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2015 SESSION

15100806D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 530
Offered January 14, 2015
Prefiled December 22, 2014
Celebrating the life of Lieutenant General Howard M. Lane, Sr., USAF (Ret.).
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Patrons-- Anderson and Simon; Senator: Reeves
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WHEREAS, Lieutenant General Howard M. Lane, Sr., USAF (Ret.), a decorated veteran who inspired and motivated countless young men and women as the longtime commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, died on May 2, 2014; and

WHEREAS, a native of Auburn, Alabama, Howard Lane joined many of the other young men of his generation in service to his country during World War II, enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942; and

WHEREAS, Howard Lane served in the Pacific Theater of the war, piloting a P-51 Mustang in numerous strike and escort missions over Japan; continuing his military service with the United States Air Force, he was deployed to Korea in 1950 and flew combat missions in the F-86 Sabrejet, the United States’ first swept-wing fighter; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950s, Howard Lane earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and was assigned to the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School; he later became chief of the Flight Operations Branch, Flight Test Operations Division of the Air Force Flight Test Center, where he participated in cutting-edge supersonic fighter tests; and

WHEREAS, Howard Lane served as the vice commander of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing before being deployed to Vietnam as the commander of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing in 1969; he completed 256 combat missions over Vietnam in the F-100 Super Sabre; and

WHEREAS, holding numerous other command positions after the war, Howard Lane became the inspector general of the air force in 1978; he ably accounted for all inspection, safety, investigative, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and complaint programs for the United States Air Force; and

WHEREAS, after his well-earned retirement from active military service as a lieutenant general in 1980, Howard Lane became the commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets; and

WHEREAS, during his nine years as commandant, Howard Lane increased enlistments in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and upheld the highest standards of loyalty, honor, integrity, and self-discipline as an exceptional leader and mentor for students and staff; and

WHEREAS, Howard Lane will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Marion; sons, Howard, Jr., and John, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and fellow airmen; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Lieutenant General Howard M. Lane, Sr., USAF (Ret.), a distinguished veteran and the admired former commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Lieutenant General Howard M. Lane, Sr., USAF (Ret.), as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.