Bruce Rae Henderson
May 25, 1922 - June 30, 1994
Story by Iris Stevenson-Henderson, written
June, 1968
Bruce was born May 25, 1922, St. Louis, Missouri. As his
parents were
divorced when he was a baby, he has no information regarding his
father. His mother's name was Bruce, and several of his uncles
were oil workers in Texas. He attended grade schools in Texas,
and finished high school in Sacramento, California.
1955 Photo of Clara, Iris, Bruce and baby Ricky
While in
high school he belonged to ROTC, and joined the California
National Guard in his senior year. As a result, he was drafted
in 1940 and had to secure leave from the Army to graduate from
high school. He then applied for flight training, and was
commissioned as a navigator-bombardier (2nd Lt.) in 1943. His
flight experience was in the South Pacific, and he was based in
New Guinea for a time, then in Darwin, Australia.
On his first mission his plane was shot down, and he was
the
only surviving crew member. He managed to swim to an island
which was a rendezvous with a Navy destroyer, and after hiding in
caves during the day (as there was a possibility the island was
Japanese-held), he would go to the beach at a specified time to
watch for the destroyer. After several nights the ship arrived,
and he was able to rejoin his outfit.
After being released from active duty at the close of
the
war, he enlisted in the Air Force as a Master Sergeant, and
served on recruiting duty in New York and San Francisco. After a
transfer to Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, Texas, he was selected for
intelligence training and assigned to school at Lowry Field,
Denver. Assigned to South Ruisl. p, England 1951-1955 (part of
this time working with British Intelligence in London); Offutt
AFB, Omaha, Nebraska, 1955-1959; Warren AFB, Cheyenne, WY, 1959-
1963; Vandenberg AFB, California 1963-1967; Offutt AFB, Omaha,
Nebraska, 1967- .
Recalled to active duty as 1st Lt. 1952; Captain, 1953;
Major 1963; Lieutenant Colonel, 1966.
Transferred from Intelligence to Missiles in 1959 and
was a
member of the first operational missile squadron - the Atlas D.
He and his Guidance Officer were selected for pictures and
interviews for an article on nuclear war which appeared in an
issue of the Saturday Evening Post.
Received the AB degree from University of Maryland in
1956.
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