Page 14 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2015

Today it is ge ng harder and harder to nd heroes. They are few and far between and growing more so with each passing year. I’m not talking about the modern pop culture heroes like sports gures and movie stars. I mean men and women who dedicated their en re lives to their na on and the preserva on of our way of life. This category includes re ghters and police o cers, people who daily put their lives at risk to help others. But there is another kind of hero. Of course I’m referring to those unique and amazing men and women who wore our country’s uniform in war me.
One such man spent most of his 95 years serving the United States in peace and war, in and out of uniform. Born on the Yucatan Peninsula in 1920, Robert Cardenas could never have foreseen the remarkable journey his humble beginnings would lead to. But in every sense of the term, his life has been the epitome of the American Dream. From the me he rst joined the California Na onal Guard in 1939 un l his re rement in 1973, he served his country sel essly for 34 years. While in the USAAF and later USAF, Cardenas took on eve- ry job and duty given with a zeal and vigor that is rarely seen in modern society. His accomplish- ments are well documented. As the commander of a crippled B-24 in World War II he only man- aged to escape German cap vity by swimming across an Alpine lake to Switzerland. As the Pro- ject Manager for the Sound Barrier program in 1947, he made the cri cal decisions that gov- erned the en re success of the project. He played a major role in tes ng dozens of new, radical and even dangerous planes, including the Northrop YB-49 bomber. The list goes on and on. There is li le that Brigadier General Robert L. Cardenas has not done in his long career in the Air Force. He piloted more than eighty di erent types of aircra , from bombers to ghters, from trans- ports to trainers, from biplanes to jets including the F-105 in North Vietnam where he was award- ed his DFC.
It’s impossible to meet Robert Cardenas and not be struck by his incredible accomplishments and
his quiet humility. He has been described as a pioneer- ing aviator, visionary leader and dedicated patriot. He proudly wears a ‘salad bar’ of decora ons and awards for his life me of service.
Yet deep in his eyes s ll resides the simple boy from the Yucatan who rst stepped on U.S soil in 1925. He is and always will be an example of a self-made man, a member of the ‘Greatest Genera on.’
In my own conversa ons with him, I found that he was most proud of two achievements. These two events took place nearly seventy years apart. He helped to set up the rst glider training facility at Twenty-Nine Palms, California. In the dark pre-dawn hours of 6 June 1944, hundreds of Horsa gliders carrying troops, ar l- lery, supplies and jeeps put Americans on French soil for the rst me. The men pilo ng those gliders re- ceived their training from the school set up by Lt. Rob- ert Cardenas. Even long a er he hung up the blue suit to take on the role of a genteel private ci zen, Car- denas saw no reason to be idle. He joined several vet- erans’ organiza ons including The DFC Society. Per- haps his most enduring legacy is his major role in cam- paigning for a new Na onal Cemetery at Miramar, which opened in 2010.
The na on has paid tribute to General Cardenas in a number of ways, from his upcoming induc on into the U.S. Na onal Avia on Hall of Fame to being a Dis n-
Honors to a Man Who Made a Difference By Mark Carlson
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