Courtesy of the United States Air Force
Retired Sept. 1, 1982, Died April 29, 2000
Brigadier General Paul T. Hartung was the deputy director for engineering and services and program manager for Israeli Air Base Construction, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. His duty location was Tel Aviv, Israel.
General Hartung was born in 1925, in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Tampa, Florida, where he graduated from Plant High School in 1943. He attended the University of Tampa from 1946 to 1949, and received a bachelor of arts degree in management from the University of Alaska in 1964. He attended graduate school at the University of Colorado in 1965. General Hartung is a registered professional engineer in the State of Colorado.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1943 and served as an aircraft radio operator in the South Pacific until discharged as a petty officer first class in January 1946.
General Hartung returned to active duty in November 1951, after receiving his Air Force commission by direct appointment from civilian life. He began Air Force service as an installations engineer at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. In 1953 he transferred to 3rd Air Force in England for duty as a regional installations engineer with the British Air Ministry in Abingdon.
In December 1956 he returned to the United States for duty in Los Angeles as a civil engineer with the Western Development Division, later named the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division. He served in several engineering positions, including technical facility requirements and design areas for the Atlas weapon system program.
From January 1962 to September 1964, General Hartung was the group engineer for the U.S. Air Force Security Service at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. In September 1964 he was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, as the staff engineer for the development, design and construction of the cadet area facility expansion program.
The general was assigned to Bien Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, as commander of the 823rd Civil Engineering Squadron, a Red Horse unit, with detachments in Thailand and South Korea, from September 1969 to September 1970. He was then assigned to Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado, as director of engineering and construction in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Civil Engineering. He participated in the facility expansion of the North American Air Defense Command Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
General Hartung was named deputy director of the Civil Engineering Center, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in June 1971. He later became director. In 1972 the organization transferred from the Air Staff to Air Force Systems Command. With a unit relocation to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, General Hartung become commander of the Air Force Civil Engineering Center.
In August 1973 he was named the deputy chief of staff for civil engineering, Military Airlift Command. As a result of an Air Force directed reorganization in August 1975, his position title was changed to deputy chief of staff for engineering and services.
From late 1978 to early 1979, General Hartung participated in the development of studies and government to government agreement negotiations for the design and construction of two tactical fighter bases to be built in the Negev Desert for the Israeli air force. In July 1979 he transferred to his current assignment with duty in Israel as the Department of Defense program manager.
His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster and Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 1st Class.
He was promoted to brigadier general May 1, 1976, with date of rank April 22, 1976.
General Hartung’s hometown is Tampa, Fla.
General Hartung is buried in Section 65, Grave 448, of Arlington National Cemetery.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard