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Remembering a Strategic Air Command warrior

  • Published
  • By Staff Report
  • Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  As Air Force Global Strike Command celebrates the 60th year of the B-52, and the 40th anniversary of Operation Linebacker II, which helped bring an end to the conflict in Vietnam, the Command recently mourned the passing of one of the nuclear enterprise's hero warriors.

Retired Air Force Maj. John Davis Mize, 73, passed away June 15 in Belmond, Iowa. Mize was the first of just three Strategic Air Command veterans to be awarded the Air Force Cross for his superb airmanship and extraordinary heroism during a mission supporting operations Linebacker II in Vietnam.

Mize and his crew were flying a mission over Hanoi on Dec. 27, 1972, when their B-52 was struck by a surface-to-air missile. With shrapnel in his leg and hand, two other wounded crewmembers and all four engines on the left wing out, Mize limped the damaged B-52 toward northern Thailand, knowing they could not make it to their base in U Tapao, Thailand.

About 45 minutes after the plane was struck, as multiple systems failed and the situation deteriorated further, it became obvious the crew would have to bail out. Four of the six crewmembers ejected successfully, but the navigator's seat would not eject. Mize, knowing the left wing could go at any moment, told his navigator that he would stay with the aircraft for three minutes, giving him time to bail out the hole left where the radar navigator had ejected. Only after he was sure his crewmate had ejected did Mize eject himself.

All six crewmembers survived, and Mize was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions. During his career, he also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 15 Clusters and the Purple Heart. Mize served the Air Force for 22 years before retiring in 1984.

Mize was a native of Shreveport, La., home of Barksdale Air Force Base and Air Force Global Strike Command. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Joan Mize, son, Arthur Mize, of Ferndale, Mich., daughter, Laura Mize and granddaughter Avery Mize, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., sister, Sandra Dunivan of Shreveport, and other extended family.

Editor's Note: Information for this article was compiled from Mize's obituary (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rapidcity/obituary.aspx?n=john-davis-mize&pid=158117208) and the article "The Seventh Man," published in Air Force Magazine in February of 1990 (http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1990/February%201990/0290valor.aspx)