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Judi Burns-Family
to remember
Burns, John J., Sr., Lt Gen.
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Contact Info
Home Town Bayonne
Last Address Niceville, Florida On the golf course!
Date of Passing Aug 08, 2000
Location of Interment Heritage Gardens - Niceville, Florida
Wall/Plot Coordinates Columbarium
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
September 1977
U.S. Readiness Command
MacDill AFB. FL
Other Comments:
Lt Gen Burns was a Command Pilot. His military decorations and
awards include: the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf
cluster, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster,
Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze
Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster,
Air Medal with 33 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation
Medal, Distinguished Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit
Award with two oak leaf clusters, Order of National Security
Merit Gugseon Medal (Republic of Korea), and Republic of Korea
Presidential Unit Citation.
1963-1969, F-4 Phantom
From Year 1963
To Year 1969
Personal Memories
In February 1964 he was reassigned to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as commander, Detachment 2, Headquarters 831st Air Division, for Category II testing of the F-4 Phantom and the F-5 Freedom Fighter. He assumed the duties of assistant director of requirements, Directorate of Operations, Tactical Air Command, at Langley Air Force Base, Va., in February 1965, and became director of requirements soon thereafter.
General Burns departed for Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in May 1967, where he served as deputy commander for operations of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, and in December 1967 became vice commander. During that tour of duty, he flew the F-4 on 132 combat missions, 80 of which were over North Vietnam.
He assumed command of the 4525th (later redesignated the 57th) Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in June 1968, and he was transferred to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in June 1969 to assume command of the 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing (later redesignated the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing).
Image
F-4 Phantom Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
From Wikipedia: The F-4 Phantom was designed as a fleet defense fighter for the U.S. Navy, and first entered service in 1960. By 1963, it had been adopted by the U.S. Air Force for the fighter-bomber role. When production ended in 1981, 5,195 Phantom IIs had been built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.[7] Until the advent of the F-15 Eagle, the F-4 also held a record for the longest continuous production with a run of 24 years. Innovations in the F-4 included an advanced pulse-doppler radar and extensive use of titanium in its airframe.[8] Despite the imposing dimensions and a maximum takeoff weight of over 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg),[9] the F-4 had a top speed of Mach 2.23 and an initial climb of over 41,000 ft per minute (210 m/s).[10] Shortly after its introduction, the Phantom set 15 world records,[11] including an absolute speed record of 1,606.342 mph (2,585.086 km/h), and an absolute altitude record of 98,557 ft (30,040 m).[12] Although set in 1959?1962, five of the speed records were not broken until 1975 when the F-15 Eagle came into service.[11] The F-4 could carry up to 18,650 pounds (8,480 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and unguided, guided, and nuclear bombs.[13] Since the F-8 Crusader was to be used for close combat, the F-4 was designed, like other interceptors of the day, without an internal cannon;[14] In a dogfight, the RIO or WSO (commonly called "backseater" or "pitter") assisted in spotting opposing fighters, visually as well as on radar. It became the primary fighter-bomber of both the Navy and Air Force by the end of the Vietnam War. Due to its distinctive appearance and widespread service with United States military and its allies, the F-4 is one of the best-known icons of the Cold War. It served in the Vietnam War and Arab?Israeli conflicts, with American F-4 crews achieving 277 aerial victories in South East Asia and completing countless ground attack sorties.[15] The F-4 Phantom has the distinction of being the last United States fighter to attain ace status in the 20th century. During the Vietnam War, the USAF had one pilot and two WSOs,[16] and the USN one pilot and one RIO,[17] become aces in air-to-air combat. It was also a capable tactical reconnaissance and Wild Weasel (suppression of enemy air defenses) platform, seeing action as late as 1991, during Operation Desert Storm.[4][5] The F-4 Phantom II was also the only aircraft used by both of the USA's flight demonstration teams.[18] The USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the USN Blue Angels (F-4J) both switched to the Phantom for the 1969 season; the Thunderbirds flew it for five seasons,[19] the Blue Angels for six.[20] The baseline performance of a Mach 2-class fighter with long range and a bomber-sized payload would be the template for the next generation of large and light/middle-weight fighters optimized for daylight air combat. The Phantom would be replaced by the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force. In the U.S. Navy, it would be replaced by the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet which revived the concept of a dual-role attack fighter.[21]