Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Bill Creech: Missing man in the flight of life

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 4:30 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Gen. Bill Creech is on his way from Henderson to his final resting place with other American heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. His death has left a vacuum in my life and the lives of all who knew him. Our monthly luncheons together and the exchanging of books and ideas have been a bright spot in my normal routine for many years. We were a trio until six years ago when our friend, another prominent fighter pilot and leader, Maj. Gen. Zack Taylor, died. During the time between lunches, we would visit on the phone when something important would happen at the national or international level. The voice of his gracious wife, Caroline, would greet me warmly because she came to expect my calls.

Upon returning home from work assignments overseas I would immediately discuss with Bill what had happened. His grasp of situations in the Middle East, Central America and the Far East always gave me additional insight to what I had observed. Much like the late Las Vegas Sun publisher Hank Greenspun, the general usually knew the characters I had met and they sure knew him.

When the national debate about expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic was boiling, I asked Bill's opinion. He supported the idea because these countries give a buffer between us and Russia if "unpredictable and tumultuous" events take place in that country. He also viewed them as reliable allies in case they are called upon. That prediction came true recently, when we needed coalition help in Iraq.

He had the intellect, drive and personality to succeed in any position of government or business in our nation. His knowledge of the world would have made him the ideal secretary of state, secretary of defense or head of the National Security Council. I didn't mention president because it is doubtful if he would have tolerated or would have been able to stomach the politics of campaigning.

The general's belief in people and his ability to solve problems made him special. Seven years ago, after he had authored "The Five Pillars of TQM: How to make Total Quality Management work for you," he spoke to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. This was before the Enron mess and the exposure of overpaid CEOs. During his talk he stressed the value of the working people and how they should also profit from successful business operations. "If 90 percent of employees believe that productivity is in their best interest, productivity will rise," he told his audience. This is the thinking that made him a shining light in the Air Force and later in the business and academic worlds. He believed that enlisted personnel determined the eventual success or failure of military missions.

As a former enlisted infantryman, I appreciated Bill's warm feeling and belief in the ground fighter. He had spent almost two years as an enlisted man in the Army Air Corps before becoming a jet pilot. His experience as a forward air controller with the South Koreans and the famous U.S. 27th Infantry Regiment in North Korea was almost the end of his career. It was in late November and early December 1950 that the Chinese hordes entered the conflict. It was heavy combat and the infantry unit was surrounded by the enemy. This eventually resulted in him and an Air Force enlisted man evading the Chinese for three days and nights. Then he spent almost a month in the hospital with frostbitten feet. Both of us had similar memories of the cold Korean winters and openly questioned the wisdom of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's decisions, other than the Inchon landing, duri ng the Korean War.

Bill is recognized as a flying warrior after 103 combat missions in Korea and 177 missions over Vietnam. In addition to this, he had a two year tour of duty with the Thunderbirds and later, for four years, he was the Skyblazer acrobatics team leader in Europe. Yes, he could fly but he was also a deep thinker and a leader.

Bill was a friend whom I would want with me going down a dark alley in the tough section of any city or in a graduate seminar trying to solve a difficult problem. I'll miss his friendship, delightful sense of humor and the opportunity to visit with an American icon. We are a better and stronger nation because Bill Creech showed so many others how to think and lead.