More detail on this person: Retired Brig. Gen. Philip S. Prince Sr. Obituaries Air Force Times - Monday, December 22, 2003 Retired Brig. Gen. Philip S. Prince Sr. of Bedford, Texas, died June 9. Prince began his career in the aviation cadet program in February 1954. He earned his pilot wings and commission in June 1955. He subsequently underwent advanced flight training as a helicopter pilot and later as an F-84 fighter-bomber pilot. During the next six years, he served at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. From September 1961 to July 1968, Prince was assigned to Air Rescue Service as a rescue service crew commander at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand; and Aviano Air Base, Italy. During that time, he commanded rescue detachments and also served a temporary tour of duty at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. In July 1977, Prince took command of the 39th Aerospace and Recovery Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where he was responsible for helicopter support of Strategic Air Command missile sites and humanitarian rescue training and operations in the United States, Iceland, Germany, England and Spain. Prince became Military Airlift Command's inspector general in 1981. In 1983, he was named commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. He became vice commander of the 23rd Air Force in October 1983 and retired from the Air Force in November 1983. Prince was a command pilot with more than 5,000 hours, and he flew more than 330 combat and combat-support missions in Southeast Asia. His awards include the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster and Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters. In January 1984, Prince joined Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas. He retired from Bell in 1991 as vice president of international marketing. Prince is survived by his wife, Patti; five sons, Flip of Oxford, England, Patrick of Los Angeles, Paul of Menlo Park, Calif., Andy of Las Vegas, and Preston of Aurora, Colo.; two brothers, Randy and Steve of Atlanta; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Air Force Times - Monday, December 22, 2003
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 04/02/2020
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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