Travis Tailwind: Friday, July 7, 2023

Body of Vietnam War pilot returns home PAGE 2 Space Force searches for an identity PAGE 6

TRAVIS TAILWIND

Travis honors 100 years of aerial refueling

Airmen, guardians embrace Air Force Junior ROTC SkillBridge Program for internship opportunities

MAXWELL AIR FORCE

BASE, Ala. (AFNS) — The Department of Defense SkillBridge Program has established a significant partnership with Headquarters Air Force Junior ROTC, providing Air Force members with valuable internship opportunities at more than 800 AFJROTC high schools around the globe.

This collaboration offers a unique pathway for retiring service members to gain civilian work experience and successfully transition into post-military careers, including the opportunity to work as aerospace instructors in AFJROTC programs.

The DoD SkillBridge Program, launched in 2014, facilitates the transition of separating and retiring service members by enabling them to pursue internships with industry partners during their final days of military service. Recognizing the benefits of this program, AFJROTC has extended its support to airmen and guardians seeking to participate in this innovative initiative.

Through the AFJROTC SkillBridge program, retiring Department of the Air Force personnel can intern alongside experienced AFJROTC instructors who

educate and train high school cadets in citizenship and life skills, promote community service, instill a sense of responsibility, and develop character, leadership, and self-discipline through education and instruction in air and space fundamentals and the services’ core values.

This collaboration creates an enriching environment that combines the experience of retiring service members with the enthusiasm and fresh perspectives of high school students. AFJROTC internships are generally 61-90 days, although this duration is flexible to meet the needs of the transitioning member and the host school.

Col. Johnny McGonigal, AFJROTC director, emphasized the significance of the SkillBridge program for retiring DAF personnel.

“By providing internships at AFJROTC units, we support airmen and guardians in their transition to meaningful civilian careers,” McGonigal said. “Their vast experience, leadership and expertise greatly benefit our cadets, while the internships provide retiring members with valuable firsthand experience of the duties and responsibilities

TRAVIS TAILWIND

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Body of Vietnam War pilot returns home

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

After 54 years, the remains of U.S. Air Force pilot Col. Ernest Leo De Soto, who went missing during the Vietnam War, have finally come home.

De Soto’s remains arrived at the San Francisco International Airport June 29 from Pearl Harbor, where his family was

escorted by military personnel to the tarmac in a solemn procession. A memorial service was held June 30 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, California, followed by full military honors at the Golden Gate National Cemetery.

When asked about how it feels for Ernest to finally be home, his wife Joyce said it was a miracle.

He is one of more than 1,060 service members who have

been identified through Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency efforts to recover the remains of service members lost in the Vietnam War.

De Soto was born Dec. 30, 1931, and was raised in San Francisco, California. In the 1950s, while his friends were being drafted for the Korean War, De Soto enlisted in the U.S.

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AIR FORCE JUNIOR ROTC PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Nicholas Pilch/U.S. Air Force

U.S. airmen from the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard carry the casket of U.S. Air Force Col. Ernest De Soto during his arrival at San Francisco International Airport June 29.

Travis honors 100 years of aerial refueling

Chustine Minoda 60TH AIR MOBILITY WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE — In honor of a century of aerial refueling, a formation of four tanker aircraft departed from Travis AFB to participate in Operation Centennial Contact, conducting a series of air refueling maneuvers in the skies above California and Nevada, June 27, 2023.

To celebrate this significant milestone and critical capability, the U.S. Air Force executed aerial refueling demonstrations throughout the United States and overseas, with 152 total aircraft nationwide made up of 82 tankers and 70 receivers.

“Air refueling propels our Nation’s air power across the skies, unleashing its full potential,” said Gen. Mike Minihan, Air Mobility Command commander. “It connects our strategic vision with operational reality, ensuring we can reach any corner of the globe with unwavering speed and precision. Air refueling embodies our resolve to defend freedom and project power, leaving an indelible mark on aviation history.”

The commemorative flight from Travis AFB was made up of two KC-10 Extenders, assigned to the 6th and 9th Air Refueling Squadrons, Travis AFB, a KC-46 Pegasus, assigned to the 349th ARS, McConnell AFB, Kansas, and a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 912th ARS, March Air Reserve Base, California.

“This milestone showcases not only the Air Force tanker capabilities but how ready we are to execute at any time,” said Capt Gabriel Perez, KC-10 pilot and 60th Operational Support Squadron executive officer.

On June 27, 1923, U.S. Army Air Service aviators achieved the first-ever aerial refueling. 1st Lts. Virgil Hine and Frank W. Seifert, piloting a DH-4B aircraft, successfully transferred gasoline through a hose to another DH-4B aircraft flying beneath them carrying Capt. Lowell H. Smith and 1st Lt. John P. Richter.

Team Travis honored the legacy of aerial refueling pio neers by flying three different tankers over North Island in San Diego, California, where the first air refueling happened. The formation highlighted both the legacy and modernization of U.S. Air Force tankers.

“Air refueling is a cornerstone of air superiority and joint force operations and will continue to be for the foreseeable future,” said Senior Airman Joshua Grabe, 9th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator. “It cannot be overstated how much confidence I get seeing such complicated coordination come together seamlessly on a regular basis within the joint force.”

Minihan also emphasized the significance of this milestone in a video message to airmen highlighting the continued fo cus on strengthening aerial refueling capabilities to enhance rapid global mobility.

“We must leverage the remarkable capabilities of air re fueling to preserve peace, protect freedom and bring hope to the world,” said Minihan. “As Mobility Airmen, we write the next chapter of air refueling.”

In preparation for more advanced tanker operations, Team Travis is gearing up for the arrival of the KC-46 Pegasus aircraft at Travis AFB on July 28.

Master Sgt. Traci Keller/U.S. Air Force

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Grabe, 9th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, connects with a KC-10 Extender to train on aerial refueling June 27, over the California coast to commemorate Operation Centennial Contact. The operation was a celebration of a century of aerial refueling capabilities. The operation involved 152 total aircraft, including 82 tankers and 70 receivers, traversing sites across the United States.

Heide Couch/U.S. Air Force

A U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender, front, and a KC-46A Pegasus fly above a California mountain range as part of Operation Centennial Contact, June 27.

Master Sgt. Traci Keller/U.S. Air Force A KC-10 Extender flies over the California coast June 27, 2023, as to commemorate Operation Centennial Contact.

621 CRW polyglot: certified in five different languages

Staff Sgt. Scott Warner

621ST CONTINGENCY RESPONSE WING

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE —

By definition, a polyglot is a person who has the knowledge and ability to speak multiple (three or more) different languages.

To be language-certified within the 621st Air Mobility Advisory Group, an airman must be able to have a conversation in that language, and one 621st Contingency Response Wing airman at Travis Air Force Base, California, has the ability to proficiently speak five languages: English, Spanish, German, French and Portuguese.

“I am of Ecuadorian heritage, so I first learned to speak Spanish,” said Maj. Jonathan Bonilla, the 621st CRW deputy director of staff. “However, I was kind of forced into learning new languages when my family moved from Ecuador to Canada.”

For some, learning a secondary language is difficult, and Bonilla stated that the older you become, the harder another

language is to learn.

“When I moved to Canada, I was already 16 years old in and faced an English-exclusive environment, so I had to put in a lot of effort into learning English right away in order to be successful.”

That effort helped Bonilla get to where he is today. Additionally, speaking about his past sparked a memory that he had long since moved on from, but ultimately remembered that it was his singular motivating factor into furthering his linguistic aspirations.

“Throughout my childhood in Ecuador, I was close friends with people of German descent, and I remember absolutely hating not being able to understand anything that they were saying when talking to their family members,” said Bonilla. “When I started learning German through my friends, my parents immediately took the opportunity and enrolled me into a German School in Ecuador. Ever since, I have been fascinated with other languages and cultures.”

Bonilla emphasized that

someone can only truly experience other cultures through speaking their language. He explained that locals will give more of their time and have more respect for anyone who cares enough to put in the extra effort to properly communicate with them.

“I think unbeknownst to most people, a lot of languages of dissimilar roots have some similarities,” said Bonilla. “For instance, when learning English, I noticed my understanding of German sentence structure grew almost hand-in-hand. Roman-rooted languages are easier to learn if you already know one.”

In a 2016 Pew Research Center report, The State of American Jobs, informed that only 36 percent of Americans stated that knowing a foreign language was an extremely or very important trait for workers to be successful in today’s economy.

“In my case, being able to speak English changed my life,” said Bonilla. “English opened the Air Force door for me and

expand my language skills.” Furthermore, he stated that learning other languages

See POLYGLOT Page 5

Polyglot

From Page 4

opened a myriad of opportunities on and off duty; opportunities that he would not have had otherwise.

“Learning German was probably the most fun for me because it is the one language people wouldn’t expect for me to be proficient in,” said Bonilla. “Ever since my childhood, I have been captivated by the German culture and try to travel there often.”

Bonilla detailed how experiencing Germany’s Oktoberfest with friends who didn’t know how well he spoke German was one of his

favorite memories with another language. He distinctly remembered how being able to switch from English to German mid-sentence with a native-German speaker caused a level of confusion, surprise and delight in his friends’ eyes that he will never be forgotten.

“My friends thought they were honestly hallucinating for minute when they heard me speaking German,” said Bonilla. “Their excitement was contagious afterwards, like somehow I have unlocked the secret to enjoying the German culture to its fullest, and I vividly remember that first night in Germany with them and how much better our night became after that moment.”

Besides English, to maintain his USAF quadrilingual proficiency and certification, Bonilla practices each foreign language he has learned in conversation at least once a week.

“I don’ think there will come a time that I will not be interested in learning other languages,” said Bonilla. “My ultimate goal with this is to become a hyperpolyglot, which is someone who can speak six or more different languages.”

For reference, according to The International Association of Hyperpolyglots, less than one percent of the world’s population are polyglots and approximately 1,000 people in the world are hyperpolyglots.

Staff Sgt. Scott Warner/U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Maj. Jonathan Bonilla, a 621st Contingency Response Wing deputy director of staff, poses for a photo in front of the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron, May 2, at Travis Air Force Base.

Uniforms? Check.

Now the Space Force needs an identity

The Washington Post CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —

The uniforms resemble costumes from the television series “Battlestar Galactica,” and the logo is right out of Star Trek. Even the name given its members, “guardians,” seems born of science fiction. But three years after it was established as the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the U.S. Space Force is very much a reality.

It has a motto, “Sempra Supra” or “Always Above,” fitting for an agency whose future is outside Earth’s atmosphere. It has an official song, a short, melodic anthem about guardians “boldly reaching into space” that’s not as catchy as “The Army Goes Rolling Along.” It has a budget ($26 billion last year, similar to NASA), bases across the country and a mission to transform the military’s relationship to the cosmos at a time when space has moved from being a peaceful commons to a crucial front in military conflict.

“We are very much clearly in the next chapter of the Space

Force,” Gen. David Thompson, the vice chief of space operations, said during a recent event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The mission of the Space Force now is to become an “enterprise that really makes sure that we’re ready to deliver warfighting capabilities.”

What that means in practice is still unclear: The Space Force remains one of the least understood arms of the federal government. Its culture and identity are still being molded, as its leaders push to set the department apart from the Air Force, Navy and Army by arguing that as a new, smaller service it is free to do things differently. While the Air Force has more than 300,000 service members, there are only 13,000 guardians.

Internally, Space Force officials are still debating its priorities, analysts say: Is it to support warfighters on the ground? Or should it focus primarily on protecting assets in space? Or both? And despite all the talk of starting fresh and moving nimbly, the Space Force still exists within

the rigid walls of the Pentagon, the world’s largest bureaucracy, which is often faulted for resisting change.

When Space Force Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, introduced tenets to guide the force, he labeled them “A theory of success,” rather than a doctrine because he wants them to continue to evolve.

“I’m proposing this theory so

that people will debate with me,” he said during an event earlier this year at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “So we’ll get better at figuring out what are the nuances that matter, what are the details that we to continue to refine.”

A glimpse of what the Space Force has become, and aspires to, can be seen on the Florida Space

Coast, where the Space Age was born in the United States and where a new space era, driven largely by a growth in the private space industry, is taking hold.

Propelled largely by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the number of launches here has not only increased, but the topography of the place has changed. Landing pads for SpaceX’s reusable See SPACE FORCE Page 7

Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the commander of the 45th Space Wing.

rockets and historic launch sites - like pad 39A that launched the Apollo astronauts to the moonare now in private hands.

New companies, such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, are taking over launchpads that had sat vacant for decades, trying to get their rockets into orbit as well. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Even the official name has changed: It is now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The growth is remarkable. In 2021, 31 rockets blasted off from the facilities run by NASA and the Space Force. Last year, the

number jumped to 57, and this year it’s expected to exceed 90.

With some thinking that number will eventually exceed 200, 300 or even more, a top Space Force general decided he needed help managing the traffic. So last spring, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the commander of the 45th Space Wing, which oversees the base, arranged a meeting for a couple dozen of his staff at a place where many loathe to go but that is used to sending large numbers of vehicles into the sky at a regular cadence: Orlando International Airport.

During the visit to the Orlando airport, “our folks got a lot of good ideas,” he said in an interview in

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Space Force

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his office at Patrick Space Force Base. “Because these are people they don’t normally talk to. So they do things in a different way. They think a different way.”

What Purdy - and the Space Force as a whole - is trying to do is far more than just create airline-like operations. They are focused on redefining how the military uses space, and attempting to transform it into a domain where the U.S. can exert the kind of tactical dominance it now displays on land, air and sea.

That is easier said than done. Much of the military’s infrastructure in space was developed at a time when space was considered a peaceful place. Satellites, for example, were built to be big and robust and last for years, even decades, without interference. But then China and Russia showed such fat targets were sitting ducks. China blasted a dead satellite with a missile strike in 2007, and Russia did it in 2021 - shows of force that shook the U.S. military leadership and polluted Earth orbit with dangerous debris for decades to

come.

So the Space Force is pivoting, relying on constellations of small satellites that can be easily replaced and, to an increas ing degree, maneuver.

That’s just one example of how the Space Force intends to ensure the U.S. maintains “space superiority,” as its lead ers often say, to protect the satellites the Defense Department relies on for warn ings of incoming missiles, steering pre cision-guided munitions and surveilling both friendly and hostile forces. It also could deter conflict in space - why strike a satellite if there are backups that would easily carry on the mission?

In the interview, Purdy gave a tour of some of the roles the Space Force could play, offering a glimpse into its future.

Soldiers and Marines already preposition supplies and equipment on the ground, he said. Could the Space Force start storing supplies in space and then fly them to hot spots on Earth as well?

“In theory, we could have huge racks of stuff in orbit and then somebody can call those in, saying. ‘I need X, Y, Z delivered to me now on this random island.’ And then, boom, they shoot out and they parachute

in and they land with GPS assistance,” he said. “It’s a fascinating thought exercise for emergency response - you know if a type of tidal wave or tsunami comes in and wipes out a whole area.”

The military is also working to harness solar energy in space, and then beam it to

ground stations. Could the Space Force use that technology to beam power to remote areas to support soldiers on the ground?

Another idea: If the cadence of launches really does double or triple and the costs continue to come down, could the Space Force start using rockets to deliver cargo across the globe at a moment’s notice?

Soon there could be commercial space stations floating around in orbit. “Can we lease a room?” Purdy said. “Can we lease

The idea is to use space as if it were any other theater of war, with supply lines, logistical oversight and tactical awareness of what’s happening day in and day out. But all of that is more difficult in a weightless vacuum that extends well beyond the largest oceans.

“In no other military domain would you take a tank, or an aircraft or a jeep or a ship and gas it up and then say . . . ‘Okay you will never refuel it again,’” Purdy had said earlier this year in an interview with the Aerospace Corporation. The military also has the ability to repair tanks and jets. But the vehicles the Space Force depends on - satellites - are different. Refueling

See SPACE FORCE Page 9

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post President Donald Trump looks on as a flag to establish the U.S. Space Command is unveiled in August 2019.

Space Force

From Page 8

and servicing them are difficult and so every movement has to be considered carefully. “Am I going to need this fuel 10 years from now?” he said in the Aerospace Corporation interview.

Some of these concepts may become real. Some may not. But Purdy at least feels free to pursue new ideas because “we’re not bound by years of tradition within the Space Force or the previous Air Force command,” he said. “It didn’t exist. And so we can define our own concepts of how operations will work.”

Two years ago “we weren’t thinking of any of this stuff, none of it,” he added. “The on-orbit space storage of logistics, we weren’t thinking of six months ago. And so we’ve been able to think rapidly, get with industry and rapidly move the ball forward on all those pieces.”

The fact that the idea of the Space Force is still somewhat in flux is to be expected, said Douglas Loverro, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy.

After it was founded in 1947,

“it took the Air Force 25 years to figure out their mission,” he said. “We shouldn’t expect that the Space Force is going to be able to figure it out the day after we stand them up. It’s going to take a little while, and that’s okay.”

When it was established by President Donald Trump at the end of 2019, the Space Force was widely mocked - derided as a political ploy for a politician desperately trying to project strength and the butt of alien jokes for latenight comedians.

But as it has taken form, the culture of the Space Force “is building, and I think that’s good,” retired Air Force general John Hyten, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview. “We just have to change the process along with the culture because you can have a new culture and the old process, and you still run into a brick wall.”

In Congress, Rep. Mike D. Rogers (R-Ala.) and former congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) advocated for the establishment of a Space Corps as part of the Air Force, the way the Marine Corps exists under the Navy. The effort was driven by a desire to make space a priority for the Pentagon

at a time when other nations, particularly China, were catching up.

“We have lost a dramatic lead in space that we should have never let get away from us. So that’s what gave us the sense of urgency to get after this,” Rogers said in 2019.

Since then, the threat has only grown.

In its annual “Space Threat Assessment” report, the Center for Strategic and International Studies recently reported that “China continues to make progress toward its goal of becoming the world leader in space. Over the past year, China has continued to grow its space and counterspace assets, maintaining its status as the second-most-capable space nation after the United States.”

In April, The Post reported that space would likely be a key part of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. China would seek to jam

See SPACE FORCE Page 10

Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post Space Force 1st Lt. Michael Conklin works on the static fire test of the Vulcan rocket at Cape Canaveral on June 7.

Space Force

From

communications and intelligence satellites as well as “destroy ballistic missile early warning satellites,” as part of a military strike on Taiwan, according to documents allegedly leaked to a Discord chatroom by Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. China is now able “to hold key U.S. and Allied space assets at risk,” according to the documents, which were obtained by The Post.

In March, Saltzman gave a speech titled “Guardians in the Fight” in which he unveiled a plan he called “competitive endurance” that is designed to compete over the long-term with China and other actors. The goal is initially to deter any conflict from reaching space, but “if necessary to achieve space superiority.”

As part of the plan, the Space Force would work to ensure that the United States avoids “operational surprise,” by keeping track of other countries’ satellites and movements in space while also being able to “identify behaviors that become irresponsible or even hostile.”

But he acknowledged the difficulties of operating in an area hundreds of miles off the surface of the Earth. On the ground,

battle lines can be drawn, delineating zones of conflict. “Our domain is a little different,” he said. “In space, you cannot leave the war zone.” There is also no way, he added, “to physically separate civil, commercial, military satellites from one another because the laws that govern orbits are immutable.” And low Earth orbit also is polluted with debris, traveling at 5 miles per second, so fast that even a small piece, a bolt or even a fleck of paint, can cause enormous damage.

While the Navy patrols vast oceans, the Space Force’s “area of responsibility” is “defined as 100 kilometers above sea level extending outward, indefinitely,” Lt. Gen. John Shaw, the deputy commander of the U.S. Space Command, said during a recent talk with the Secure World Foundation. “So, a huge AOR. Do the math.”

Another problem, Hyten said, is that so much of what the Space Force does remains classified. “And because it’s overclassified, it’s very difficult to talk about specifics,” Hyten said. “And when you can’t talk about specifics that makes it one of the most misunderstood elements of our government. . . . We fundamentally need to normalize the classification, so we can have a conversation with the public, with the American people.”

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Jonathan Newton/The Washsington Post

“It took the Air Force 25 years to figure out their mission” after it was founded in 1947, said Douglas Loverro, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy.

Jonathan Newton/The Washsington Post Eric Graham, chief data officer for the Forge program, which enables airmen to develop and implement locally generated solutions to issues identified at Patrick Space Force Station and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

JROTC

From Page 2

required of an AFJROTC instructor.”

The AFJROTC SkillBridge program stands out as a truly unique opportunity from other internship experiences.

This program is specifically designed for DAF personnel who want to champion their services’ core values. It goes beyond providing a paycheck; it offers retiring personnel a chance to give back and contribute to the development of future generations of leaders. It provides a meaningful way for DAF retirees to continue their service by investing in the growth and success of those who will carry the torch of leadership in the future.

Experienced AFJROTC instructors play a vital role in educating and guiding SkillBridge participants on the significance of the AFJROTC program. Seasoned instructors instill the importance of the program’s mission to develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community. They emphasize the impact AFJROTC has on shaping the lives of cadets and fostering leadership skills while demonstrating unwavering commitment to AFJROTC cadets.

As experienced educators and prior Air Force or Space Force members themselves, these instructors understand the unique challenges and opportunities that transitioning service members face.

The AFJROTC SkillBridge internship is similar to a student teaching experience, where the transitioning service member learns about the AFJROTC program, builds instructional skills, and has the opportunity to mentor and teach cadets under the supervision of a certified AFJROTC instructor.

For information about applying for an AFJROTC instructor position, please visit the Prospective Instructors link on the AFJROTC hiring process page. Those interested in the

See JROTC Page 13

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Lead Pastor: C. Eric Lura

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Sunday Worship Services

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Suisun Campus

601 Whispering Bay Lane, Suisun City, CA 94585

707-425-1849

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First Baptist Church of Vacaville

The All Together Different Church

CHURCH OF CHRIST

“Making More and Better Disciples.”

1000 Blue Jay Dr, Suisun Pastor Richard A. Guy

Sunday School: 9:45

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Worship With Us… St. Paul Baptist Church

1405 Kentucky Street Fair eld, CA 94533

Rev. Dr. Terry Long, Pastor

Sunday Sunday School: 11:00 a.m.

Morning Worship Service: 12:00 p.m.

Children’s Church: 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday Prayer Meeting: 6:30-7:00 p.m.

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Church Phone: 707-422-2003

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CORE Bible Studies12:30 & 5:00 pm (2nd & 4th Sunday)

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JROTC

AFJROTC SkillBridge program should send email here to begin the process. It is important to note that SkillBridge is separate from the AFJROTC hiring process, although participation in the internship program has proven successful in leading to AFJROTC employment.

The AFJROTC SkillBridge program has proven invaluable in supporting DAF personnel with their career goals. By facilitating internships and encouraging collaboration between retiring members and AFJROTC units, the program equips airmen and guardians with the tools they need to succeed in the civilian workforce while providing transformative experiences for both interns and cadets.

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Seaman Marissa Bacon/U.S. Navy Hampton High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets visit USS Gerald R. Ford’s tribute room during a tour aboard the ship, in Newport News, Virginia. The Hampton High School Air Force JROTC cadets visited the ship to learn about the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier.

Returns

From Page 2

Air Force.

During his career he became an officer and later, a fighter pilot.

On April 12, 1969, De Soto was piloting an F-4D Phantom II assigned to the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing, alongside his navigator, Capt. Frederick M. Hall and another aircraft on a combat mission. As they returned from a cancelled strike mission near Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, both aircraft ascended into heavy cloud cover. The lead aircraft noticed De Soto and Hall’s plane wasn’t in sight and immediately began an aerial search.

A search and rescue airborne mission located De Soto’s crash site, with no sign of the crew. Unfortunately, the amount of hostile activity in the area prevented a ground investigation.

In March 2021, remains were recovered at the crash site by Defense POW/MIA-trained

Vietnamese Recovery Teams. On March 23, 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified the remains as belonging to De Soto and Hall.

De Soto was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel. His wife Joyce De Soto and family were then notified.

“We’re grateful Joyce and the De Soto family are reunited with Ernest after all these years,” said U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “Ernest served valiantly defending our country and the American way of life. We honor his and the De Soto family’s sacrifice to protect peace at home and abroad. The Air Force thanks all those involved at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency who made this possible.”

De Soto’s family said they appreciated all the hard work that went into this reunion 54 years in the making.

“He was a great guy and he believed in what he was doing,” said Joyce. “He loved to fly, and he loved being an American, that was his life.”

SrA Alexander Merchak/U.S. Air Force photos Joyce De Soto, right, holds her presented flag during the funeral honoring her husband, U.S. Air Force Col. Ernest L. De Soto, at Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, June 30. De Soto was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on March 23, 2023, and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

U.S. airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing Honor Guard conduct a funeral for U.S. Air Force Col. Ernest L. De Soto at Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, June 30, 2023.