[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 30, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5127-S5128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARC C. REYNOLDS

 Mr. LEE. Mr. President, On July 21, 2014, America lost one of 
her finest veterans. Lt. Gen. Marc C. Reynolds, U.S. Air Force, 
Retired, passed away with his family by his side after a life full of 
tremendous achievements and honors. I share a few of those achievements 
from his own recollections and from the recollections of those who knew 
him.
  General Reynolds was not always a Utahn, although we have proudly 
claimed him as one for decades. He was born in Chamberlain, SD in 1928 
to Morris and Ione Reynolds. He grew up during the Second World War, a 
time--

[[Page S5128]]

as we sometimes forget--of tremendous sacrifice for our entire Nation. 
He observed that this experience shaped his entire life.
  He graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1946 and subsequently 
moved to Colorado, where he attended the University of Denver. In 1950, 
the year after his graduation, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. 
Within 24 hours of hearing the news, Marc went to the Air Force 
recruitment office in downtown Denver and signed up for the aviation 
cadet program. He trained at Perrin and Vance Air Force bases and 
graduated from pilot training as a second lieutenant. He subsequently 
attended jet interceptor training at Moody and Tyndall Air Force bases.
  All of General Reynolds' moving and training was part of the American 
Defense Command's initiative to build forces in response to the ever-
growing threat of tyranny and oppression from the Soviet Union. In 
1952, he was assigned to the 83rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and 
Hamilton Air Force Base and moved with the squadron to Paine Air Force 
Base.
  In 1953, near the end of the Korean war, he was transferred to 
Okinawa, where he flew F-94Bs on fighter-interceptor missions. After 
the war was over, he was assigned to the 437th Fighter-Interceptor 
Squadron as the tactical flight commander out of Otis Air Force Base. 
He later became a maintenance officer with the 602nd Consolidated 
Maintenance Squadron, also at Otis.
  General Reynolds then transitioned to reconnaissance, joining the 
19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Europe as flight commander. He 
served at various posts around the world and completed Air Command and 
Staff College in 1966.
  During this time, war was being waged in Indochina and a proxy war 
between the United States and the Soviet and Chinese Communist regimes 
was beginning to form. General Reynolds was assigned to the 460th 
Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon in 
South Vietnam. He arrived on December 7, 1966. In reference to the 
anniversary of Pearl Harbor, he occasionally joked that it was ``a good 
day to go to war.''
  General Reynolds' achievements and endurance during this time are 
remarkable. Throughout his 10-month deployment to Vietnam, he flew 230 
combat missions--a majority being flown at night. He also flew many 
missions over North Vietnam, which was heavily defended by Viet Cong 
radar, antiaircraft guns, and surface-to-air missiles. Flying 10 of 
these missions up north would merit month off of the year-long 
deployment.
  In an interview with KUED, he recalled his first mission in Vietnam:
  I had one of these ten-mile squares that was probably 80 or 90 miles 
south of Saigon, so it was deep down in the south. It's flat down there 
with no mountains, so they put the starter guys down there, where they 
won't run into a mountain. I had an experienced navigator, but it was 
my first mission. We went down there, and we found the target area. We 
started running up and down these preplanned lines, and I noticed on 
the third line what I'd call--well, I'd seen a little bit of flak in my 
life, but this was obviously a .50 caliber or 20 millimeter gun. I'd 
see these tracers go over my head. So I did . . . three of these lines, 
and of course, the back-seater's got his head buried in the scope, and 
he's concentrating seriously on keeping the airplane in the right place 
in the target area. When I got the end of a line, I came around and I 
said, ``Hey, why don't you pull your head out of the scope a minute and 
take a look at what's going on up here.'' And he used immediately, a 
long series of four letter words to describe how he felt about what was 
going on, but the last thing he said is like, ``Get outta here.'' I 
said, ``Well, he's been here longer than I have,'' so we went back to 
Saigon, and we talked about it. But that was my first mission.
  He subsequently served in Japan as a deputy chief of the 
Reconnaissance Division and then as a commander of the 16th Tactical 
Reconnaissance Squadron. Upon his return to the United States in 
February 1971, he was assigned to Shaw Air Force Base, where he served 
as assistant deputy commander for operations in the 363rd Tactical 
Reconnaissance Wing. He graduated from the Naval War College in August 
1973 and was subsequently assigned to Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill 
Air Force Base, initially as the director of distribution and later as 
director of maintenance.
  In July 1976 he transferred to McClellan Air Force Base, CA, as 
director of materiel management, Sacramento Air Logistics Center. In 
March 1978 he became the center's vice commander. General Reynolds 
moved to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in May 1980 as vice commander 
of the Air Force Acquisition Logistics Division and took command of the 
division in October 1981. In July 1983 he was appointed commander of 
Ogden Air Logistics Center. General Reynolds subsequently received his 
third star and was assigned as the vice commander of the Air Force 
Logistics Command at Wright-Patterson, where he served until his 
retirement.
  General Reynolds logged over 5,200 (with 475 combat) flying hours in 
his career--most of which were spent in physically-taxing small fighter 
and reconnaissance jets. His military decorations and awards include 
the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying 
Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 
15 oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf 
clusters.
  In this storied 36-year career, General Reynolds lived all over the 
world, but, according to those who knew him, one of his favorite places 
on earth was the Hill Aerospace Museum near Ogden, UT. After he retired 
from the Air Force, he became a member of the Utah Aerospace Heritage 
Foundation board, on which he served for 26 years. He was a driving 
force behind making the Hill Aerospace Museum one of the premier 
aviation museums in the country. He was appointed chairman of the board 
and served in that position for more than 20 years. General Reynolds' 
work in preserving Air Force history was awe-inspiring and will 
positively affect many generations to come.
  Those who worked with General Reynolds describe his conduct and 
character as that of a perfect gentleman. His smile was infectious and 
he always treated those around him with tremendous respect and dignity. 
I have been told that he lifted everyone around him and was committed 
to excellence in all that he did.
  I offer my deepest sympathies to his dear wife Ellie and to his 
children: Pam, Barbara, Scott, Lisa, Kristan, and Karine, and to his 15 
grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. I was told that the date on 
which he passed turned out to be a bit ironic. This great patriot-
statesman had a weakness, which I am sure many of us share, in that he 
had trouble remembering his and Ellie's anniversary date. However, in 
what seems to be coincidence, may have been an act of providence: Marc 
was able to show his love on this last mortal anniversary by his 
determination to hold on just one-half hour into the day of their 30th 
anniversary before passing. Whatever the case may be, the timing offers 
a sweet thought.
  I praise Lieutenant General Reynolds' life as an example to all 
Americans. I pray that we constantly remember those who serve, who have 
served, and who have given all that we might maintain our rights and 
enjoy the blessings of liberty. As citizens of a nation made great by 
those who serve her, like Lieutenant General Reynolds, it is our duty 
to honor those who have gone before by living our lives with excellence 
today.

                          ____________________