John Dale Ryan General John Dale Ryan ( December 10 , 1915 – October 27 , 1983 ) was the seventh Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force . As chief of staff of the U . S . Air Force , General Ryan served in a dual capacity . He was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff which , as a body , acts as the principal military adviser to the president , the National Security Council , and the Secretary of Defense . In his other capacity , he was responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force for managing the vast human and materiel resources of the world ' s most powerful aerospace force . Early life . The general was born in Cherokee , Iowa , in 1915 . Following graduation from Cherokee Junior College in 1934 , he entered the United States Military Academy from which he graduated in 1938 . He next attended flying school at Randolph and Kelly fields , Texas , and received his pilot wings in 1939 . Military career . General Ryan remained at Kelly Field as a flight instructor for approximately two years . From January 1942 until August 1943 , he was director of training at Midland Army Air Field , Texas , and was instrumental in establishing an advanced bombardier training school . His next assignment was as operations officer for the Second Air Force at Colorado Springs , Colorado In February 1944 , he was transferred to Italy where he commanded the 2d Bombardment Group and later became operations officer for the 5th Bombardment Wing , Fifteenth Air Force . While commanding the 2d Bombardment Group he lost a finger to enemy antiaircraft fire . Later on this resulted in his nickname , sometimes used derisively , " Three fingered Jack . " He returned to the United States in April 1945 , and became deputy air base commander , Midland Army Air Field , Texas . In September 1945 , he was assigned to the Air Training Command at Fort Worth and Randolph Field , Texas , where he remained until April 1946 , when he assumed duties with the 58th Bombardment Wing and participated in the Bikini Atoll atomic weapons tests . From September 1946 to July 1948 , he was assistant chief of staff for pilots of the 58th Bombardment Wing and then Eighth Air Force director of operations . For the next three years , he commanded the 509th Bombardment Group at Walker Air Force Base , New Mexico . Between July 1951 and June 1956 , General Ryan commanded the 97th Bombardment Wing and the 810th Air Division , both at Biggs Air Force Base , Texas , and the l9th Air Division at Carswell Air Force Base , Texas . General Ryan became director of materiel for the Strategic Air Command in June 1956 , and four years later assumed command of SAC ' s Sixteenth Air Force in Spain . In July 1961 , he was named commander of the Second Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana . In August 1963 , General Ryan was assigned to the Pentagon as inspector general for the U . S . Air Force . One year later he was named vice commander in chief of Strategic Air Command and in December 1964 , became commander in chief . He was assigned as commander in chief , Pacific Air Forces , in February 1967 . The general was appointed vice chief of staff of the U . S . Air Force in August 1968 , and chief of staff of the U . S . Air Force in August 1969 . One of the more controversial moves of his tenure was his disbandment of the U . S . Air Force Pipes and Drums , the only free - standing , full - time pipe band in the U . S . armed forces . Ryan ' s tenure as commander of PACAF and Air Force Chief of Staff also engendered controversy when he was described as one of a group that helped destroy General Jack Lavelle ' s career after Lavelle gave fighter pilots permission to shoot back at bona fide threats , something previously denied them by rules of engagement . This was also related to the court - martial of USAF Colonel Jack Broughton , after Broughton attempted to protect one of his pilots who shot back at an anti - aircraft position also in apparent violation of rules of engagement . The irony is that Col Broughton had to protect the pilot from his own side , and directly from General Ryan , whose " undue command influence " later resulted in the overturning and expungement of Broughton ' s conviction by the USAF Board for the Correction of Military Records . Decorations and recognitions . His military decorations and awards include the Lancaster County Veterans Association of Veterans Award for excellence and military preservation ; Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters ; Army Distinguished Service Medal ; Silver Star with oak leaf cluster ; Legion of Merit ; Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster ; Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters ; Purple Heart ; French Croix de Guerre with Palm ; Chinese Order of the Cloud and Banner , 1st Class with Grand Cordon , and 2d Class ; Republic of Korea National Security Merit First Class ; the Vietnamese National Order of Vietnam / Commander and Gallantry Cross with Palm ; Grand Cross , Royal Order of Phoenix ( Greece ) ; and Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit ( Spain ) . In July 1971 , General Ryan became the first foreign dignitary to receive the Golden Wings of the Philippine Air Force . Additional foreign decorations are Chilean Military Star of the Armed Forces , Class of Great Star for Military Merit ; French Legion of Honor , Degree of Commander ; and the Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit , Degree of Grand Official . In December 1962 , he joined a select group of athletes , who have been successful in their professional careers since their college football days , when he was chosen a member of the Sports Illustrated Silver Anniversary All - American team . He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Creighton University , Omaha , Nebraska , on May 30 , 1966 ; and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Akron , Ohio , on June 5 , 1967 . General Ryan ' s son , General Michael E . Ryan , USAF , also held the position of Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force . Unlike the elder Ryan ' s career as bomber pilot , the younger Ryan was a fighter pilot .