Winton W . Marshall Lieutenant General Winton Whittier Marshall ( born July 6 , 1919 ) was a United States Air Force lieutenant general and flying ace . He was deputy commander in chief , U . S . Readiness Command , with headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base , Florida . Biography . Born in 1919 in Detroit , Michigan , Marshall began his military career as an aviation cadet in 1942 . He completed flight training at Yuma Army Air Base , Ariz . , and received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in April 1943 . Assigned to Las Vegas Army Air Field , Nevada , now Nellis Air Force Base , he began as a pilot with the 326th Fighter Gunnery Training Group before becoming chief of the P - 39 Training Section there . In February 1945 he went to the Panama Canal Zone as a pilot with the 28th Fighter Squadron and as operations officer of the 32rd Fighter Squadron , later redesignated the 23rd Fighter Squadron , 36th Fighter Group . In July 1947 , he was transferred to Dow Field , Maine , as operations officer of the 48th Fighter Squadron , 14th Fighter Group , the first squadron to be assigned the F - 84 Thunderjet , and participated in service testing the F - 84 at Edwards Air Force Base , California . He entered the Air Tactical School at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida , in August 1948 and four months later became operations officer of the 84th Fighter Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base , Calif . In May 1951 , Marshall went to Korea as commander of the 335th Fighter Squadron , flying the F - 86 Sabre jet fighter . He became the fifth jet ace of the Korean War , credited with 6 1 / 2 enemy aircraft destroyed , seven probable , and six damaged . In January 1952 , he returned to the United States to command the 93d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base , New Mexico . He was assigned as commander of the 15th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base , Ariz . , in July 1953 . There he was credited with saving a Strategic Air Command B B - 47 bomber which was on fire at the end of a runway . Seeing no crash or fire - fighting equipment coming , and noting that the crew had escaped , he taxied his F - 86 to the burning aircraft and blew out the fire with his jet exhaust . For this action , he was named to the Strategic Air Command ' s Heads - Up Club . He flew in the 1953 Bendix transcontinental air race and captained the Central Air Defense Force Team in the 1953 and 1954 Air Defense Command Weapons Meet . In July 1954 , Marshall became chief of the Central Air Defense Force Tactical Evaluation Board at Richards - Gebaur Air Force Base , Missouri , where he established the first tactical evaluation system in the Air Defense Command ; developed the first wind - driven tow reel target system ; and headed a team of military and civilian technicians that extended radar search capability ( later known as the Marshall fix ) of fighter - interceptor aircraft from 30 to 200 miles . In 1957 , he was chief of the Central Air Defense Force Bendix Trophy Race Team flying the F - 102 Delta Dagger , with his team taking first and second place . He entered the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , in 1958 , and on graduation was assigned to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing in France as deputy commander for operations . The wing was transferred to Spangdahlem , Germany , where he was instrumental in getting the first strobe light landing system on an operational military base in Europe . In January 1961 , he assumed command of NATO ' s Allied Defense Sector in the 86th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base , Germany . There he was credited with the development of an open - loop combat air defense communications network providing an immediate reaction system to cope with the East German and Czechoslovakian MiG threat . He also played a key role in the programming and installation of the 412 - L Semi - automatic Air Defense System linking the 86th Air Division and the U . S . Army surface - to - air missile system . In June 1964 , Marshall went to Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . , to serve in the Directorate of Operations successively as deputy chief and chief of the Air Defense Division , and as deputy director for forces . In June 1966 , he moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff as deputy director of operations , J - 3 , in the National Military Command Center , and in July 1967 became chief of the European Division , Directorate of Plans , J - 5 . In May 1968 , he was assigned as chief of staff , Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples , Italy , and in September 1969 became director of plans , J - 5 , U . S . European Command , at Vaihingen , Germany . He went from there to Vietnam in September 1971 as vice commander of the Seventh Air Force at Tan Son Nhut Airfield . The following September , he moved to Headquarters Pacific Air Forces , Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii , as deputy chief of staff , plans , and in December 1973 became deputy chief of staff , plans and operations . He was appointed vice commander in chief , Pacific Air Forces , in September 1974 , transferring to his present assignment in June 1975 . His military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster ; Silver Star ; Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters ; Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters ; Bronze Star Medal ; Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters ; Purple Heart ; from the Republic of Korea : the Chungmoo Medal with gold star and the Order of National Security Merit Medal ; and from the Republic of Vietnam : the National Order of Vietnam , 5th Class , and the Gallantry Cross with palm . His permanent residence is Beverly Hills , California . Marshall was promoted to the grade of lieutenant general effective September 1 , 1974 , with date of rank August 27 , 1974 .