The Spike

General William "Spike" Momyer's 35 years of service to the nation spanned three major wars: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Those that served with Momyer acknowledged that, as he neared the end of this career, Momyer was the Air Force's expert on the application of tactical airpower. This expertise developed from a career that molded Momyer into one of the most thoughtful of the tactical Airmen. Momyer began his career flying P-40s in the Western Desert of Africa with the RAF and later led one of the Army Air Forces finest P-40 fighter groups through combat operations that began with Operation TORCH, followed the Allied advanced through North Africa and Sicily, and ended shortly after the Allied forces made their way onto the boot of Italy. He served under Lieutenant General Elwood Quesada in the earliest days of the Tactical Air Command staff, and returned to that staff later in his career, not once but twice. The last time would be as a four star General and the commander. Although he did not see combat in Korea, he commanded fighter wings and divisions during TAC's resource scarce days and as tactical nuclear weapons emerged on the scene of tactical airpower.Momyer was also a man of doctrine. During operations in North Africa, the doctrinal battles of how to fight an Air Force played out as the real battles continued. Momyer returned to the states to serve on the Army Air Force Board, a prime organization involved in putting the lessons of World War II together with equipment testing, tactics, and doctrine. Excepting his time as the commander, both his TAC staff tours were in Plans, the organization responsible not only for war plans, but for forging doctrine and planning joint exercises. He served a tour on the Air War College faculty as the Director of the Evaluation Division which, during the war in Korea, produced the first complete set of Air Force doctrine manuals. Momyer's tour on the Air Staff in Requirements put him show center in planning for the me