Richard S. Ritchie, 2005-08-17 [MilColl OH 720]

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES OFFICE OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY Military Collection State Archives of North Carolina Richard S. Ritchie Interview Summary MilColl OH 720 Interviewee: Richard S. Ritchie Interviewer: Kenneth R. Samuelson Interview Date: August 17, 2005 Interview Location: Eden, N.C. Interview Runtime: 1:42:17 Biographical Sketch Richard Stephen Ritchie was bom on June 25, 1942, in Reidsville, N.C., to Ned Coggin and Helen Marjorie Setzer Ritchie. Richard Ritchie was raised in Reidsville, N.C., graduating from Reidsville High School in 1960. While in high school, Ritchie accepted a nomination to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ritchie played on the U.S. Air Force Academy’s varsity football team. His final game was against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 1963 Gator Bowl. During the summer before his senior year, Ritchie completed the USAF Pilot Indoctrination Program at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science in 1964. Following his graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Ritchie was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. In August 1964, he entered the Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, finishing first in his class in 1965. Upon his graduation from pilot training, Ritchie was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he flew the F-104 Starfighter. After two years at Eglin AFB, he was assigned to Homestead Air Force Base in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where he transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II in preparation for a tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Ritchie arrived in Vietnam on April 1, 1968. He was assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, and was stationed at Da Nang Air Base. Upon his return to the United States in 1969, he attended USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; then, he served as an instructor at the school from 1970 to 1972. Ritchie 1