Richard Mattern Montgomery Richard Mattern Montgomery ( December 15 , 1911 – August 27 , 1987 ) , was a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force , and Chief - of - Staff of the U . S . Strategic Air Command from 1952 to 1956 . He was Vice Commander - in - Chief of the United States Air Force in Europe , from 1962 until he retired in 1966 . He is buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery . Family . He was born in Hollidaysburg , Pennsylvania on December 15 , 1911 . Brother : Charles W Montgomery , Jr of OH Daughter : Nancy Montgomery Hunter of IL Son : Thomas Montgomery of FL Son : Richard ? Montgomery - Deceased 1988 of a brain tumor Education and training . He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point , graduating with a lieutenant ' s commission in 1933 . 0ne year later he completed pilot training at Kelly Field , Texas . This was the beginning of an active flying career in which the general has logged more than 10 , 000 hours in more than 80 types of aircraft including the KC - 135 jet tanker ( military counterpart of the Boeing 707 ) , B - 47 and B - 52 intercontinental jet bombers . Career . Vice Commander in Chief , U . S . Airforces in Europe . General Montgomery was assigned as vice commander in chief , U . S . Air Forces in Europe , at Wiesbaden AB , Germany , September l , 1962 with promotion to the grade of lieutenant general . Vice Chief of Staff , Headquarters U . S . Air Force . In August 1959 he was named Assistant Vice Chief of Staff , Headquarters U . S . Air Force . He served for two years in this capacity under his previous commander General Curtis E . LeMay who was then vice chief of staff . At the end of his Pentagon tour he was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal by General LeMay , U . S , Air Force chief of staff . For the next year he continued in the same job when General Frederic H . Smith became vice chief of staff . Deputy Commander of the 2nd Air Force ( SAC ) . In 1956 he was assigned as deputy commander of the 2d Air Force ( SAC ) . Following this two - year tour , he became commander of the 3d Air Division at Guam , with responsibility for SAC Forces West of the 180th meridian . Chief of Staff to General Curtis E . LeMay . The assignment which did most to shape his subsequent career was that of chief of staff , Headquarters , Strategic Air Command , Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska , in September 1952 , a post he held until September 1956 . As a principal staff assistant to then SAC commander in chief General Curtis E . LeMay , General Montgomery participated in the buildup of SAC into the most powerful military force in the world history . Joint Strategic Plans & Operations Group . A 1947 graduate of the Air War College , General Montgomery became a member of the Joint Strategic Plans and Operations Group for General Douglas MacArthur in Tokyo . The following year he joined the 51st Fighter Wing at Naha Air Force Base , Okinawa . Flying then the new F - 80 jet " Shooting Star " aircraft , the 51st Jet Fighter Wing pioneered in long overwater mass jet training flights in the Far East under General Montgomery ' s leadership . Deputy Commander Briggs Air Force Base . Returning to the U . S . in 1949 he was assigned to Biggs Air Force Base in Texas and early in 1950 became deputy commander of the 97th Bombardment Wing located there . His assignment to SAC headquarters followed that tour of duty . A veteran of more than 30 years Air Force service , General Montgomery was twice awarded the Legion of Merit while serving with the Strategic Air Command . Aviation Cadet Training Program / Model Basic Flying School . Throughout his earlier years in the air corps , General Montgomery held varied staff and command assignments . His first wartime job was concerned with organization of the aviation cadet training program . During this period he established a model Basic Flying School at Independence , Kansas . Later he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief , Air Staff Training , Army Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon where his extensive field experience was brought to bear on the entire Air Force wartime training program .