Mele Vojvodich Jr., A-12 pilot, passes away

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.c...80&xlc=1080164

Mele Vojvodich Jr., 74, a retired major general in the Air Force and a spy
pilot who flew about two dozen top secret surveillance missions for the CIA
during the Cold War, died Monday night at his home in Schertz.
Vojvodich, who had leukemia, had undergone quintuple bypass heart surgery last
year.

The general was one of five surviving pilots who flew the CIA's A-12 spy plane
during the 1960s.

It wasn't until decades later that the classified missions became known. Many
of them were conducted by Air Force pilots who flew on temporary assignment for
the CIA, including Vojvodich.

The supersonic A-12 was one of three spy planes — the others were the U-2 and
the SR-71 Blackbird — developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corp.'s famous
"Skunk Works" division in Burbank, Calif., for the CIA.

Only 15 A-12s, which flew at Mach 3.1 at an altitude of 80,000 feet, were built
as part of the Oxcart project before it folded in 1968.

In May 1967, five years after the A-12 was tested in Groom Lake, Nev.,
Vojvodich flew the first A-12 to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

Less than 10 days later, Vojvodich flew the first A-12 Black Shield mission
over North Vietnam and photographed 70 surface-to-air missile sites.

Vojvodich and the other A-12 pilots also flew other surveillance missions over
North Vietnam and over North Korea.

Those weren't Vojvodich's first reconnaissance flights, said retired Air Force
Col. Ronald "Jack" Layton of Rexburg, Idaho.

During the Korean War, Vojvodich, then a first lieutenant in the Air Force,
flew more than 300 miles into Chinese territory in search of Soviet-made
Ilyushin-28 bombers, contrary to regulations.

"When he returned to base, his commander chewed him out and told him he might
be court-martialed," said Layton, a close friend who was at Groom Lake with
Vojvodich and also flew A-12 spy missions.

Vojvodich's saving grace was the film he shot while over China.

"Those photos made an extreme difference in the way the battle plans were
formulated," Layton said.

A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Vojvodich was a command pilot with 6,000 flying
hours, including combat missions in Korea and Vietnam.

He also served in Thailand, Japan, Hawaii, at Headquarters Air Training Command
at Randolph AFB and at Air Force headquarters in Washington.

His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross,
Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Distinguished Flying Cross.

He also was a recipient of the CIA's Intelligence Star for Valor.

In September, he was named a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots,
an international organization based in Lancaster, Calif., that promotes air
safety and aviation achievement.

Vojvodich's daughter Debra Vandenbos of New Braunfels said her father never
accepted being called a hero.

"He always said he just did what he was paid to do," Vandenbos said.

Other survivors include his wife of 50 years, Carol; and a son, Mark Vojvodich
of San Antonio.

Graveside services are at 1:15 p.m. Friday at Fort Sam Houston National
Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Fort Sam Houston Officer's Club.

Ron
Pilot/Wildland Firefighter

In article ,
Ron wrote:
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.c...80&xlc=1080164

To add a bit to the obituary...

Mel gave a long talk at the gathering celebrating the fortieth
anniversary of the first flight of the A-12. He recounted the
flight over China that was mentioned in by Ron. On the way out,
he ended up with sixteen MiGs chasing him. He commented that,
"The good thing about having sixteen MiGs on your tail is that
only one can shoot at youa t a time."

When the photos were seen, the higher-ups were so impressed that
he was promoted. He said that was when he decided he liked
strategic reconnaissance.