Col. Bob Harvey’s Veterans Day Message: 5 Lessons to Convey to Children About War

COL. BOB HARVEY HONORS ALL THAT SERVED

As Veteran’s Day approaches, I read this Fox News opinion article, “Veterans Day: 5 lessons to convey to children about war,” online and wanted to share it along with some thoughts.

The article references D-Day: the invasion of France in 1944. In the article is a link to the story of The Band of Brothers – a company of men who parachuted into France on D-day, but the gist of the article is five lessons about war, which I found interesting.

I was honored during my 33-year military career many times. One of my fondest memories, and honors, was when I led the flyover of the 50th anniversary of D-Day – in Normandy, France.

Below is a video of the ceremony and flyover. I am the middle (lead) aircraft of the group of five F-16s leading all the other aircraft at the end of the long ceremony – you can see it at the 3 hours13 minute point of the video.

During my career, not only did I fly over the D-Day beaches, but I was honored to visit them – such hallowed ground. Later in my career, I was honored and humbled to visit the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, and the U.S. Marine Corps flag-raising fame is also mentioned in the article.

In all my service, these five lessons are some of the best to remember.

Veteran’s Day, which is this Friday, Nov. 11, is about remembering all the Veterans who served. All of them. Many thanks to all who served and to all their family members who also gave so much.

– Bob Harvey, Colonel, USAF (retired)

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ABOVE VIDEO: Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Bob Harvey devoted his life to serving his country.

Col. Bob Harvey, the epitome of grace under fire, was once ejected over the South Carolina skies from an F-16 fighter jet with a design flaw.

Even though badly bruised, Harvey just took a couple of days over a holiday weekend to recuperate from the ordeal before heading back to work.

That’s not the half of it, either, since while piloting another F-16, this time over Turkey, the engine completely conked out on Harvey, for all intents immediately making the beefy aircraft into one unwieldy glider.

Harvey is one of only a handful of pilots in the world to successfully maneuver an engine-less F-16 back to earth.

“It was akin to seven miracles rolled into one,” said Harvey, who now has a much safer gig as a pilot of an Airbus 320 for Allegiant Air.

Harvey may attribute the safe landing to divine intervention, but his clear thinking and judicious actions were critical components, too.

The now Cocoa resident was born in California and raised in rural Oregon, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18.

“I worked my way up to helicopter pilot,” he said.

His Army duty done, Harvey continued flying UH-1 helicopters, this time to fight forest fires, while he attended night school. He went back into military service, choosing the Air Force in this go-round.

“I started at the bottom,” he said.

He worked his way up quickly, going through the USAF Fighter Weapons School and becoming a fighter pilot of F-16s, with 3,100 hours, including 160 combat hours, on those aircraft.

Harvey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor, a Bronze Star, five Air Force medals, two Legion of Merit decorations, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Air Force Koren Kolligian Trophy for the most outstanding achievement in U.S. Air Force aviation safety – his amazing landing of the engine-out F-16 over Turkey earned him that distinction.

By the time he retired with a colonel’s rank, Harvey had logged more than 5,700 flight hours. During his Air Force service, Harvey was responsible for airfield operations in Phoenix and Arizona and overseas in Korea and Japan.

His duties included full responsibility for all aspects of airfield operations, including safety, quality assurance, crew scheduling, maintenance, and budgeting. That experience in logistics should serve him well were he to win the Port commissioner’s job.

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This National Defense Fellow served as an analyst on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and as senior air advisor to the Army commander during the war in Iraq. His last active duty assignment as chief of standardization and evaluation for the U.S. Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force carried the responsibility of assessment of 38 flying units at ten bases throughout the Southwest Asian Central Command Area.

Retirement from military service arrived in 2009, and Harvey addressed the civilian chapter of his career by joining Atom Airways in Melbourne as director of business development and safety. He was also vice president of plans and development for AAR Airlift Group in Palm Bay.

After 33 years of military service and the migratory lifestyle that accompanies it, Harvey and his wife Connie embraced Brevard with open arms when they moved here in 2011. As has been their modus operandi throughout the marriage, the couple became immersed in the community.

“As soon as Connie and I touch down somewhere, we get active,” said Harvey, who has served as  Port Canaveral Commissioner, the board of directors of the Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce, PREVENT! Of Brevard and on the City of Cocoa’s Brownfield Advisory Council.

Connie also works with the American Red Cross on a national level to raise awareness of water and swimming safety.

“We love our Brevard community and have made it our forever home,” said Harvey.

In fact, Harvey has written a book about his beloved Cocoa. “Cocoa, Florida, A History,” is his well-researched celebration of this singular town.

“I drove all over town for my research and talked with many of the older residents to get a sense of the city,” said Harvey. “I love history. You don’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”

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