TPS student receives long awaited award

  • Published
  • By Kenji Thuloweit
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  A U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School student was honored Aug. 20 for being both a top fighter pilot and a top citizen.
 
Capt. Timothy J. Spaulding received the 2008 Lt. Col. Anthony Shine Fighter Pilot Award during a ceremony before a commandant's call in the TPS Dick Scobee auditorium.

The award is given annually to a pilot who is both adept at flying a fighter jet and heavily involved in the local community.

Captain Spaulding has waited two years for the award. He won it in 2008 while serving in the 492nd Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. There were personnel and administrative changes that delayed the presentation of the award.

"I was lucky enough to be given a lot of opportunities while being stationed with the 492nd," said Captain Spaulding. "We deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where I planned, executed, and developed tactics for a seldom-used F-15E weapon."

"Before, during and after deployment I set up a math tutoring program where pilots and weapon systems officers in the squadron taught college math classes to our maintainers and others looking to take CLEP tests for college credits," he said.

"I'm humbled to receive the award, and to be associated with the Shine family."

The award is generally presented around POW/MIA day, which is Sept. 17. The award's namesake, Colonel Shine, was missing in action for 24 years.

The colonel disappeared while flying his A-7D Corsair fighter over Vietnam, Dec. 2, 1972.

The award was established in 1981 by Colonel Shine's wife in order to bring attention to POWs and those MIA.

Colleen Shine, the daughter of Colonel Shine, attended the ceremony.

"For nearly 30 years, this award has focused attention on the plight of America's prisoners and those missing in Southeast Asia, while simultaneously honoring the U.S. Air Force top gun for commitment and excellence -- in flying and living," said Ms. Shine. "The award's criteria is two-fold: recipients must exhibit excellence in flying a tactical fighter and have demonstrated community service. Winners exemplify the caliber of character and excellence in flying my father stood for."

Ms. Shine worked tirelessly with her mother to locate her father and to lobby the government to commit more resources to finding POWs and those MIA, even testifying before Congress.

Colonel Shine's remains were discovered in Vietnam in the mid-90s after local Vietnamese people came forward with information.

Ms. Shine went to Vietnam to investigate and found the locals' information to be true. She even found her father's flight helmet with "Shine" written on the inside. Pieces of his plane were also found.

The Colonel's remains were positively identified and he was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery Oct. 1996.

"With 1,711 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, and Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl held prisoner for more than a year now in Afghanistan, continued focus on the POW/MIA issue is vital," said Ms. Shine. "As the resolution of my father's case demonstrates, answers are possible -- and make a world of difference for families who have sacrificed so much for so long."

Edwards will commemorate national POW/MIA day Sept. 17 with a host of events to be announced in the coming weeks.

Ms. Shine continues to promote awareness about POW/MIA issues. For more information, visit the National League of POW/MIA Families website at www.pow-miafamilies.org . The organization's Combined Federal Campaign number is10218.