Brig. Gen. Tukey of Maine dies at 83

The man whose vision and influence were vital during the transition of Dow Air Force Base to civilian use during the 1960s died in Florida on Sunday at age 83.

Brig. Gen. Philip E. Tukey Jr., led the 101st Fighter Interceptor Wing, Maine Air National Guard, in Bangor from when it was formed Feb. 16, 1947, to Aug. 19, 1975. He worked hand-in-hand with Bangor city officials during Dow’s four-year transition, which ended in July 1968, said Peter D’Errico, who was BIA’s general manager from 1970 to 1990.

“General Tukey was responsible for assuring that the aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment, as well as snow removal vehicles, remained as part of the military to civilian joint use” of Bangor International Airport, D’Errico said.

D’Errico currently is involved with the city’s economic development office. “These tools and equipment continued to be used after Dow’s closing, and the Federal Aviation Administration continued to operate the tower and air traffic center on a 24-hour basis in support of the Maine Air Guard’s air defense mission under Tukey’s [then] command,” he said.

Roy Martin, of Glenburn, who served with Tukey from 1956 to 1975, became wing commander of the 101st and retired in 1987. Martin was one of Tukey’s chosen “back seaters” while flying the two-seat interceptor fighter jets stationed in Bangor, working the radar function of the F-89Js, and later in the F101-Bs. The unit became the first operational jet fighter squadron in the Maine National Guard.

“Those of us who knew General Tukey best, respected him for his personal standards and his integrity. He was the kind of military officer that you hoped to have,” Martin said. “General Tukey was indeed a war hero. He led a group of P-47 aircraft fighters in the very heat of battle in Europe [during World War II].”

Martin said Tukey was a remarkable person. “He was just magnificent. The qualities he had are sadly missing in our leading officials nowadays.”

In fact, Tukey flew a total of 344 combat hours, which represented 125 combat missions in P-47 and P-51 fighters.

Ret. Maj. Gen. Ernest C. Park of Brewer, who served as adjutant general of the Maine Guard from 1986 to 1991, confirmed Tukey’s penchant for having the “old-timers” flying in the jet’s back seat. “Maybe it was because he thought we had more experience,” he said.

“I always called him ‘general,'” Park said. “He was the founder. He was the Maine Air Guard. Even when I became major general, I always called him General Tukey.”

Martin remembers that “if you fouled up, you knew about it. But he held no grudges, and he was usually right.”

When Michael Gleason of Bangor joined the Air National Guard, he had never laid eyes on a general.

“Twenty-eight years ago last Saturday [March 3] was the day I joined the guard. I was dressed in my pale blue shirt and dark blue pants. Suddenly, a bunch of stars attached to a man stepped into the room,” Gleason said. The man seemed to whiz by, he said, but turned and spoke to Gleason, saying that he was “out of uniform,” because he was wearing brown shoes. “Oh, he’s new to the unit,” another guardsman said in Gleason’s defense. It seems that brown shoes were phased out in the mid-1950s, something Gleason will not soon forget.

“General Tukey was just an incredible person,” Gleason said. “He was up front. You knew where you stood with him. It seemed like he knew the path to take, and he took it.”

A memorial service for Gen. Tukey will be held in June at All Souls Congregational Church, Bangor, at a date and time to be announced.