2RHPZ
07-01-2004, 05:49 PM
The last Vietnam War POW flying for the U.S. military has called it a career, reluctantly retiring after 44 years in uniform.
Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier, who reached the Air Force's mandatory retirement age for his rank at 62, was honored at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Mechenbier spent six years in a Vietnamese prison after his fighter was shot down.
"If we didn't have an age-limit law, Gen. Mechenbier would not step down," said Gregory Martin, commander of Air Force Materiel Command.
Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier, who reached the Air Force's mandatory retirement age for his rank at 62, was honored at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Mechenbier spent six years in a Vietnamese prison after his fighter was shot down.
"If we didn't have an age-limit law, Gen. Mechenbier would not step down," said Gregory Martin, commander of Air Force Materiel Command.