Biography of Bruce Gordon
Maj., Pilot, USAF, F-100, F-102, F-106 Korea, Vietnam. 1956-1976
On December 7, 1941, I was in Honolulu, 7 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Eighteen days later I was a war refugee on a ship packed with civilians in a convoy headed for San Francisco with Navy ships providing a defensive screen against submarines. After WW II, I went to school in Hong Kong, but the Chinese Communist victory over the Nationalist forced my family to be refugees again, going back to America for college and to join the USAF. From my childhood, I was aware of world events and I decided on a military career.
AFROTC at Tufts University near Boston made me a Second Lieutenant and I entered pilot training in the T-34, T-28, T-33, and F-86L. I was assigned to Alaska in the 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in 1962 for my first combat aircraft, the F-102.
Alaska was a wonderful place to fly the F-102 -- I had to operate out of short, ice-covered runways and chased real Russian bombers that probed America's defenses.
In 1964, I transitioned to the F-106 and went to Selfridge AFB, Michigan. The F-106 was a Mach 2 interceptor, "King of the high altitude skies". Radar, infrared, and electronic counter-countermeasures became my specialty. I was the first pilot to shoot down a BOMARC missile, which was coming at me at 2,000 miles per hour. The Air Force discovered that the F-106 was a highly maneuverable fighter and we learned air combat maneuvering. We deployed to Alaska and then to South Korea in 1969. The North Korean MiG bases were close by, and once my flight of 4 F-106s very nearly engaged 20 North Korean MiGs off the east coast on North Korea. I buzzed a fleet of Russian warships during Nixon's "Madman Nuclear Alert" of 1969 -- look that up on Google for an interesting story.
The Vietnam War needed single-seat, single-engine pilots and soon I was in Vietnam flying the F-100 in close support of troops or bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Attacking barges at night on the Mekong River, using napalm and under flares, was interesting! I flew 132 combat missions in Vietnam and won the Distinguished Flying Cross medal.
When I returned from Vietnam in late 1971, I worked with development of drones and electronic warfare at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. I retired and soon was in Saudi Arabia, where I ran a three-plane company airline for an oil company. Returning from Saudi Arabia, I worked with computerization of Air Force aircraft maintenance.
I retired again and moved to Kentucky. Now I'm 86 years old, but still pretty good with computers. I am active in several charities, and have written a book, "THE SPIRIT OF ATTACK", which is available from Amazon.com or from me directly. I have YouTube and Facebook / Spirit of Attack pages with over 20 videos, most about flying fighters.
----- Bruce Gordon
Fighter pilot
Author: "Spirit of Attack"
Email: brugor AT mac.com
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SpiritofAttack on Facebook and YouTube
Contributor to Fighter Pilot Podcast by Vincent Aiello
SpiritofAttack on Facebook
Captain Bruce Gordon in front of F-102, 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Elmendorf AFB
Captain Bruce Gordon with other pilots of the 317th FIS in front of a F-102
F-102 of the 317th FIS
Major Bruce Gordon and Pilots of 612th TFS
Bomarc Certificate of Destruction
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