Rom Puryear: The Co-Boss

McChord and the 25th Air Division

The mid-1950s found Bob Burns in a different kind of Air Force than the one he had known during the war. The hot war was over; the Cold War was in full stride. Air Defense Command existed to detect and intercept Soviet bombers, and the 25th Air Division at McChord AFB was responsible for defending the Pacific Northwest. The work was radar screens and scramble procedures and long hours in the alert facility — important, unglamorous, entirely different from leading B-17 formations over Germany.

"My next assignment was at McChord AFB as the Dep. for Operations of the 25th Air Division, commanded by a B/G Rom Puryear."

Brigadier General Rom Puryear commanded the 25th Air Division.

The Co-Boss

"For the first time in my military service, I worked for a boss with whom I felt to be truly a co-boss, if you can imagine such a thing. We never had a difference of opinion, and I was assured that any decision I made was what Puryear would have made in my stead."

"Early in my stint at McChord, Puryear let me know that he stood in awe at my wartime activity, and that he was not at all sure that he could have handled life and death exposures. He was never in combat, but through no fault of his own."

A Character in Full

The professional trust between Bob and Puryear coexisted with a personality that generated stories. Puryear had, as Bob put it, a fondness for strong drink — and he wore it without apology.

One evening, the commander of the Western Defense Force, General Roy Lynn, came to McChord for a visit. The briefings finished, they went to dinner at the Officers' Club.

"While at McChord, we had a visit from the commander of the Western Defense Force, Roy Lynn. After a hard day briefing him and showing how we operated, we took him to dinner at the O club. After a few drinks, Roy turned to Rom and asked what was on the list for tomorrow. Rom replied, 'Well it's Saturday isn't it? So I guess I will get drunk and, God, how I dread it!'"

The New Orleans trip offered another installment. Hugh Williams' squadron had won the Hughes Trophy for rocketry, and Bob and Puryear flew down for the awards ceremony.

"When Hugh Williams' squadron won the Hughes trophy for rocketry, Rom and I flew down to New Orleans for the gala presentation. Let me insert here that Rom had a fondness for strong drink. After a damp night at a New Orleans eatery, we walked outside and parked directly in front of the door was a taxi. Rom walked in front of it stepped on the bumper and started to walk on the hood of the car. The taxi driver was aghast and yelled at Rom, 'Man, you are walking on my automobile!'"

Colorado Springs

The partnership survived the move from McChord. After completing his tour at the 25th Air Division, Bob received orders to Headquarters Air Defense Command at Colorado Springs. Puryear was already there.

"Well, at graduation, I got orders to Hqs. Air Defense Command at Colorado Springs. Again, I was in operations with Puryear as my boss. And we bought our first house."

Colorado Springs also brought their first house — the first Bob and Ruth had owned.

"And it was there that I got promoted to B/Gen. In my job there, I had pressed for ADC to have a single facility to provide combat ready pilots for the F-101, F-102, and F-106."

The End of a Partnership

Puryear's eyes were failing. The diagnosis was retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative condition that narrows vision progressively toward tunnel vision and eventual blindness. A general whose peripheral vision was gone was a general whose flying career was over — and in the Air Force of the 1950s, a grounded general was a diminished one.

"About this time, Rom found out that he had an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which reduced his sight to tunnel vision. I give him full credit for my promotion to B/Gen. I was a white knight to him."

Retinitis pigmentosa narrows the visual field progressively toward tunnel vision and, eventually, blindness — a grounding diagnosis for any pilot. Bob still spoke of Puryear with unmistakable warmth sixty years later.