Post on 24-Feb-2016
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KING HIGH REMEMBERS PROJECT
Col. John D. McSpaddenAir Force
Vietnam and Cold WarAlexandra Mardirosian
Brandon HarrisPer. 6
Mrs. Barnard
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Early Life Born in Memphis Tennessee on August
16, 1935 Moved to Battle Creek Michigan a year
later in 1935 After living in Michigan for two years he
moved to Cleveland Ohio in 1937 He then moved to Geneva Ohio in 1941
after living in Cleveland, Ohio for four years
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Education Geneva Grade School Geneva High School Miami University of Ohio on a JROTC
scholarship from Sep. 1952 to May 1953 Received an appointment to West Point
in 1953 while at Miami University Attended the United States Military
Academy at West Point from July 5, 1953 till graduation on June 4, 1957
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Training Sent to Graham Air Force Base, Fl for primary pilot training in July
1957 Graduated in March of 1958 Went to Webb Air Force Base, Texas in May 1958 for Basic Fighter
Pilot Training He then washed out in August 1958 because of a reduction in the
number of fighter aircraft at the time Attended Harlingen Air Force Base, Texas in September 1958 for
primary navigation training Graduated first in the class in May 1959 Sent to advanced bombardment training at Mather Air Force Base in
May Graduated in December of 1959 Was sent to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arizona in January 1960 for B-
47 combat crew training and completed his training in June 1960
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First Mission First operational assignment was in
Chennault Air Force Base, Louisiana as a navigator in July 1960
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Service In April of 1966 Larson AFB closed
causing him to relocate to March Air Force Base
Flew B-52’s out of March AFB for the next for years
Was sent on temporary duty to Anderson AFB, Guam and U-Tapao Royal AFB, Thailand five times to fly air raids over Vietnam
Flew over 150 missions during this period December 1972, 100 stage 11 bomb
raids in Haiphong to free POW’s
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Service Upon return from Thailand in April of
1973 he was made Chief of Operations for the 17th Bomb Wing
In 1975 the 17th Bomb Wing was closed down
Sent to Carswell AFB, Texas There he was made Chief of Moral and
Welfare
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Picture of Receiving 100 Mission Patch
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His Wife, Karen
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Children
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Pictures of Family
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Awards Received
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Retirement From the Air Force In September 1977 he retired from the
Air Force after being a Colonel for 20 years
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Work After Retirement Him and his family moved back to
Riverside in 1977 Worked as a flight operations analyst for
the Flying Tigers Airline In 1989 Fedex bought out Flying Tigers
and he worked for Fedex for a few months
After that he worked at EDS and made flight plans for many airlines
After EDS was bought out by Systems One he held the same job
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Retirement In September 1994 he was forced to
retire when he discovered he had a back problem and had a major operation that would restrict him to drive to Los Angles five times a week
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He now resides with his wife Karen in Canyon Lake, California and stays active is West Point clubs and Veteran societies.
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Current Picture