October 15, 2021 – Washington County, WI – After serving 20-1/2 years in the United States Army as a helicopter pilot, earning the rank of Major and racking up 1,650 hours of combat flight, Jerry White of Colgate, WI, is going to Washington DC on Saturday, October 16, 2021, on the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
White will be traveling with his grandson Josh Harvey as his guardian; Harvey is from Oshkosh, WI.
White enlisted in the US Army at the age of 22 and has witnessed, and participated in, a lot from the air. “I went to Warrant Officer school, became a warrant officer (WO), and serve a tour in Vietnam as a WO instructor pilot and test pilot,” he said. “All my service was in aviation.”
“After I finished aviation training I went to Germany to fly the largest helicopter in the free world which was the CH37 Sikorsky; we flew all over Europe,” said White.
“From there I was selected to go to the presidential flight in Washington DC and flew President Kennedy and President Johnson,” White said. “I was selected to be the crew chief; I was a sergeant at that time.”
White talked about numerous missions he flew as a combat pilot. “The first tour I flew all over from Saigon. We flew air assault. We were going to extract the troops, and these happened to be Saigonese Regular Army. As we were coming out, the whole flight was ambushed; we got back to the airfield and counted 125 bullet holes in the aircraft. Not one person aboard was injured. That was an act of God.”
White retired from the Army at the age of 39 with an undergraduate degree in business and a master’s in business, having taken two years of schooling while serving in the military.
“After I got out, I was recruited by a national firm in Wisconsin; I’m originally from Iowa,” he said. “So, I had a fresh MBA, and MBAs were very much in demand at that time in 1974. I took a job with Continental Can in Milwaukee. From there, I was recruited by UWM to head up their business development center. I was one of the first people in the state to have that position.”
After eight years with UWM, White and his wife, Terry, went into business for themselves. “We were approached by a number of people to start a company and they would fund it, and we did it. It was called Innovative Control System. We designed and manufactured and sold security systems for hospitals and nursing homes.”
White received the Presidential Service badge, 42 air medals, and a Bronze Star for his service.
White and his wife, Terry, have been married for 36 years and has three daughters. White’s birthday is the day after the Honor Flight. “This is a great birthday present,” he said.
Other veterans from Washington County on the Saturday, October 16, 2021 flight include:
Vietnam Army Gerald Schwenke of Colgate
Vietnam Army David Daniels of Germantown
Vietnam Army Thomas Farvour of Germantown
Vietnam Army Gordon Peszko of Hartford
Vietnam Marines Ralph Waters of Jackson
Vietnam Army Norbert Repinski of Kewaskum
Vietnam Army Daniel Barney of West Bend
Vietnam Navy Arthur Scherer of West Bend
Vietnam Army Angel Santiago of West Bend
Vietnam Navy Francis Miezio of West Bend. Click HERE to read about Frank Miezio’s service.
Vietnam Air Force Preston Jackson of West Bend
Vietnam Marines Michael Norman of West Bend
Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is the Milwaukee area hub of the Honor Flight Network. Founded in 2008, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown more than 7,600 WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans from southeastern Wisconsin on one day, all-expenses-paid trips to Washington D.C.
