French, Richard, Lt Col

Deceased

Service Photo

Service Details

Last Rank
Lieutenant Colonel

Last Primary AFSC/MOS
1321Z-Pilot Reconnaissance

Last AFSC Group
Aircrew

Primary Unit
1949-1950, 1, Officer Candidate School (OCS)

Service Years
1946 - 1974

Official/Unofficial US Air Force Certificates

Cold War Certificate

Cuban Missile Crisis

Last Photo

Personal Details

Home State

Illinois

Year of Birth
1929

This Military Service Page was created/owned by the Site Administrator to remember French, Richard, Lt Col USAF(Ret).

Contact Info

Home Town Chicago	Last Address Loma Linda California

Date of Passing Nov 17, 2014
Location of Interment National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona - Phoenix, Arizona	Wall/Plot Coordinates Not Specified

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Military Association Memberships

Distinguished Flying Cross Society (DFCS)

Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association


	2014, American Legion, Post 47 (Assistant Commandant) (Livermore, California) - Chap. Page
	2014, The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor
	2014, Distinguished Flying Cross Society (DFCS) [Verified] - Assoc. Page
	2014, F-4 Phantom II Society
	2014, Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association
	2014, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), Dept of California (Deceased Member (Honor Roll)) (Sacramento, California) - Chap. Page

Additional Information

Last Known Activity
Not Specified

Other Comments:
Fighter Pilot F-4 Reconnaissance
Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis
From Month/Year October / 1962	To Month/Year October / 1962
Description The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the Caribbean Crisis or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day (October 16–28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation, elements of which were televised, was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. In response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future harassment of Cuba. An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer. The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and the White House had denied charges that it was ignoring dangerous Soviet missiles 90 miles from Florida. These missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range (SS-4) and intermediate-range (R-14) ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a military blockade to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the USSR. After a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a U.S. public declaration and agreement never to invade Cuba again without direct provocation. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built Jupiter MRBMs, which were deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union but were not known to the public. When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20, 1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, and direct communication line between Washington and Moscow. As a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of agreements sharply reduced U.S.–Soviet tensions during the following years.