Retired Maj. Gen. John J. Pesch, who led the Air National Guard from April 1974 to January 1977 died Jan. 10 at his home in Virginia at age 88. He entered the Army Air Forces in 1942, initially flying the A-24 and later the B-17 in which he flew 31 combat missions. He joined the Maine Air National Guard after the war and returned to active duty for the Korean War and again in 1959, serving on the Air Staff. After a stint with Air Defense Command, he became deputy director in 1966 of the Air Guard at the National Guard Bureau. Retired Lt. Gen. John Conaway, former NGB chief, said that Pesch “reset the Air National Guard after the Vietnam War with new fighter force structure and established the active duty rotational missions for the Air National Guard.” (NGB report by Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke; Bangor Daily News obituary)
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…