Please answer the following question: Facts: - allegiance: united states of america - awards: distinguished service medal , legion of merit with two oak leaf service clusters , distinguished flying cross with two oak leaf clusters medal , bronze star medal , meritorious service medal , air , medal with 13 oak leaf clusters , air force commendation silver medal with two oak leaf clusters , purple heart , star and from the republic of vietnam the air service medal , honor class , gallantry cross with palm defense superior - birth date: 4 may 1927 - serviceyears: 1952 & ndash ; 1981 - name: james r. hildreth - branch: united states air force - image: genjrhildreth.jpg - birth place: pine bluff , arkansas , u.s. - rank: major general Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of james r. hildreth .
A:
james robert hildreth -lrb- born may 4 , 1927 -rrb- was a major general in the united states air force who served as commander of thirteenth air force at clark air base in the philippines .hildreth was born in 1927 , in pine bluff , arkansas , and graduated from pine bluff high school in may 1944 .he served in the u.s. army in an enlisted status from january 1946 until november 1948 .he then entered louisiana polytechnic institute and upon graduation in may 1952 received a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a commission through the reserve officers ' training corps program .he returned to active duty in august 1952 and completed pilot training at foster air force base , texas , in september 1953 .hildreth served from february to november 1954 as a flight commander with the 310th fighter-bomber squadron in korea .from december 1954 to july 1960 , hildreth served successively as a flight commander with the 429th , 386th and 481st tactical fighter squadrons at cannon air force base in new mexico .in august 1960 he moved to spangdahlem air base , germany , as a flight commander with the 7th tactical fighter squadron .he was assigned to headquarters u.s. air forces in europe in june 1962 where he served as f-105 standardization and training officer .in september 1963 hildreth entered the air command and staff college at maxwell air force base , alabama .upon graduation he served for three years as a tactical fighter weapons systems project officer with the tactical division of the directorate of operational requirements , headquarters u.s. air force , washington , d.c. .in april 1967 he became commander of the 1st air commando squadron at pleiku air base , republic of vietnam , and completed 285 combat missions with a total of 618 combat hours in the a-1e skyraider .upon his return to the united states in march 1968 , hildreth was assigned to headquarters u.s. air force and served as chief of the tactical support division in the office of the assistant chief of staff for studies and...