MILLHEIM — A section of Pennsylvania Route 445 was designated in honor of Centre County Air Force pilot Lt. Gen. Robert D. Springer on Tuesday, April 2.
Lieutenant General Robert D. Springer Memorial Highway was designated for Springer, who died in August 2021.
“The section of Pennsylvania Route 445 from the intersection with Pennsylvania Route 45 to the intersection with Pennsylvania Route 192 in Millheim Borough and Penn Township, Centre County, is designated as the Lieutenant General Robert D. Springer Memorial Highway,” according to Pennsylvania General Assembly Act 17 of 2023.
The memorial and dedication began with a presentation of the colors and included remarks from
PennDOT District Executive Thomas Pretash and State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff. As a part of the memorial and dedication, Springer’s children shared stories of their father and his achievements. The official sign marking the portion of state Route 445 was revealed during the ceremony.
Springer was born in 1933 in Millheim and attended George Washington University, Washington, D.C., where he earned his bachelor’s degree in social sciences and his master’s in international affairs.
He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1952 at the age of 19. After serving in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, he later became chief of intelligence with the 1st Air Commando Squadron at Pleiku Air Base.
In 1972, Springer was assigned to Air Force headquarters as the special assistant to the Air Force vice chief of staff. Six years later, he found himself in West Germany in command of the 435th Tactical Airlift Wing at Rhein-Main Air Base.
Before retiring in 1988, Springer worked as the Air Force inspector general and as vice commander in chief of the Military Airlift Command at Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois.
Springer was a command pilot with over 6,000 flying hours and 72 combat missions and became the first executive director of the Air Force Memorial Foundation.
In an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine, referenced in the program for the dedication ceremony, Air & Space Forces Association President and retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright noted. “Bob Springer literally got the Air Force Memorial off the ground, and soaring into the Washington, D.C. skyline.”
During Springer’s career, he received more than a dozen military decorations and awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross and Legion of Merit.
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