At a young age, a boy's dreams and passion for flying were born during a country air show in Ohio, when a touring pilot gave Warren Van Waning his first flight. This led to a military career and proud service protecting his country.
On September 8, 1942, at the age of 19 lA, Warren Van Waning was sworn into the aviation cadet school of the enlisted reserve. By February 23, 1943 he was on active duty and from March 1943 through August, 1944, was training in PT-17 Stearman, BT-13, and AT-10 airplanes, earning his Wings, August 4, 1944. Commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the Army Air Corps, he went to B-24 training at Maxwell AFB, where he was third among the top 10 pilots who were selected as B-29 co-pilots.
Following B-29 training, he was assigned to the 73rd Bomb Wing on Saipan. He flew 22 combat missions over Japan from May through August 1945, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters.
Remaining in the Air Force, Warren was assigned to intelligence and security duties until the Korean War, where he flew 10 missions carrying combat cargo to our troops. In 1951 he was assigned to the 1009th Special Weapons (Nuclear) Squadron in Washington, D. C, where his duties involved internal security.
The Strategic Air Command, 303rd Bomb Wing, Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, was Warren's next assignment in 1956, where he was commander of the 359th Bomb Squadron, flying B-47 jet bombers. While at Davis Monthan, his squadron was involved in the Cuban missile crisis.
During his military career, he amassed 5,000 hours of flying time, with 3,000 of those being in the B-47. He retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel on May 14, 1965.