Lt. Col. William H.F. Page

View Funeral Webcast Lt. Col. William H.F. Page was a native of Columbia, Tennessee. He enlisted at the age of fifteen to begin his distinguished military career as an enlisted man in the Army field artillery in 1943. He applied for and was accepted into the Army Air Corps and completed his pilot training in early 1944. He flew a B-25 to the Southwest Pacific theater of operations to begin his tour of combat, initially flying the P-38 and later transitioned to B-25 gunships in the war against Japan. His major campaigns were the liberation of the Philippines, conquest of the Solomon Islands, and the battle of Okinawa. He remained in the occupation of Japan until late 1946 when he then separated from active duty. He remained active in the Reserves until he returned to active duty in 1953. He contributed to NATO’s involvement during the Korean Conflict. His subsequent overseas assignments were in Europe in the 1950’s and the Panama Canal Zone in the 1960’s. During those times, he performed flying support in humanitarian aid efforts, military aid, and hot sports around the world. Mentioned are the Belgian Congo uprising, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Dominican Republic crisis, and providing aircraft aid and training to Iran. In 1968 the was assigned to Thailand to schedule logistical air operations for the Southeast Asian war in Vietnam while flying logistic combat missions within the SEA theater. After a brief stateside return, he was reassigned to SEA to be the Director of Air Operations within the super-secret Studies and Observation Group (SOG) organization within MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), planning and participating in actions against the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. He worked closely with the CIA providing combat support against the Laotian and Cambodian communist forces. During his time in SEA, he flew the MC-130, AC-47, A-1H, various FAC (forward air controller) type aircraft), as well as helicopters and other support aircraft associated with that war, Upon his return to the States, he was assigned to the Air Force Logistics Command Headquarters, Wright Patterson, AFB, Dayton Ohio, where the last nine years of his career his wealth of operations and management experience contributed significantly to the AFLC success and mission: ending as Director of Inquiries in the Command Inspector General’s office. He was retired in 1980 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where his uniform blouse was requested by the museum curator for display and archiving. During his 37 I/2 year career, he obtained the aeronautical rating of Command Pilot, logging over 10,000 hours of flight time in more than 20 different combat and support aircraft. In addition to his many service ribbons, his awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor Device, Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and too many others to list here. At the date of his retirement, he was the most decorated officer in the Air Force, with 38 medals and ribbons. He was a member of The Order of Daledalin's, the Air Commando Association, he enjoyed playing golf and was an avid car collector. Lt. Col Page chose to reside in Fort Walton Beach, Florida until his final day. He is survived by his son, Reagan Arris Page. He lost his daughter, Kelly Lyn Page, unexpectedly several years ago. He will be interred at his family plot in Spring Hill, Tennessee on 17 September 2022. Services will be at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home, Columbia, Tennessee at 2:00. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com.