Roger Henry Herman

1931 - 2010

Roger Henry Herman, a retired lieutenant colonel of the United States Air Force, died Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Service: Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 26, at St. Andrew Catholic Church. The Rev. Tom Stabile will officiate. Interment: 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27, in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Visitation: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, at Thompson's Harveson & Cole Funeral Home where a vigil service will begin at 6:30 p.m. Memorials: Social Ministries, in care of St. Andrew Catholic Church, 3717 Stadium Drive, Fort Worth, Texas 76109. Roger Herman was born in Tucson, Ariz., on May 21, 1931. Roger's love of airplanes developed at an early age and was further fostered at age 15 by Joe Detwiler, a Korean War veteran and pilot, who upon returning to Tucson at the end of the war, organized a Senior Scout-Air Squadron, which afforded Roger the opportunity to take flight. Roger soloed at 16 and received his private pilot's license at 17, a year before he received his driver's license. After graduating from Amphitheater High School in 1949, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 at the start of the Korean War. Roger entered pilot training in 1952 as an aviation cadet and was assigned to class 53G at Hondo Air Force Base in October of that year. He was assigned to Foster AFB in Victoria for jet training where he received his commission in November 1953. In 1954 he was assigned to Perrin AFB, Texas, for F-86D training with the Air Defense Command. He was subsequently selected for assignment to Kimpo Air Base in Korea and then later transferred to Misawa Air Base, Japan. Upon returning to the United States, he flew RF-84K aircraft at Larson AFB, Moses Lake, Wash. In 1956, after undergoing a very selective screening program with the Strategic Air Command, Roger was chosen for the new U-2 program. He was assigned to Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, reporting on June 15, 1957, and was upgraded to full combat ready status in January 1958. The mission of the squadron was high-altitude sampling conducted by agencies of the Atomic Energy Commission, checking radioactivity from low to very high altitudes (40,000 to 67,000 feet) from the Arctic to Antarctic Circle. These missions generally required 90-day temporary duty at U.S. and foreign bases. While serving in Argentina, he was awarded Argentine air force wings. In March 1957, two years after receiving a "Dear John" letter from the love of his life, Monica Shea, the young aviator re-established communication with his Irish sweetheart. A spring and summer courtship ensued, involving hours of telephone calls from a stifling outdoor phone booth and trips from Del Rio to Buffalo, N.Y., culminating in a proposal on Labor Day 1957. Thankfully Monica accepted, and after a snowy December wedding in Buffalo, they began their 52-year-long adventure with a long drive to Del Rio. During the next five years, their family increased to six with the addition of Eileen in 1959, Robert in 1960, Susan in 1962 and Mary in 1963. In October 1962, during the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis, Roger was one of 11 Air Force pilots who performed the U-2 over-flights of Cuba. For these missions he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. In March 1964, he flew the first U-2 into Vietnam. Later that year, he accepted a position in U-2 Operations at SAC Headquarters in Omaha, Neb., shortly becoming director of U-2 Operations in the Recon Center Special Operations Division. While at SAC Headquarters, Roger earned a degree in business administration from Bellevue University, located in a suburb of Omaha, Neb. In 1968 Roger was selected for detached service with the CIA, working in Taiwan with the Republic of China Air Force in their U-2 Program. During this three-year assignment, he was officially awarded Chinese Air Force Wings by the chief of staff of the Chinese Air Force. Just prior to his departure from Taiwan in 1972, Roger was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a debilitating muscular disease which grounded him from flying and ended his Air Force career of 25 years in 1975. Fortunately, several years later, his neurologist treated his condition with a newly developed medical regimen which allowed him to regain his pilot's license. After several years of corporate flying, Roger spent 8 1/2 years as a simulator instructor with Southwest Airlines, where he also earned a Boeing 737 Type-Rating Certificate. He retired from Southwest Airlines in 1996. After a long, brave battle with his recurring disease, Roger was reunited with the Lord three days before his 79th birthday. He was preceded in death by his parents, Pauline and Henry Herman; his brother, Donald Herman; and sisters, Lorene Newman and Sharon Vanderslice. Survivors: His wife of 52 years, Monica; children, Eileen Friou, Robert Herman and wife, Kathryn, Susan Dougherty and husband, Don, and Mary Schwab and husband, Jeff; grandchildren, Katie Legg and husband, Brian, Megan and Laura Herman, Elizabeth Pizzurro and husband, Brandon, Roger McGrew, David and Michael Dougherty, Jacob and Pauline Schwab; sisters, Marcine Keane and Mary Helen Jenkins.