Paul W. Airey
Paul Wesley Airey | |
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Air Force Commendation Medal |
Paul Wesley Airey (December 13, 1923 – March 11, 2009) was an airman of the United States Air Force who served as the first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from 1967 to 1969.
Early life and education
Airey born on December 13, 1923, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He entered military service in 1940 after two years of high school in Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1948 he obtained his high school equivalency certificate, and later completed 62 semester hours of study at McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois. His military schooling included courses in communication mechanics and personnel management. He is a graduate of the Air Defense Command Noncommissioned Officer Academy. The academy was renamed the Paul W. Airey NCO Academy on December 13, 2006, in his honor.[1]
Military career
Airey enlisted in the
Airey reenlisted in the Air Force after completing a recuperation leave. He went to Naha Air Base, Okinawa, where he was responsible for radio repair. During the Korean War he was awarded the Legion of Merit, unusual for an enlisted person, for saving more than a million dollars in electronic equipment that would have deteriorated without the corrosion control assembly line he developed.
Airey spent 14 of his 30-year career as a
Later life
Airey retired from the Air Force on August 1, 1970. He died in Panama City, Florida, on March 11, 2009.
Awards and decorations
US Air Force Enlisted Aircrew Badge |
Personal decorations | |
Legion of Merit with bronze oak leaf cluster | |
Meritorious Service Medal | |
Air Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster | |
Air Force Commendation Medal | |
Unit awards | |
Presidential Unit Citation | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
| |
Service awards | |
Prisoner of War Medal | |
Air Force Good Conduct Medal | |
Army Good Conduct Medal | |
Campaign and service medals | |
American Campaign Medal | |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars
| |
World War II Victory Medal
| |
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star | |
Korean Service Medal | |
Service, training, and marksmanship awards | |
Air Force Longevity Service Award with four bronze oak leaf clusters
| |
NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon
| |
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
| |
Foreign awards | |
United Nations Service Medal for Korea
|
Professional memberships and associations
- Air Force Memorial Foundation
- Air University Foundation
- Airmen Memorial Museum
References
- ^ "Paul W. Airey NCO Academy" (PDF). Air Combat Command. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ^ "70 Air Force Birthday". Static.dma.mil. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
This article incorporates public domain material from Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Paul W. Airey biography. United States Air Force.