Facility Named for Air Commando:

In a ceremony Oct. 6, 9th Special Operations Squadron airmen at Eglin AFB, Fla., dedicated the unit’s auditorium to the late Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. King, the first commander of the nascent 1st Air Commando Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla. in 1961. Taking charge of the wing as a colonel, King understood men and the dynamics of command, said retired Lt. Col. Eugene Rossel, USAF (Ret.), according to an account of the ceremony in the Bradenton Herald. King, a former World War II ace with seven kills, was remembered as a highly charismatic leader who inspired his troops, as he prepared them for action in Vietnam. He died in 2004.