Air Force says farewell to a patriot

  • Published
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  A former commander of Military Airlift Command was buried at the Air Force Academy cemetery Dec. 14.

Gen. Paul K. Carlton died Nov. 23 from natural causes.

The former MAC commander received Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart medals before retiring March 31, 1977, according to an obituary published in the San Antonio Express News Dec. 6. 

General Carlton is survived by Helen Carlton, his wife of 67 years; Dorothy E. Sievert and her husband, Pete, of Chicago; and retired Lt. Gen. Paul K. Carlton Jr., a former Air Force surgeon general, and his wife, Jan, of College Station, Texas. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was also held for General Carlton Dec. 7 at the Air Force Village II Chapel in San Antonio.

General Carlton was a B-17 Flying Fortress instructor pilot with Air Training Command until 1944, according to his biography on the Air Force's official Web site. He then flew B-29 Superfortress aircraft with the first group operating against the Japanese mainland from India and China, accumulating a total of 350 combat hours.

Following World War II, from January 1946 to September 1949, General Carlton was assigned to Strategic Air Command's first atomic bomb organization, the 509th Bombardment Wing, at Roswell Air Force Base, N.M.,  followed by a four-year assignment as aide-de-camp to SAC commander Gen. Curtis E. LeMay.

A command pilot, General Carlton had more than 12,000 flying hours in aircraft including the B-47Stratojet, B-52 and B-52H Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker and SR-71 Blackbird. He was a member of the Order of Daedalians, the American Defense Preparedness Association and the National Defense Transportation Administration.