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Gen. G. W. Mundy

Soon after the conclusion of hostilities in August of 1945, Colonel Mundy was transferred to Tinian to assume command of the 313th Bomb Wing, consisting of 235 B-29's. After the war's official end, he moved the Wing to Clark Field in the Philippines. It was there, in 1947, that Mundy received his first star - that of Brigadier General. 

While stationed in the Philippines, General Mundy was involved in a serious B-17 accident. His aide, who had been Flying Fortress Instructor, was flying him and another General to Tokyo. The take-off was at night with a heavy bomb bay gas load. They had barely become airborne when the crash occurred. Due to the pilot's unfamiliarity with the aircraft's configuration, he mistakenly lowered the flaps instead of raising the landing gear. A stall ensued. One man was killed and several others were seriously injured. Miraculously, Mundy escaped the crash unscathed. 

In June of 1947, George Mundy entered the National War College in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation in 1948, he was sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Ease in Ohio. There he served initially as Deputy, then Director of Supply, Maintenance and Services. 

After three years at Wright-Patterson, he was assigned to the staff at Air Force Headquarters as Director of Supply and Services. 

In April 1951, Mundy was promoted to Major General. He had risen in rank from Colonel in only six years. His next assignment was as Deputy Commanding General, then Commanding General of the 2nd Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base. 

This assignment placed him, also in the position as alternate Strategic Air Force Commander - a responsibility that carried with it an awesome possibility. If he had sufficient reason to believe that the country was under a surprise attack, and neither SAC nor the President could be contacted, then it fell upon his shoulders to initiate a counter strike. This included a nuclear response. 

While Commander of the 2nd Air Force in SAG, he had an occasion to visit Amman, Jordan. The American Ambassador advised him that it was a must that he make a courtesy call on King Hussein - a diplomatic gesture "that would only take ten minutes or so." The King was in, having returned only moments earlier from flying a British fighter - a type that General Mundy had also flown. They became absorbed in discussing the merits of that particular aircraft and this led to the topic of flying in general. After an hour or so of discussion, King Hussein insisted that Mundy and the Ambassador join him for tea.

In the car on the way back to the Embassy, the ambassador remarked that the United States had made more diplomatic progress in that one day than it had in several years.

Mundy [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Source: "History of the 39th Bomb Group" by Robert Laird (Crew 5) and David Smith (crew 31)