Robert Cardenas Robert L . " Bob " Cardenas ( born March 10 , 1920 ) is a retired brigadier general of the United States Air Force . Early life . He was born in Mérida , Yucatán , Mexico . When he was five , his family moved to San Diego , California . He excelled in mathematics and physics in high school . When Cardenas was a teenager , building models and learning about gliders first sparked his interest in airplanes . Due to his excellent grades , San Diego State University invited him to enroll . Military service . Pre - World War II . In 1939 , while attending San Diego State , he decided to enlist as a private in the California National Guard . In 1940 , Cardenas became an aviation cadet . He graduated , received his pilot wings and was commission a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in July 1941 . In 1942 , Lt . Cardenas was sent to Twentynine Palms , California to help establish the Army Air Corps Glider School . He was assigned to Wright Field , Ohio and became a flight test officer . Cardenas rose quickly in position , was promoted to operations officer and finally director of the Flight Test Unit , Experimental Engineering Laboratory at Wright Field . World War II . In 1944 , he was assigned to the 506th Bombardment Squadron , 44th Bomb Group , also known the Flying Eightballs , based at Shipdham in Norfolk , England . He flew his first mission on the B - 24 Liberator “ Southern Comfort ” on January 24 . On March 18 , Captain Cardenas was flying as Command Pilot for the 44th Bomb Group on his 20th mission . His airplane , the B - 24 “ Sack Artists ” ( serial number 42 - 100073 ) , was shot down by enemy anti - aircraft fire . His attack run was supposed to target the Manzell Air Armaments factory in Friedrichshafen , Germany . However , the right wing was severely damaged by a shell and two engines were set on fire . According to his report relayed to the War Department , his number 2 engine was " hit by flak [ and ] on fire , " causing the loss of 3 , 000 ft . altitude . Despite this damage he " Rejoined formation for [ a ] second [ bomb ] run . " After this pass his " [ numbers ] 2 and 4 [ engines were ] on fire , " and " [ number ] 3 [ was ] vibrating badly " in addition to " gas leaks , " damage to bomb bays , wings , and electrical systems , and " hydraulics inoperative . " Several members of the crew were also wounded , including Cardenas , who received a head injury when a piece of flak pierced his helmet . Since the plane was severely damaged and losing stability , 1st Lieutenant Raymond J . Lacombe decided to pilot the plane to Switzerland . Cardenas ' crew all parachuted safely . The bomber then exploded at a low altitude and sheared off the top of several trees . Capt . Cardenas landed on the German side of Lake Constance . He swam across the lake to the Swiss side in order to evade capture . He was first interned at a camp for American officers at Adelboden , and was later assigned to teach Swiss officers how to fly interned American bombers at Dübendorf Airfield near Zurich . On 27 September 1944 , Cardenas escaped into France with the help of Swiss civilians and the French resistance . He was flown to England and then sent back to the United States to recover from his head injury . In November 1944 , he attended Central Instructors School for B - 24 at Smyrna , Tennessee . After graduation , he became a test pilot and was then assigned to Wright Field , Ohio . While at Wright Field , he attended Experimental Flight Test School and later became assistant chief , Bomber Section , and chief , Bomber Operations Section , Flight Test Division . Post - war to retirement . In 1945 , he started piloting experimental aircraft . He piloted a captured German jet fighter , the Messerschmitt Me 262 , and the Arado Ar 234 jet bomber . Cardenas also piloted the XB - 42 Mixmaster and XB - 43 Jetmaster . He was assigned chief test pilot for bomber aircraft and flew all prototypes of that class for the next four years . In 1947 , he becane the Officer in Charge of Operations and was the command pilot for the B - 29 Superfortress that launched Captain Chuck Yeager in the Bell X - 1 supersonic experimental aircraft . Then in 1948 , Major Cardenas was the Officer in Charge of Flight Test Division at Muroc Air Force Base and was Chief Air Force Test Pilot of the Northrop YB - 49 flying wing . Cardenas later claimed that the YB - 49 rotated backwards in stall , and that he warned Glen Edwards about it , who later died in a YB - 49 crash . Jack Northrop claimed such a rotation was impossible . After a transcontinental flight in the YB - 49 , President Truman ordered Cardenas to do a flyby of Pennsylvania Avenue at rooftop level . During the Korean War , he was assigned to Wright Field and Edwards Air Force Base testing new fighters and bombers . Additionally , he was assigned to Okinawa and then to The Pentagon . During the Vietnam War , Cardinas flew F - 105 Thunderchief combat missions and was then assigned to McConnell AFB as a trainer for the F - 105 . In 1968 , Colonel Cardenas was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to Command of the Air Force Special Operations Force at Eglin Air Force Base . Following his assignment to Eglin AFB , he became Vice Commander of the 16th Air Force in Spain . There he negotiated with Muammar al - Gaddafi the withdrawal of US forces from Wheelus Air Base in Libya . After his assignment in Spain , General Cardenas was assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE ) in Belgium . At SHAPE , he was the U . S . Deputy to LIVE OAK , a code name for joint military planning operation of the United States , Great Britain and France in response to the Soviet blockade and interference of Western access to Berlin . His final duty assignment was Chief of National Strategic Target List Division , Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff , at Offutt AFB , Nebraska . He retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general in 1973 . Post - military career . Cardenas has worked as an executive in the private sector . In 1983 , President Ronald Reagan appointed him California coordinator for Southwest Border Economic Action Group . In 1985 , he was appointed to Chairman of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Advisory Group by California Governor George Deukmejian . He also served on the California Council of Criminal Justice . In 1987 , Governor Duekmejian appointed General Cardenas to the California Veterans Board , he eventually became the chairman . In 1993 , General Cardenas resigned from the California Veterans Board to serve as the chairman of the San Diego United Veterans Council and a director on the Board of Veterans Memorial Center & Museum , in San Diego . He is currently a member of the Veteran Administration ’ s Memorials and Cemetery Committee . He was appointed to the committee by former VA Secretary Anthony Principi . He is also a trustee of the Flight Test Historical Foundation at Edwards AFB . He currently lives with his wife , Gladys , and family in San Diego , California . Military awards and decorations . United States ( in order of precedence ) : Spain : Grand Legion of Aeronautical Merit with Sash & Dagger . Civilian honors . In 1993 , the University of New Mexico ’ s Department of Engineering honored him for his professional contribution and leadership . In 1995 , he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Fame in Lancaster , California , and the Sigma Chi fraternity awarded him the " Significant Sig " medal . In 2004 , he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB .