Some Men Have to Fly - Robert F. Worley USAF (July 23, 1968)

Some pilots, no matter how high they rise, retain the heart of a squadron commander and have to fly. In fact, scholarship suggests that those who rise the highest in the Air Force (pun intended) never get far away from that perspective and ethos. Long after the time when it is prudent or operationally sound, they continue to fly combat missions. Major General Robert F. Worley died on the most routine mission imaginable – a high-speed low-level reconnaissance flight over North Vietnam – one that any newly-minted lieutenant could have flown. It cost his life and made him the first of two US Air Force generals lost in action (note: Colonel Edward Burdett, died of wounds November 18, 1967, was promoted posthumously to brig. general in 1974).

Bob Worley was already a P-40 pilot in the Army Air Corps when Pearl Harbor was attacked. His first command was the 314^th Fighter Squadron (324^th Fighter Group) based in North Africa and part of the Mediterranean-based Ninth Air Force. After some advanced training, on March 13, 1943 Captain Worley led several 314^th pilots in the squadron’s first combat mission. The new arrivals and their commander got a rough welcome from the experienced and deadly Luftwaffe. Worley and three others were shot down. He bellied-in but evaded capture and made it back on foot. Morale sank, but Worley took control of himself and the squadron and led it with great honor. It won two Presidential Unit Citations and Worley wore numerous awards for courage and valor on his uniform.

Major Worley’s final WW II assignment was organizing and leading the 1^st Fighter Squadron, a special P-47N “Thunderbolt” outfit in the Pacific. While only engaged a few months, the unit specialized in long-range ground support missions against the Japanese home islands. By war’s end, Worley had flown 120 missions, spending more than 215 hours in combat but he was just one of thousands of very experienced, squadron commanders.

Although Worley had never flown the hottest planes, he now got the airman’s dream job. He was put in charge of the jet transitional school at Williams Field, Arizona. After that, his career path was firmly set on an operations track. He moved up the ladder in regional, staff, headquarters, and school assignments, all preparing him for eventual joint command responsibility. By July 23, 1968, he was deputy commander of the Seventh Air Force, then heavily engaged in Vietnam. He was scheduled to leave shortly to become the head of Operations for the Pacific Air Force, a three-star job.

There was just one more thing to do. He only needed one more “out of country” mission for another cluster on his Air Medal. An out of country mission got double credit and he really wanted that medal (he already had eight!). In spite of the obvious risks of exposing himself – not to mention a general officer - to death or capture, he took the pilot’s seat in “Strobe Zero One”, a RF-4C Phantom (the USAF photo recon version) of 450^th Reconnaissance Wing whose job was flying low and fast over the North. He never made it back. His body was found in the wreckage of his plane which crashed on the beach in Quang Tri province. His backseater ejected safely and was recovered.

Bob Worley was the genuine article – a real, honest-to-goodness, fighter pilot – but many others will also understand why he flew that last mission. He was the third flag officer killed in action in Vietnam and remains the highest ranking Air Force officer to fall.