Former Kadena commander, Vietnam fighter pilot returns to Okinawa

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alesia D. Goosic
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  As Capt. Philip Drew climbed into the seat of his F-105 Thunderchief on Dec. 19, 1967, and prepared for his 90th mission over North Vietnam, he never expected he would be in the fight of his life.

"There was no time for thought, just time for reaction," now retired Brig. Gen. Philip Drew said of the flight that will forever be etched in his memory.

"It was a fortuitous situation," explained the former 18th Tactical Fighter Wing commander during a recent visit to Okinawa. "As we were going in front of the strike force, we had eight MiGs that attacked from the right side and eight MiGs that attacked from the left side. They were trying to pinch us into a flight of four so we split our forces and evaded the ones who were attacking us."

"In my case, I happened to see the MiG that was directing this; he was up high and he was circling, observing and telling them what to do," he said. "Since I was so low and so fast he didn't see me, so I got underneath him and was able to shoot him down."

During that mission, General Drew was piloting a F-105 in a flight of four Wild Weasels. Three out of the four F-105 pilots shot down a MiG that day. "It's the only time Wild Weasels had shot down MiGs with a gun before," the general said. "We went home thinking that all three of us had shot down MiGs and that was a tremendous accomplishment."

General Drew, who had four combat tours in Southeast Asia, said the most rewarding and exciting of his tours was the F-105 tour.

The general said during his time flying the F-105, he passed through Kadena Air Base many times, but little did he know he would someday become Kadena's 18th Tactical Fighter Wing commander.

General Drew was assigned to Kadena as the air division vice commander in 1981, over a decade after his actions in Vietnam, and he became the wing commander in the summer of 1982.

The general said at the time he took command of the wing, Kadena had three F-15 Fighting Falcon squadrons, one RF-4 Phantom squadron and a tactical air control squadron, and was a little larger than most flying wings were at that time. During his recent visit to Kadena, the general said he's noticed some things have changed since his days as wing commander and some that will always be the same.

One thing that has changed, the general said, is the alignment of resources on the base. During his time at Kadena, fighters, tankers and AWACS all worked together but were under different commands. "Now it's formalized where the wing commander here actually owns the assets, which I think is a great step forward," he said. "I'm glad to see that Team Kadena has put the team together to take on the threat as need be."

The general said some things that haven't changed at Kadena are the significance of the mission and the Okinawan people.

"The mission in the Pacific is extremely vital right now," General Drew said. "I think the mission here is just as important, if not more so, than when I was here."

One thing that will always remain the same, the general said, is the kindness of Okinawan people. "The Okinawan people have not changed," he said. "It is the friendliness and the openness of the Okinawan people that has been just as wonderful as it was when we were here before."

As General Drew finished sharing his war stories and opinions about Kadena's past and present, a jet flew overhead. He smiled and said "I love that sound." It was obvious that this general, who retired in 1988, is still an Airman at heart.