 359th Bombardment Squadron operations officer. Felices participated in a bombing competition, using a

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 ...

equipped with an APQ-7

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

set and a Norden bombsight rate head. This eventually led to the development of the current techniques of synchronous radar bombing.

Korean War

In 1953, Felices flew 19 combat missions over

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, during the

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 ...

, as combat operations officer with the 344th Bombardment Squadron. In 1954, he was reassigned and stationed at

Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in u ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In 1955, Felices completed the instructor course for the

B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

In January 1957, he participated in a historic project which was given to Fifteenth Air Force by the Strategic Air Command headquarters known as " Operation Power-Flite". "Operation Power-Flite" was the first around the world flight by an all-jet aircraft. He later completed a course on the KC-135 aircraft 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 ...

Company Ground School and participated in its flight test program. He wrote the first flight curriculum and initial qualification requirements for future SAC pilots. In July 1957, Felices delivered the first KC-135 to SAC Headquarters and was the first to pilot the initial flight of a KC-135 made by the then-Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1958, he was awarded the

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 ...

for landing a B-52 without the right rear landing gear.

Vietnam War

Felices held various positions within the military and rose in rank. In June 1968, he was named commander of the 306th Bombardment Wing. He flew 39 combat bombing missions over

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

in a B-52 aircraft. In 1969, he became the commander of the 823d Air Division at

McCoy Air Force Base McCoy AFB (1940–1947, 1951–1975) is a former U.S. Air Force installation located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Orlando, Florida. It was a training base during World War II. From 1951 to 1975, it was a front line Strategic Air Command ...

, Florida, which covered SAC bases and operating locations in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In May 1970, Felices was named Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. In this capacity, he was responsible for SAC's intercontinental ballistic missile operational testing programs.

Later years

Felices was promoted to the rank of major general on April 2, 1973, and in August of that year became the vice commander of

Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...

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 Torrejon Air Base,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Major General Salvador E. Felices retired from the United States Air Force on September 1, 1974. He died of natural causes on July 14, 1987, while vacationing in Vienna, Austria. He was buried with full military honors in the

United States Air Force Academy Cemetery The United States Air Force Academy Cemetery is a cemetery at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. It is administered by the 10th Air Base Wing. History The U.S. Air Fo ...

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Felices was married to Shirley C. Gross with whom he had three children, Sherryl, Mark and Steven.USAF Academy Cemetery (by name index), El Paso County, Colo.
/ref>

Awards and decorations

Among Felices' decorations and medals were the following: Badges: * COMMAND PILOT WINGS

Command pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...

Missile Badge The Missile Badge is a military decoration of the United States Air Force which was first created on 23 May 1958. The "pocket rocket" badge recognizes those commissioned officers and enlisted personnel of the US Air Force who have qualified ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felices, Salvador E. 1923 births 1987 deaths Puerto Rican United States Air Force personnel United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War American Korean War bomber pilots American Vietnam War bomber pilots Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Military Academy alumni People from San Juan, Puerto Rico People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican military officers