Allison Brooks Allison C . Brooks ( June 26 , 1917 – December 9 , 2006 ) was a United States Air Force aviator who piloted both the Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress and North American P - 51 Mustang aircraft in combat missions over Nazi Germany during World War II . In the Vietnam War , he flew Lockheed C - 130 Hercules aircraft in combat support missions . In addition to earning numerous military decorations , he was ultimately promoted to the rank of major general and served in active duty until 1971 . Early life and career . Brooks was born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , in 1917 . He attended high school in Pasadena , California , and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California , Berkeley in 1938 . He enlisted a year later as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Corps , and graduated from Kelly Field in 1940 with a commission as second lieutenant and his pilot wings . His first assignment after graduation was as an instructor with the Air Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas . In 1943 , he went overseas to the European Theater of Operations as operations officer of the 401st Bombardment Group . He was next assigned as executive officer and later as commander of the 1st Air Division Fighter Scouting Force which flew P - 51 aircraft . During World War II , he flew 65 combat missions for a total of 310 hours in the B - 17 and P - 51 aircraft . He participated in the campaigns of Air Offensive , Europe ; Normandy ; Northern France ; Rhineland ; Ardennes - Alsace ; and Central Europe . He commanded an August 1944 raid by the 401st Bombardment Group on a V - weapons factory that was adjacent to the inmate barracks at the Buchenwald concentration camp . Post World War II . Brooks is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff School and has served as an instructor in air operations at the U . S . Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . In 1951 , he returned to Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , as a student in the Air War College . Brooks has been assigned to various units of the Military Airlift Command since June 1952 with the exception of a one - year tour of duty from January 1964 to March 1965 , in Southeast Asia as deputy commander , 2nd Air Division . In June 1952 , he was assigned as operations staff officer , 1300th Air Base Wing , at Mountain Home Air Force Base , Idaho . In September 1952 , he was assigned duties as deputy commander , 1602nd Air Transport Wing , Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base , Germany . In July 1955 , he assumed command of the 1602nd Air Transport Wing . He returned to the United States in September 1955 and was assigned to Headquarters Military Airlift Command , Andrews Air Force Base , Maryland , as chief , Manpower and Organization , and in June 1957 , he assumed duties as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations . In August 1960 , Brooks was reassigned as commander , 62nd Troop Carrier Wing , McChord Air Force Base , Washington . In January 1964 he went to Tan Son Nhut Air Base , Republic of Vietnam , as deputy commander , 2nd Air Division . During his tour of duty in Southeast Asia , he flew 31 missions in combat support operations . In March 1965 , Brooks assumed command of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service ( Military Airlift Command ) with headquarters at Orlando Air Force Base , Florida . The headquarters was transferred to Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , in 1968 . Later life . In 1966 , at Edwards Air Force Base , Brooks was the first to fly an experimental device attached to an HC - 130H called the Fulton surface - to - air recovery system . This demonstrated the effectiveness of recovering personnel on the ground if they could launch a helium filled balloon . The balloon tether cable was snatched by the V - shaped apparatus which was mounted on the nose of the aircraft . Brooks assumed duty as Deputy Director for Inspection Services , Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense ( Administration ) , Washington , D . C . , in April 1970 . He retired from active duty on July 1 , 1971 . His military decorations include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster , Distinguished Flying Cross ( United States ) with two oak leaf clusters , Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters , Soldier ' s Medal , Bronze Star , Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon , and French Croix de Guerre . He is a command pilot . He was promoted to the temporary grade of major general effective February 24 , 1970 , with date of rank on August 10 , 1965 . In 2002 , General Brooks was interviewed on the subject of whether President Franklin D . Roosevelt should have ordered the bombing of the Nazi death camp s during World War II . General Brooks died in Sequim , Washington on December 9 , 2006 .