General Billy Martin Minter

1926 - 2005  (78 years)

• Name	Billy Martin Minter
  Prefix	General
  Birth	13 Jul 1926	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	CA07D4CD4EF64B96A21ACD9B4EE55EEE3AA4
  Death	6 Jun 2005	Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA   [2]
  Burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA   [2]
  Notes	Copied from findagrave.com: US Air Force General. He entered the military service and served in World War II after graduating from high school at Norman, Oklahoma in 1944. After the war, he returned to Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma. He entered the US Air Force in October 1948 as an aviation cadet, graduating in September 1949 with a commission as a second lieutenant and his pilot wings. He was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, as a T-6 Texan flying instructor from November 1949 to November 1950. He was then assigned to Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, as an advanced flying instructor for the F-51 Mustang aircraft until May 1952. He underwent F-51 combat crew training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in the summer of 1952 and was assigned to the 40th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, at Johnson Air Base, Japan. While assigned to this unit, he flew F-51, F-80 Shooting Star, and F-86 Saber aircraft. He was then assigned to the 438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan, where he served as a flight commander flying F-89 Scorpion aircraft. He also flew F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart interceptor aircraft and served as group operations officer for the 507th Fighter Group. He attended Air Command and Staff College and after graduating in August 1961, he was assigned to the 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Hahn Air Base, Germany, where he flew F-102 aircraft and served as the squadron operations officer and chief of maintenance. He relocated to Ramstein Air Base, Germany where he served as operations staff officer in the 86th Air Division's directorate of operations. He was then assigned to the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan from December 1965 to August 1967, where he served as the operations officer and then the squadron commander. He was selected to attend Air War College, graduating with distinction in June 1968. He then completed his F-105 Thunderchief combat crew training with the 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, and in January 1969, he was assigned to the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, where he served as chief, combat operations and assistant deputy commander for operations. While on his Southeast Asia tour of duty, he flew 106 combat missions in F-105 aircraft. When he returned to the United States in October 1969, he was assigned to the Air Force Logistics Command at the Sacramento Air Materiel Area (now the Sacramento Air Logistics Center), McClellan Air Force Base, California. After a year as chief, quality control division, directorate of maintenance, he was assigned to the directorate of materiel management. In January 1971, he attended the Defense Weapons System Management Course at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After he completed his training, he was appointed chief of the F-111 Aardvark System Management Division at McClellan Air Force Base in September 1971. He returned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in April 1973 and became the inspector general for the Air Force Logistics (now Materiel) Command. In May 1974, he was assigned to Headquarters United States European Command at Stuttgart, Germany, where he was the deputy director of logistics, serving in that capacity until July 1975. He then became the deputy chief of staff for logistics at Headquarters United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In July 1978, he came back to the United States and served as the assistant deputy chief of staff, logistics and engineering at Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington DC, and became the deputy chief of staff for logistics and engineering in May 1979. In June 1982, he was selected as the Commander in Chief, United States Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, and was promoted to general on July 1, 1982. He retired from that position on October 31, 1984, accumulating 36 years of continuous military service. Among his awards and decorations were the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Presidential Unit citation with oak leaf cluster, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters. He was a command pilot with 5,600 flying hours. Bio by: William Bjornstad
  Person ID	I6801	America
  Last Modified	11 Mar 2023

  
  

  Father	Henry Hargis Minter,   b. 13 Oct 1902, Kentucky, USA d. 13 Jun 1970, Oklahoma, USA (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Eva Jo BUTTON,   b. 5 Mar 1904, USA d. 19 Feb 1982, Oklahoma, USA (Age 77 years)
  Marriage	23 May 1925	Cleveland, Oklahoma, USA   [3]
  Family ID	F2632	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Marion Patricia ONORATO,   b. 9 Jun 1924, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA d. 1 Nov 2017, Southampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA (Age 93 years)
  Marriage	1952	USA
  Children	1. Mark H Minter   2. Stephen L Minter   3. Patricia Minter   4. Lisa M Minter   5. Lori J Minter
  Family ID	F3642	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Jan 2020

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - 6 Jun 2005 - Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA Burial - - Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S67] 1940 US Federal Census. [S66] findagrave.com, November 2014 and later. [S346] Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995 at ancestry.com.