Velocity Speed with Direction The Professional Career of Gen Jerome F. O’Malley ALOYSIUS G. CASEY AND PATRICK A. CASEY Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama September 2007 Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center Cataloging Data Casey, Aloysius G. Velocity : speed with direction : the professional career of Gen Jerome F. O’Malley / Aloysius G. Casey and Patrick Casey. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58566-169-5 1. O’Malley, Jerome F. 2. United States. Air Force—Officers—Biography. 3. Generals —United States—Biography. 4. Air pilots, Military—Biography. 5. Vietnam War, 1961– 1975—Aerial operations, American. I. Title. II. Casey, Patrick, 1960– 358.4/0092––dc22 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. Air University Press 131 West Shumacher Avenue Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-5962 http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil ii Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii ABOUT THE AUTHORS . v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . vii INTRODUCTION . ix 1 The Fatal Crash . 1 2 The Hard Coal Region . 5 3 Saint Rose School . 11 4 Saint Rose Basketball . 23 5 West Point . 37 6 Diane Muennink, Silver Wings, and the Air Force Academy . 47 7 The B-47 Bomber and the General’s Aide . 63 8 The Blackbird SR-71 . 93 9 Colonel O’Malley and Combat in Country . 119 10 Combat Operations in North Vietnam . 129 11 SAC Wing Commander . 163 12 Brigadier General: First General Officer Assignments . 175 13 Joint Chiefs of Staff . 185 iii CONTENTS Chapter Page 14 Air Staff Plans and Operations . 201 15 Vice-Chief of the US Air Force . 219 16 Pacific Air Force Commander . 233 17 Tactical Air Force Commander and the Conclusion . 243 APPENDIX: War Messages . 263 INDEX . 283 Illustrations interspersed throughout. iv About the Authors The Caseys pose in front of a headdress display: left, Aloysius G. Casey; right, Patrick A. Casey; center, Patrick’s son, Dylan. Patrick A. Casey is married to Nancy Casey, and they are the parents of five children: Chelsea R. Casey (17), Rosie K. Casey (16), Dylan H. E. Casey (15), Tara R. Casey (13), and Eileen K. Casey (9). Patrick obtained a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts degree in American history from the University of Scranton in 1984, a juris doctorate degree from the Creighton University School of Law in 1987, and a master of laws degree in trial ad- vocacy from the Temple University School of Law in 2001. He is board certified as a criminal trial advocate and practices white- collar criminal defense with the firm of Myers, Brier, and Kelly in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Retired general Aloysius Casey brings a special capability to the study of the life of Gen Jerome F. O’Malley because they were high school classmates and lifelong friends. They experi- v ABOUT THE AUTHORS enced the rigor of Catholic education in Saint Rose High School; they attended United States (US) service academies and opted to serve in the newly designated Air Force that was formed out of the Army Air Corps of World War II. General Casey graduated from the US Naval Academy in June 1954 and served as a missile officer in the first tactical nuclear missile system fielded by the Air Force. Shortly after joining the Air Force, he married Mary Patricia (Casey) Casey, and, despite moving to 18 different homes in 34 years, they successfully managed to rear three sons: Matthew, Joseph, and Patrick. Their sons are married and have presented them with nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Casey served as a navigator in the first US jet bomber, the six-engine B-47. He also attended the Air Force Institute of Technology and received a master of science degree in astro- nautics. Subsequent assignments included the Minuteman missile program followed by a combat tour in the AC-119 gun- ship in Vietnam, where he experienced firsthand the same combat theatre just a year before the events of the air war in 1971–72 that are recounted in this book. Casey served as a colonel in the B-1 bomber program and the development of the A-10 tactical fighter. As a general officer, he was program director for the MX (Peacekeeper] missile—the largest, most accurate intercontinental ballistic missile in the US inventory. He served his final Air Force tour as commander of the Space Division that was responsible for spacecraft develop- ment and launch vehicles to place satellites on orbit. Since retiring from the Air Force in 1988, General Casey and his wife have enjoyed their home in Redlands, California. They make frequent trips to Pennsylvania to savor the growth of their grandchildren in becoming responsible citizens. He does some consulting work and enjoys long-distance running and cycling. Mrs. Casey is a community volunteer and works with Redlands’ Meals-on-Wheels program for the elderly. vi Acknowledgments We thank Peggy, Sharon, Jimmy, and John O’Malley for trusting us with the legacy of their remarkable parents. We would not have engaged in this project without their approval. We hope they conclude that we have earned their trust and honored that trust with our efforts. We thank Jane (O’Malley) Quinn and Ellen (O’Malley) Kanavy for their friendship and support over these many years. Your O’Malley smiles help to keep Jerry alive in our memories. —Patrick and Aloysius Casey I deeply appreciate the perseverance of my wife, the former Nancy Rose Conaboy, and the mother of Chelsea, Rosie, Dylan, Tara, and Eileen. Thank you for your grace, prettiness, and friendship. Please accept my deep regret that this project took a bit longer than we had expected. —Patrick Casey Thank you, Mary Patricia Casey, my darling wife, for giving me your loving support for 52 years, particularly while we collected and wrote this book. —Lt Gen Aloysius G. Casey USAF, Retired vii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Introduction This book developed from the close friendship between Patrick and his dad, Aloysius Casey. Although their residences are on opposite coasts of the country, they collaborated through years of research by e-mailing and telephoning each other several times a week; however, Aloysius Casey wrote the bulk of the text. Aloysius and Patrick directly confronted the only serious cloud hanging over Gen Jerome F. “Jerry” O’Malley’s career, the Lavelle raids. Knowing Jerry’s reputation for truthfulness, the authors believed his involvement in these raids presented a serious character question. During a meticulous review of the conduct of every member of the command structure in Vietnam, as well as a careful examination of congressional testimony, Patrick developed the view that senior Pentagon officials acted in a manner eerily similar to the behavior of officials he had faced in public cor- ruption cases in his practice of law. This view fueled the authors’ desire to seek the truth. The biography was delayed for two years while the Nixon White House audio recordings could be identified, obtained, and tran- scribed. It was delayed further so that Top Secret messages sent by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Vietnam could be acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. The publication of this book puts to rest 35 years of false his- tory. It also decisively concludes the erroneous dishonor suffered by Gen John Daniel Lavelle, the Seventh Air Force commander. General Lavelle, Colonel O’Malley, and personnel of the Seventh Air Force acted pursuant to presidential orders secretly issued on 3 February 1972 in the Oval Office. It is clear that they loy- ally and bravely served, protected, and defended the Constitu- tion of the United States. General Lavelle’s constitution in weathering the firestorm re- sulting from those strikes reveals him as a unique figure in American military history. Even when he was being framed by Pentagon and White House officials, he did not succumb to blaming those who served him in combat. His unflinching and selfless perseverance in his assumption of exclusive responsi- bility resulted in giving the United States Air Force some of its ix INTRODUCTION finest commanders during the Cold War—Generals Alton D. Slay, Charles A. Gabriel, and Jerome F. O’Malley. Wrongfully demoted and publicly ridiculed because of the ob- vious conspiratorial conduct of several senior Pentagon officials, General Lavelle’s reputation for truthfulness now towers above the reputation of his accusers. Equally interesting is General O’Malley’s ability not to sour on an Air Force career. x Chapter The Fatal Crash Gen Jerome F. O’Malley Mrs. Diane O’Malley Capt Harry L. Haugh Lt Col Lester F. Newton TSgt Robert A. Eberfus 20 April 1985 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport From the pilot’s seat of the executive jet, Jerome F. “Jerry” O’Malley looked down on the confluence of the Lackawanna and Susquehanna Rivers as the jet neared the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton International Airport in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Lackawanna Valley, running north through Scranton to Carbondale, was special to him, and his mind replayed warm images of family, home, and friends forever tied to that area. He was scheduled to speak at the Lackawanna Hilton the next evening at a dinner honoring Cong. Joseph M. McDade, whom Jerry had known as “Joey” ever since they competed in epic basketball in 948–49. Jerry thought about the Hilton, the former classical Scranton train station with the great marble and high ceilings of that era. It was now converted to a hotel.