William Riley Griner, Jr.

Rate / Rank
Colonel

Birthdate
July 19 1923

Date of Death
February 19 2004

Branch
USAAC

Active Duty Service
March 18 1942 - August 16 1974

Conflicts & Campaigns

Pacific; World War II
Korea; Aircraft Commander and squadron operations officer (B-29) flew 59 combat missions over North Korea.
Vietnam Military Advisory Group flew combat missions with Vietnamese Air Force.

Significant Duty Stations

1942 - Air Force Aviation Cadet Program, Air Transport Command; 1951 - 307th Bomb Group, Okinawa; 320th Bomb Wing, March AFB, California; Commander of 63rd Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Wing, Carswell AFB, Texas (B-58);
1961 - Operations Plans Division Headquarters, Strategic Air Command where he served as Chief of Tactics until !965- Commander of the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, California (SR-71); Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam.
Strategic Air Command (SAC)

Decorations & Citations

Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters

Notes

US Army service number 13-070-903. Born; Cairo, Georgia. Graduated from Cairo High School. Son of Private William Riley Griner, Sr. US Army. Retired from US Air Force. Burial; Section 49A, Site 4078, Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California.