Retired chief becomes new honorary command chief, inspires award Published Dec. 14, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Whitney Jackson Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Col. Steve Garland, 99th Air Base Wing commander, named retired Chief Master Sgt. Henry S. Fouts, who dedicated more than 30 years of service to the Air Force, the 99 ABW honorary command chief Dec. 9, 2011, during a commander's call in the base theater on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Throughout his distinguished military career, Fouts held many jobs and inspired others with his innovation and willingness to push the envelope in order to accomplish the mission successfully. Fouts military journey began after he left high school in the 10th grade. During this time, his mother had recently passed away and his father was very ill, so he chose to enlist. After turning 18, Fouts enlisted in the Army Aug. 8, 1942 ans was assigned to U.S. Army Air Corp. "I knew I was going to be drafted and I didn't want to be infantry, so I enlisted," Fouts said. "I had seen a copy of Life Magazine, and the cover showed an Airman who was an aerial gunner school instructor at Nellis. I read the article and I liked it. That article influenced me to go to aerial gunner school." Fouts was assigned to attend basic training at Miami Beach Fla., and then applied for aerial gunnery school. He was accepted for gunnery school at Buckingham Army Airfield, Fort Myers, Fla. Shortly after, he graduated from gunnery school Oct. 17, 1942, and promoted to sergeant and transferred to Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Ga. with a dive bomb unit. Fouts flew in several Vultee aircraft A-31s during his dive bomb training before they phased out A-31s to XB-51s for pilots. "They phased out all of the aerial gunners," Fouts said. "That's when i was assigned to the 309th Bombardment Group, A B-25 Aircraft overseas training unit. I had a temporary duty assignment to Sheppard Army Airfield to attend Aircraft Maintenance School to qualify me as a flight engineer." Once Fouts finished the aircraft maintenance training, he applied for pilot training and appeared before a board. The board selected Fouts and sent him to Michigan State College for pilot training. His follow up training took place in San Antonio, Texas. While there, Fouts faced a difficult obstacle: medical staff grounded him permanently becuase of an abdominal surgery he has as a child. "They tried to tell me that I wasn't going to be able to fly anymore," Fouts said. "I appealed the grounding and they gave a waiver after i proved that i had been flying a s a gunner on the A-31 Dive Bomber." Fouts finished his B-17 training July 1944 and was assigned the 346th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bomb Group. While serving in Europe, Fouts received some additional training that provided some realistic expectations. "We went through some evasive instruction, in case we were shot down, and [discussed] the conduct that was expected of us if we were captured," Fouts said. And while Fouts participated in numerous flights during his tour in Europe, it was during a combat mission in Czechoslovakia that Fouts was faced with a tremendous challenge that required his intellect and innovation in order for his plane to return safely to its home base. It was Sept. 23, 1944, and Fouts' aircraft, after engaging with the enemy, had endured a great deal of damage. With one failed engine, an unconscious co-pilot and numerous other mechanical problems, Fouts' airplane had to fall out of formation. In response to the damage, Fouts immediately sprang to action. He first hooked the co-pilot up to oxygen. While the co-pilot regained consciousness, Fouts assisted the other members of the crew. Far behind the formation, Fouts' aircraft continued the flight back to Italy alone while he assessed the damage. Fouts soon realized that, with the amount of damage the aircraft had suffered, it would not be able to stop properly when it landed. That is when Fouts suggested the idea to use a parachute to help stop the aircraft. While the aircraft circled over the runway, Fouts contacted his headquarters for permission to use his own parachute as a way to help stop the aircraft. After receiving permission, Fouts went to the back of the aircraft to pop the door and secure the parachute with bombing wire. As the plane landed and the tail wheels set down, Fouts popped open his parachute, which successfully brought the aircraft to a standstill. "Everything was being filmed as it happened," Fouts said. "I didn't see [the film] until three or four days following the incident. The National Archives gave me a copy and I never realized, until I watched [the film] that we did a 370 degree loop on the ground after we landed." Fouts was discharged from the military May 24, 1945, after surpassing the maximum allowable points in the Army discharge points system. One week later, he was hired to work at Eastern Airlines. After working at the Eastern Airlines for three years, Fouts read about an Air Force Reserve unit and joined Feb. 2, 1949, as a flight engineer on the Douglas A-26 bombers. In December 1949, he was recalled to active duty as a technical sergeant. "I really wanted to join the Reserves; then they asked if I wanted to go on active duty, which I opted to do," Fouts said. "I don't regret it." Fouts applied for retirement effective September 1967. Later he found out he was selected for senior master sergeant effective April 1, 1967, which made him cancel his application. In December 1969 he was selected for promotion to chief master sergeant. For his honorable service, Fouts received many awards and decorations throughout his career, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. After serving more than 30 years of honorable service, Fouts retired March 1, 1977. "I'm very proud of my service and to having been a servant of the military and my country," Fouts said. "It's a privilege and great opportunity a lot of people haven't enjoyed." In addition to naming Fouts as the new 99 ABW honorary command chief, Garland developed another way to keep Fouts' spirit of innovation alive and well in the 99 ABW, the successor of Fouts' former 99th Bomb Group. In Fouts' honor, Garland will present a diamondback award to any Airmen who mirror Fouts' example, of using his parachute to stop and plane, and go above and beyond to come up with an inventive idea to help the mission. Thanks to this new award and Fouts' presence as an honorary command chief, Fouts' legacy and inventive thinking will live on through the 99 ABW and inspire new, young Airmen to do great things for many years to come.
