Photography courtesy of Bill Cole.
Today, April 26, is World Pilots’ Day, celebrating aviation milestones, pilots, veterans and beyond.
In honor of this special day, local Air Force veteran and retired Southwest Airlines pilot Bill Cole shares his experience flying overseas and his ongoing volunteer work with the Frontiers of Flight.
As a child, Cole collected model planes before he was in the cockpits of the real deal. His father’s military service took them to various locations, including France. Returning from a base there, he spent two years at Mineral Wells High School before joining the Air Force Academy.
“I didn’t make it the first try,” Cole said. “But along with a bunch of other folks around the country, I was offered the opportunity to enlist into the Air Force to go to basic training and then the Naval Academy prep school.”
During his second year at West Point, he attended the Air Force Academy, graduating in 1965 alongside his friend Lance P. Sijan.
Cole’s initial assignment was with the C130, serving deployments to Turkey and Vietnam. In November 1967, Sijan’s plane was shot down over North Vietnam. Despite evading capture for 45 days while badly injured, Sijan was eventually taken prisoner and died in captivity. After the war, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
“That was a sad part of my experience in Vietnam,” Cole said. “I was very fortunate to come back to the States.”
Later stationed in Texas, Cole learned of opportunities with Southwest Airlines in San Antonio, allowing him to fulfill his 20 years of flying credits required by the Air Force.
“I really enjoyed it, it was terrific,” Cole said about his experience at Southwestern. “A lot of good guys to work with and then we had our first female captain when I was still there.”
Following retirement in 2002, Cole became involved with the Frontiers of Flight Museum, volunteering his time. Along with appreciating the sections of the aviation museum, Cole saw they had a Vietnam POWS (Prisoners of War) wall, but didn’t have the names of some of them.
“I talked to them about [Lance] and they put him up as an example with a picture of him and a brief story of his situation,” Cole said. “I was happy to see that. People were seeing a real person who had been given this life over there.”
Though no longer flying, Cole remains active at the museum, sharing his passion for aviation and staying in tune with industry innovations – although he does hope that Boeing improves, he teases.
In his free time, Cole continues his childhood hobby of collecting model airplanes, now displayed on the shelves where he stays at The Preston of the Park Cities overlooking Dallas Love Field. Each day from his window, he gets to watch planes take off and land while also observing the local birdlife.
“It’s good to be out there and look and just enjoy the scenery,” Cole said. “I guess I’ve gotten used to that over the years of being skyborne.”
