Hector F. Senecal, Jr. enlisted in the Army Air Corp in October of 1943 feeling that it was his patriotic duty. In March 1945, he graduated from the Army Air Forces Training Command at Shaw Field in Sumter, South Carolina. Upon his graduation, he was assigned to train "pilots-to-be" for the duration of the war. He remarks that he felt frustrated because he did not get to go on combat missions during the Second World War. At the conclusion of the war, he was sent on a bond tour. When discussing it recently, he said, "It was 30 famous guys and me—I guess I looked pretty good in a uniform." (His wife Rita speculates that he was chosen because he was willing to go.) He joined the Air Force Reserve in 1947. He was part of the 133rd Fighter Squadron, allotted to the New Hampshire National Guard.
He was put on active duty February 1, 1951, when the NH Air National Guard, of which he was a member, was federalized. He was stationed at Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester, N. H. He also flew at Otis AFB where he practiced flying F-80s. Senecal— despite his three children with another on the way—volunteered for combat duty. When he arrived in Seoul in November, he was assigned to the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing as an RF-51 Mustang pilot. His duties included visual and armed recon with photo verification. "First and last over the target" was their motto.
After his 281 mission, he was promoted to captain. In his RF-51, named Rita after his wife, Captain Senecal searched far behind enemy lines to provide reconnaissance of Communist troops, supplies, vehicles, and equipment. He also led many fighter-bomber strikes on enemy installations. On one such mission, he led eight Marine Corsairs and F-51 fighter-bombers in an attack on Heartbreak Ridge. He pinpointed the targets with tracers from his machine guns, and after pulling away from his dive, he would climb above and direct the fighter-bombers on their mission by radio.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross on January 3, 1952. The citation read, in part: Captain (then 1st Lt) Hector F. Senecal, Jr. displayed extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. As flight leader of a unit of two RF-51-type aircraft on an armed reconnaissance mission, Captain Senecal displayed exceptional airmanship by directing and leading a flight of 8 F-4U type aircraft against enemy supply and personnel buildings.
Heavy ground fire from 20 millimeter anti-aircraft an d.50 calibre automatic weapons fire, Captain Senecal made repeated passes against the target. He fired his .50 calibre machine guns to mark the target for the accompanying fighters and left the target only after he had expended all of his ammunition. As a result of this mission, six buildings were destroyed, seriously reducing the enemy potential.
In addition to the Distinguished Flying Cross (with two clusters), he won the Air Medal with four clusters, the Korean ribbon with two battle stars, the United Nations medal, the Presidential citation and the Sigmund Rhee citation. His leadership in the bombing of artillery emplacements at Heartbreak Ridge won him honorary membership with the Red Scarf squadron of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing. He was also recognized for flying 100
missions in record time (7 Vi months). He claims he was able to succeed in this goal by "taking assignments from anyone" [any branch of the service]. A picture documenting this award is enclosed.
At the conclusion of the Korean conflict, Senecal stayed in the active reserve in New Hampshire. He was chosen as a member of an aerobatic team, one of only two from his base. He was recalled to active duty in 1961, where he was assigned to a transport unit, flying cargo—both supplies and troops—worldwide, but with quite a few flights to Vietnam. IN 1963, Senecal retired from the Air Force as a command pilot with the rank of Major.
In recognition of his love of flying, his children, Richard H. Senecal, Ina Doonan, Carla Avard, and Gina Senecal; his daughter- and sons-in-law, Maureen Senecal, Paul Doonan, and Richard Avard; and his grandchildren Nikole and Samantha Senecal; Sean Doonan and Heather Wright; Christian Avard and Anik White; and Justin Walker contributed this memorial in his honor.