George M. Hrebec
August 13, 1922 — May 26, 2013
George M. Hrebec
George Hrebec passed away on May 26th ''' at the age of 90 ''' after a long and heroic struggle with Alzheimer'?s disease.
It was only fitting that he died on the Memorial Day weekend since he considered his service to his country as his greatest achievement and highest honor.
In 1937 he joined the National Guard ''' at the ripe old age of 15 ''' by lying about his age and saying he was 18. When the United States entered the war in 1941, George transferred to the Army Air Corps. Reaching for the toughest assignment offered he became a bomber pilot and ''' now as a grizzled veteran of 19 ''' became the '''Old Man,''? leading his crew on numerous bombing runs throughout the European theater.
Flying many more missions than were required for rotation he finally returned to the USA and soon entered the California Institute of Technology on the G.I. bill. After graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering he joined the newly created United States Air Force and got to work on the mysteries and challenges of flight and warfare in the jet age.
Eventually this transitioned into working on the military space program. He was involved with many overt and covert projects, such as the development of the Titan launch vehicle (still in use today) and the (recently
declassified) Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, which never flew but did form the research foundation for the Space Shuttle and such '''man in space''? platforms as the International Space Station.
In 1970 ''' after 33 years of service ''' he retired as a '''30-year''? veteran.
(The extra three years were required because he wasn'?t actually 18 when he
enlisted.) In retirement he traveled the entire globe (except for Antarctica, he never liked the cold), built boats and houses in Florida and California, and finally settled down in his favorite city: San Francisco.
There he stayed until last August, when he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona.
He is survived by his son Dennis, his grandson Dennis Patrick, good friends, and your fond memories.
It was only fitting that he died on the Memorial Day weekend since he considered his service to his country as his greatest achievement and highest honor.
In 1937 he joined the National Guard ''' at the ripe old age of 15 ''' by lying about his age and saying he was 18. When the United States entered the war in 1941, George transferred to the Army Air Corps. Reaching for the toughest assignment offered he became a bomber pilot and ''' now as a grizzled veteran of 19 ''' became the '''Old Man,''? leading his crew on numerous bombing runs throughout the European theater.
Flying many more missions than were required for rotation he finally returned to the USA and soon entered the California Institute of Technology on the G.I. bill. After graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering he joined the newly created United States Air Force and got to work on the mysteries and challenges of flight and warfare in the jet age.
Eventually this transitioned into working on the military space program. He was involved with many overt and covert projects, such as the development of the Titan launch vehicle (still in use today) and the (recently
declassified) Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, which never flew but did form the research foundation for the Space Shuttle and such '''man in space''? platforms as the International Space Station.
In 1970 ''' after 33 years of service ''' he retired as a '''30-year''? veteran.
(The extra three years were required because he wasn'?t actually 18 when he
enlisted.) In retirement he traveled the entire globe (except for Antarctica, he never liked the cold), built boats and houses in Florida and California, and finally settled down in his favorite city: San Francisco.
There he stayed until last August, when he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona.
He is survived by his son Dennis, his grandson Dennis Patrick, good friends, and your fond memories.
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