Market Common History

A Mark of Distinction for the MBAFB

by Melissa LaScaleia

At different points throughout the last century, various wings were stationed at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, leaving their footprint and making history. One of these was the 113th Tactical Fighter Wing. The wing was called to active duty on February 1, 1951, in response to the invasion of South Korea by the North Koreans on June 25, 1950. As the South was surprised by the attack, their military was slow to mobilize to their defense, and most of the U.S. Air National Guard was called to come to their aid.

The 113th was assigned to Air Defense Command, and redesignated as the 113th Fighter-Interceptor Wing. The group was comprised of pilots from the District of Columbia Air National Guard 121st and the Delaware Air National Guard 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons. They flew Republic F-84C Thunderjets along with F-51D Mustangs; the wing served for 21 months.

In October 1961, the 113th was called into action for the Berlin Crisis. And in 1964, they made history when they became the first Air National Guard tactical fighter unit to fly to Europe non-stop, in operation “Ready Go.” The unit completed three air-to-air refuelings of their F-100 aircraft (supported by Air National Guard tankers) after taking off from Andrew Air Force Base, Maryland, and landing at Hahn Air Base in Germany. The accomplishment earned them accolades, as it demonstrated the Air National Guard’s ability to deploy immediately and successfully in support of regular forces.

On April 22, 1968, the 113th replaced the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, as the 354th deployed to Korea for the Korean War. The 113th Tactical Fighter Wing had once more been recalled to active duty that January. The 113th included the 119th Tactical Fighter Squadron from Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, as well as the 121st Tactical Fighter Squadron from Atlantic City Airport, New Jersey. The 113th was assigned the task of establishing a replacement training unit (RTU) for the F-100 pilots in Mrytle Beach while their regular wing was overseas. In September 1968, the first 15 pilot students arrived and training commenced.

The arrival of the 113th in Myrtle Beach was not without a certain measure of pride for the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, as the wing was considered one of the top Air National Guard units in the country. It was one of three which was designated by the secretary of defense as having achieved “peak combat readiness.”

In 1959, the 113th was also one of the first Air National Guard wings in the country to be equipped with the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Pending the return of the 354th and their reactivation and reinstatement at Mrytle Beach in April 1969, the Air National Guard members who had been assigned to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base returned to their original bases. For several years, the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was a proud recipient of the skill and military prowess of this renowned guard unit.

A Soldier Whose WWII Derring-do Was Famous

by Melissa LaScaleia

Brigadier General James Howell Howard was born in Canton (modern day Guangzhou), China on April 8, 1913. His American parents were living abroad while his father, an ophthalmologist, was teaching eye surgery. The family returned to the states and settled in St. Louis, Missouri in 1927.

James attended the John Burroughs School for high school, and graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California in 1937. He had plans to pursue a career in medicine, but upon graduation, decided that life as a Naval aviator would be more exciting. He joined the United States Navy as a cadet in 1938. In 1939, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise as a Navy pilot, and stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In 1941, he left the Navy and became a P-40 fighter pilot with the famous American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, in Burma. He flew 56 missions and was credited with shooting down six Japanese airplanes during World War II. Following that group’s disbandment, Howard returned to the U.S., and was commissioned a captain in the Army Air Forces. The following year, he was promoted, and as a major, given the command of the 356th Fighter Squadron, in the 354th Fighter group, the same group stationed at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. Howard left for the United Kingdom, where the squadron was deployed.

On January 11, 1944, Howard made the choice that would earn him a promotion to lieutenant colonel, and the United States military’s highest decoration— the Medal of Honor. He is the only fighter pilot in the European Theater of Operations in World War II to receive this distinction.

On that day, Howard, alone, flew his P-51 aircraft into some thirty Luftwaffe fighters that were attacking a formation of American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Oschersleben, Germany.  For more than a half-hour, Howard defended the bombers of the 401st Bomb Group against the swarm of Luftwaffe fighters, attacking the enemy airplanes and shooting down six. He continued the attack even when his plane ran out of ammunition.

The following week, Howard described his actions to a gaggle of eager reporters, including the BBC, the Associated Press, CBS reporter Walter Cronkite, and Andy Rooney, then a reporter for the Stars and Stripes.

His story was a media sensation, as everyone wanted to hear the tale of the lone American who single-handedly unleashed such fire upon the enemy. The story prompted articles such as “Mustang Whip” in The Saturday Evening Post, “Fighting at 425 Miles Per Hour” in Popular Science, and “One Man Air Force” in True, The Man’s Magazine.

The New York Times reported in on January 19, 1944. “An attack by a single fighter on four or five times his own number wasn’t uncommon,” wrote a fellow World War II fighter pilot in his postwar memoirs of Howard’s performance, “but a deliberate attack by a single fighter against thirty plus enemy fighters without tactical advantage of height or surprise is rare almost to the point of extinction.”

Howard’s bravery didn’t end there. That same month, he helped direct fighter plane cover for the Allie’s Normandy landings on D-Day.

In 1945, Howard was promoted to colonel, and became base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield in Florida. In 1948, he was promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and commanded the 96th Bombardment Group.

Howard Avenue in the Market Common, is named in his honor.

War Hero, Silver Star Recipient

by Melissa LaScaleia

Captain Stephen Richard Phillis was born on May 7, 1960, in Illinois, the eldest of five siblings to parents, Richard and Diane. He grew up in Rock Island, and graduated from Rock Island Alleman High School. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1982.

From day one, Phillis had a dream to be a fighter pilot. He was a top graduate of his Fighter Weapons School class, and trained to fly the A-10 fighter craft, a plane nicknamed the “Warthog. Captain Phillis was stationed at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base and was part of the 353rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 354th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia with his Wing in 1990, to support the United States during the war with Iraq.

On February 15, 1991, Captain Phillis went missing after a heroic feat of military aviation. It was during Operation Desert Storm, and he was mission commander of a flight to take two A-10 aircraft just north of the northwestern border of Kuwait.

The A-10 is a close-air-support aircraft that was originally designed as a tank killer, which makes them susceptible to enemy fire as they need to maintain close proximity to the ground and low-flight patterns. On this particular mission, the A-10 penetrated deeper into enemy territory than it ever had previously.

The mission was a perilous one; and after destroying an oil tanker, Captain Phillis knew they were in territory too dangerous, and called his group to return to the Iraq-Kuwait border. Along the way, they passed over the Iraqi Republican Guard’s elite Medinah Armored Division— a force in pristine condition, that stretched for 6 miles below.

Phillis’ wingman, a young first lieutenant named Robert Sweet, received missile fire from below, incapacitating his plane to such a degree that he was forced to eject. He radioed Phillis his intention to eject and then did.

Captain Phillis stayed in a dangerous line of fire, radioing to request search and rescue locate his wingman before the ejected pilot could be captured as a prisoner of war.

Calling for search and rescue support is the normal job of a mission commander, but Phillis remained to help pinpoint his lieutenant’s exact location. Without regard for his own personal safety, Phillis began to coordinate search and rescue efforts to ensure his wingman’s safety. Several minutes later, his own plane was hit by enemy fire and burst into flames.

Phillis crashed, but his fate remained unknown until March 6, when the prisoners of war were released. Sweet was among their number, but Phillis was not. He had perished in the crash.

The president of the United States posthumously awarded Phillis the Silver Star for his gallantry in action during this mission. His other awards include the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with three oak-leaf clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

He is buried in Illinois, and there are several memorials dedicated to him around the country. Phillis Blvd in the Market Common is named in his honor, and the marker commemorating him is located at the intersection of DeVille Street and Phillis Blvd.