Major General Robert Franklin Worley Official USAF Biography Major General Robert Franklin Worley was vice commander, Seventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces. General Worley was born in 1919, in Riverside, Calif. He began his military career in October 1940 at March Field, Calif. The general graduated from pilot training at Brooks Field, Texas, in May 1941, and was commissioned a second lieutenant. During the next two years he served at Mitchel Field, N.Y.; Bolling Field, Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore Municipal Airport as a fighter pilot and as a squadron commander. During World War II, he participated in the North African, Sicily and Italian campaigns and the Asiatic-Pacific theater campaigns. General Worley's combat record included 120 aerial missions with 215 combat hours in the P-40 and P-47 aircraft. The General was shot down on his first mission while flying close air support for ground troops in the African desert. He walked back through the enemy lines and returned to his unit. Following World War II he helped organize and commanded the jet transitional school at Williams Field, Ariz. Before assignment to TAC headquarters Dec. 30, 1964, as assistant deputy for operations, command and control, General Worley commanded the 831st Air Division at George Air Force Base, Calif. He went to George Air Force Base from Twelfth Air Force headquarters in Waco, Texas, where he served as deputy for operations. He has also served as Director of Operations for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, with headquarters in Germany. A graduate of the Air Command and Staff School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., the general is rated a command pilot and parachutist. His decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Purple Heart. Maj. Gen. Worley was killed July 23, 1968, in the crash of an RF-4C Phantom jet aircraft approximately 65 miles northwest of Da Nang Air Base. General Worley was piloting a photo-reconnaissance mission when the aircraft was hit by groundfire. Major General Robert F. Worley was survived by his wife, Bette Lorraine, one son, Robert M, II, five daugthers, Dana E, Vicky L, (Hampton, VA), Sue Anne (Zama Japan), Gail A (San Francisco), and Eloy D. Stinetti (Merida, Venezuela), and his parents, Alta P and Robert M Worley, Palm Desert, California. He also had a brother, Dr. Donald L. Worley, and sister, Mrs. Wanda E. McCloud, both in Riverside when he was a Brigadier General. All the children of Alta P (Kansas) and Robert M (Iowa) were born in Kansas according to the 1930 census which shows the family in Chico, California. Robert M, II, followed in his father's footsteps and as of 2013, was a retired Major General, USAF, and working in the Department of Veterans Affairs. MG Robert F Worley and wife Bette are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. - - The Virtual Wall, July 1, 2014

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