First Thunderbird commander dies

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew Bates
  • Air Force News Agency
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  The first commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, died Aug. 12 of complications from pneumonia.

Maj. Gen. Richard C. Catledge, the Air Force pilot known as Thunderbird One, formed and led the original Thunderbirds team as a major in 1953.

"We were assigned a practice area at an abandoned airstrip about 30 miles northwest of Luke [Air Force Base, Ariz.] and we flew two or three training missions daily," General Catledge recalled of the team's early days. "From day one we began practicing low-level formation flying. Before long, we were doing our routine in a four-ship diamond formation and we were in business."

General Catledge began his military career as a P-38 pilot in World War II. While assigned to the 1st Fighter Group in North Africa, he was shot down in a dogfight over the Bay of Naples, captured and sent to a prison camp in Northern Italy. He eventually escaped and spent nine months evading enemy forces in the mountains before reaching friendly lines.

Experiences such as these aside, the general still counted commanding the Thunderbirds as one of the highlights of his 32-year career.

"It was a great job," he said.

For those that knew him, the general was a man dedicated to the military, his family and his friends, said retired Maj. Gen. Benny Putnam.

"This is a greater American, a more courageous American, a greater hero than any I've heard," he said.

General Catledge is survived by his wife, Linda, two sons, Chris and Clay, and daughter, Peggy. He was 86.

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