OFFICER, GENTLEMAN, HERO: MAJOR MIKE MCGUIRE & HOW TWO U.S. AIR FORCE PILOTS SAVED A BRITISH VILLAGE
BOTH PILOTS FOUGHT AS HARD AS THEY COULD TO KEEP THEIR AIRCRAFT STABLE…
Warning lights and sounds indicated mechanical problems. With a catastrophic hydraulic leak, the 47,000 lb. monster of a swing wing bomber became near impossible to control. During the final approach, the pilots reported to the tower a total hydraulic failure.
From it’s long black nose to it’s registration letters 68-052 adorning it’s massive tail, all 73 feet of the General Dynamics F-111 struggled to stay level. It cut through the low, gray, overcast skies at a tremendous rate, rapidly approaching Somerton Road with intentions to clear the perimeter fence and hopefully touch down safely onto Runway 09.
Assigned to the United States Air Force (USAF) 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Wing, at RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England, 68-052 should have landed safely – just as it had a hundred times prior- however, tragically, things turned out drastically differently.
Training missions were not supposed to end this way. No mission was supposed to end this way. Seated side by side, 28 year old pilot, Captain Jerry Lindh and 37 year old Navigator/Weapons Systems Officer (WSO), Major David “Mike” McGuire had a difficult choice to make as they wrestled to keep the plane under control. Several difficult choices would have been made in a matter of seconds. Heyford’s control tower advised that they needed to eject NOW if they wanted any chance of survival.
One eyewitness later recalled, “Our attention was focused a little north of the village proper (Upper Heyford) on the plane coming in about 200 feet off of the ground. The jet was making a horrible sputtering noise and looked to barely be in control…I can only describe it as wobbly with wings flapping -with the wing tips alternatively going +/- 25-30 degrees- with the right wing dipping furthest.” (Aviation Safety).
With swift deliberation under tremendous stress, the two men decided as one. No ejection. They refused. To eject would mean the remaining bulk of the F-111 would plummet to the ground below. The impact would have scorched the earth and destroyed much of the villages of Upper Heyford and North Aston. The death toll would have been unthinkable. Both pilots lived in and knew the area around the base well. Ejecting was not a option. It was said later at a memorial that, “their decision was an extraordinary act of bravery and self-sacrifice.” An understatement if there ever was one.
With years of flying experience and total disregard for their own lives, they stuck with the failing aircraft and together, did everything in their power to limp the F-111 past the villages to avoid the catastrophe.
A local witness was enjoying a pub luncheon at the Three Horseshoes pub as 68-0052 limped past overhead. He recalled that he was a “stones throw” from the end of the runway and he and several friends were outside enjoying an ale and telling stories as they partook in a favorite pastime of watching the F-111’s come in to land. They watched the camouflage adorned beasts roar in as they routinely landed at the end of Runway 09. Once touched down, they would reverse engine thrusts which reigned them in to finally taxi one by one to the hardened shelters.
As pints were drunk, teeth began to rattle, they suddenly knew not all was well. One witness in the group remarked, “that doesn’t sound healthy” as 68-052 with Lindh and McGuire fighting for control a few hundred feet above, wobbled slowly past, right wing dipping. (Aviation Safety).
SOMERTON ROAD
The plane barely cleared Somerton Road and crashed through the runway lights outside the perimeter at no more than a height of 100 feet. A local witness remembered that, “The plane rolled almost 150 degrees to the right going almost fully inverted. There was a small explosion less than 2 seconds before the plane went in just over the perimeter fence and impacted in a field just south of the 09 runway. It appeared to us that the crew ejection capsule had shot straight into the ground.” (Oxford Mail)
Near the Barley Mow, another pub just 300 yards away, a bus had just dropped students off from Bicester Community College. They would have certainly perished if the F-111 had hit their location.
Pub landlord Derek Howling said afterwards, “I was standing in the bar when I heard a thud…the pub shook and I looked out and saw the aircraft skating across the road in two separate parts. It went through the fence and onto the base and burst into flames.” (Oxford Mail).
According to a member of the 77th Squadron that I recently spoke to, they remembered that day all too well. “I was on shift change when we heard the noise. My husband was in the 55th. One of my co-workers responded and helped stop the capsule (the aircraft ejection pod) from rolling too far. It was a horrible sight. The area became crowded with emergency vehicles and personnel coming off of shift change stopping to help.” (12/7/26 Eyewitness).
Based on crash reports, “An unsuccessful attempt at ejection was made after ground impact, 1,720 feet short of the threshold of Runway 09. The module had been damaged in the initial ground impact, and subsequently did not achieve sufficient altitude to permit proper parachute deployment.” Major McGuire perished instantly . Captain Lindh was transported to the base hospital where he too succumbed to his injuries . (Aviation Safety).
The weeks afterward were marked by silence. “No one talked much about it…you know how things go, if a plane goes down from maintenance everyone knows. If it’s a pilot error no one talks. If there is a death, everyone mourns… One of the pilot’s cars, a Ford Sierra Cosworth, stayed in the 55th’s parking lot for over a month.” (12/7/26 Eyewitness).
TWENTY YEARS LATER
Twenty years later, in September of 2012, a ceremony was held in the church yard adjacent to the St Mary’s parish church nestled among the weathered ironstone and honey-hued limestone of Upper Heyford. The buildings, carved from the local earth, seemed to anchor the ceremony to the very landscape the airmen had saved. In attendance were Kathy McGuire, widow of Major Mike McGuire, alongside parish councilors and village representatives. They were joined by a USAF Honor Guard from RAF Croughton and members of the Marlborough Road Methodist Church in Banbury, where Captain Lindh had been a regular worshiper.”(USAF Article).
Brigadier General John Quintas gave the address. As a pilot stationed at Upper Heyford during the crash, he knew Captain Lindh well, making his tribute particularly poignant Quintas’ words were both powerful and moving. “We are here to remember Mike and Jerry. It is a personal honor, not because I flew the F-111, but because I was stationed here with Mike and Jerry, as part of the 55th Fighter Squadron. I am a better Airman and person because of them and their example…That day is something I will never forget…It was the first time I was at a place with an aircraft accident, and it was the first one I witnessed. I immediately got that feeling in my stomach that I never wanted to feel again, and I hope none of you ever experience…These two men, in their actions during the last moments of their lives, did what we all hope we would do, they put the lives of countless other people above their own.”
A poem reading followed, the same one that was read during the memorial service in 1992. As an act of remembrance, Kathy McGuire placed a wreath at the base of the new memorial created to memorialize these extraordinary men. It reads, “In memory of Capt. Jerry Lindh and Maj. David ‘Mike’ McGuire who gallantly gave their loves to save our village on 17th Sept. 1992. God Bless from all your friends at Upper Heyford.”
After the ceremony, Kathy McGuire reflected, “Living back in the United States, I often wonder if Mike’s sacrifice is still remembered here,” said McGuire, “Being here today has made me realize that what he did still matters and that is very comforting.” (Oxford Mail).
1992 marked my own first assignment as a young Air Force firefighter. Arriving at RAF Upper Heyford just one week after the tragedy, I found myself wondering: would the sacrifice my brothers made that autumn day be remembered? It bothered me that Captain Jerry Lindh and Major Mike McGuire, though recognized as heroes, were often portrayed in the media as one-dimensional victims of a military accident.
I WANTED TO KNOW MORE
I wanted to know more, who was Mike McGuire? Who was Jerry Lindh? What were they like as individuals? As men? As humans? Not just Air Force personnel. After some research I located Major Mike McGuire’s wife Kathy McGuire (widow doesn’t seem appropriate to me). She responded to my outreach and the rest is history.
Kathy agreed to assist me in telling their story, a personalized lasting memory and tribute, for her soulmate and husband forever, Major Mike McGuire. Not only was Mike an accomplished USAF Officer and Weapons Systems Officer, but he was a gentleman, husband, and hero. I draw upon the articles of the time and my December interview with Kathy, for whom without, this would not have been possible.
Mike would have been proud. I’m sure Mike IS proud. I am honored to have Kathy’s blessing to tell the story of her beloved. To revisit and celebrate his life and express gratitude and awe for his selfless sacrifice.
MIKE MCGUIRE – EARLY DAYS
Major David ‘Mike’ McGuire was born on March 26, 1955, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He grew up, attended, then graduated from Pennsylvania’s Towanda High School in 1973. It was there, that Mike developed a love for anything outdoors. The fresh rural air, woodlands, ponds, and vast acres of unspoiled wild country made an impression on the young boy. His love for the outdoors would transfer into his later life as we will see.
In 1977, he graduated from the USAF Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and enrolled in Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) training in sunny California, at Mathers Air Force Base. In 1978, he was assigned to the 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England (where I too later served). Mike wore many hats while at Lakenheath; Instructor, Radar Strike Officer, Standardization/Evaluation Officer, and Functional Check-Flight Crew Member (active-duty F-111 pilot). Three years later, in the beautiful English summer of 1981, he was promoted to Captain.
Three months later, Mike was tapped with a home assignment in a much more wilder, dryer, and browner environment with the 389th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron based at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Back stateside, he proved invaluable as a WSO Instructor on the then relatively new F-111A Fighter-Bomber. He was also the Training and Scheduling Officer. He would perform these duties for three years.
Then in 1984, Mike was enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. In that same year, he met his wife to be, Kathy.
1984 – KATHY MEETS HER OFFICER & A GENTLEMAN
Accepting an invite from a friend, 27 year old Mike, fresh from a flying assignment, appeared at a local Friday christian group. There he met and struck up a conversation with Kathy. I asked Kathy what she noticed about Mike that made an impression, it didn’t take her long to answer me. “He was a real gentleman. That was kind of the first thing that stood out to me. And he had manners, which I think was a combination from his family’s influence and the (Air Force) academy professionalism – that was taught and expected.”
And Mike was friendly. A quality Kathy picked up on immediately. She recalled, “He wasn’t exclusive…I noticed that he would be interacting with (and) anyone…everyone.” However, his outgoing nature hid a quiet side. “He wasn’t a real outgoing person,” Kathy recollected, “but he wasn’t an introvert either. He was quiet. He would observe…yes, he observed, but he participated in everything.”
Mike’s strength of faith also provided common ground for the couple. His compassion was admired by Kathy, she fondly remarked that, “He actually would pray for people in the group by name, not just, ‘oh God bless us.’ He would actually pray for whatever the person’s request or (a solution to) whatever problem they were going through. He had empathy and compassion for people in whatever situation that they were going through.” After pause for thought, she remarked with certainty, “That stood out to me.”
As part of group activities, the love Mike had for the outdoors would continue. Only now, he had a new partner to share his love with. Together they would ski, hike, bowl, and more. Kathy recalled, “It was very physical then…the group would do outdoor group activities…and Mike grew up in northern Pennsylvania. He was a hunter and enjoyed deer hunting in the fall.” Living near the New York border with plenty of forest and mountain terrain, Mike found paradise.
GLORIOUS SUMMER OF 1986
The summer of 1986 was busy indeed. Mike graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in June of 1986 as a Major with a master’s degree in Research (Strategic and Tactical Sciences). Two months later, on August 23 in Dayton, OH Kathy and Mike were married. Kathy fondly remembered that, “It was hot and humid, but we didn’t notice because all of our friends and family were there celebrating with us.” A short honeymoon followed in Gaitlinburg, Virginia before Mike was assigned to Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Major McGuire shined as a Tactical Systems Analyst for the command headquarters. He did more than shine, he became a resident expert and Air Force guru on subjects such as fighter bomber capabilities, Battlefield Air Interdiction (BAI), Close Air Support (CAS), and more. The TAC Commander selected Mike personally to outline Air Force BAI and CAS capabilities to the Chief of Staff and Under Secretary of the Air Force. Three years later in 1989, Mike was off to the Armed Forces Staff College. One year later, in 1990, he was assigned to the base I served at, and recently revisited in December of 2025, RAF Upper Heyford, in Oxfordshire, England.
Immediately after arrival, Mike’s expertise and talent was utilized. He was fast tracked to mission ready status and given the role of instructor. He also assumed the duties of Assistant Operations Officer in the 55th Fighter Squadron. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, Mike also deployed numerous times and flew in a combat role for his country without hesitation and with honor.
COMBAT PILOT – COMMANDER – OPERATIONS OFFICER
His resume became an example of what every pilot / officer in the USAF could emulate. His resume included combat flying time as a WSO in his trademark aircraft, the F-111 Aardvark. Based out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, he flew numerous missions supporting Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Which means he risked his life, time and time again, to complete mission objectives, traveling over the cool nighttime deserts of Iraq, swing wings back, at speeds of up to Mach 2.5 or 1800+ miles per hour.
Featuring variable-sweep wings, afterburner turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight, the F-111 evaded radar and delivered ordnance with deadly precision. Used extensively in Desert Storm, it carried Laser-Guided Bombs (LGBs), including the GBU-15 and the 5,000-pound GBU-28 bunker penetrating bomb, making it the only aircraft in the operation capable of delivering these heavy, apocalyptic, precision munitions. Major McGuire controlled those weapons onto target with the skill of a surgeon.
After a quick stint at Aviano Air Base in Italy, serving as the 20th Fighter Wing Detachment Commander supporting the NATO exercise Dragon Hammer, he returned to the lush green countryside of England and its idyllic villages.
Finally, in 1992, Major Mike McGuire was assigned acting Operations Officer with the 20th Operations Support Squadron, 20th Fighter Wing, at RAF Upper Heyford, in Oxfordshire, England. They couldn’t have picked a more experienced, cool headed, capable officer.
THE GENTLEMAN
Like all people, Mike had his quirks. To Kathy though, her mild exasperation at any shortcomings resulted from her husband being the ultimate gentleman and showing absolute deference toward his wife. Like many couples, even the simple task of deciding where to go to eat could prove both irritating and comical.
Kathy loved that about Mike. She remembered fondly that they would joke about it over their six years together. “He would show deference, like I said, he was a gentleman, but it’s like, “Okay, it’s Friday. Let’s go out to eat. Where do you want to eat?” Kathy would ask.
“Well, I don’t know…where do you want to eat?” He would always reply, showing deference to the extreme.
Kathy, with affectionate rebuttal would blurt out, “Just make a decision!”
As Kathy reflected, Mike made decisions all day, and some could mean life and death. So, to her, he had a lifetime pass. “You know what?” she stated. “All the decisions he had to do in his job were critical and stressful. I think he just wanted to give me the first choice, and I didn’t really care.” She concluded thoughtfully, “I wanted to give him the first choice because he was the one working more hours than I was. It was like, ‘Well, what do YOU want? Steak or fish or whatever!’”
LONG DISTANCE RUNNER WITH A DRY SENSE OF HUMOR
Mike controlled his level of stress and stayed fighting fit by running long distances. He had been a runner in high school, through his days at the academy, and never stopped. It was his time to decompress and most assuredly process decisions and be able to think. So, he would go run. Often. I can almost imagine times he would run in the gorgeous British countryside taking it all in, exhilarated, enjoying life.
Once home, Mike often relaxed through watching late night British television. Most couples are opposites at bedtime. Kathy was an early to bed type. Mike was the night owl. “I’m the bed early person. He would stay up later and watch TV (British comedy – which tends to be dry, sarcastic, and on the edgy side) and sometimes I could hear him just laughing…I don’t think he would really laugh like that if I was in the room. He was too much of a gentleman.”
Kathy and Mike had six years together. To me, they were fated to be together, even if for a short time, as they enjoyed what time they had in each other’s company as much as possible. Like many couples who were assigned RAF Upper Heyford, me included, they enjoyed weekend day trips in the countryside, visiting the spires of Oxford, shopping in the British markets, visiting London, and more. Kathy also loved to walk on the grounds of Winston Churchill’s birth place and home on the nearby Blenheim Palace footpaths. She concluded, “It was gorgeous to be there.”
STILL LOVES ENGLAND
Kathy still loves England and the memories it holds. “We both loved England,” she remembered, “For me now, looking back, after all that time, I still pull up all of the British TV shows. There’s some of the shows I watch when I feel nostalgic, I’ll just pull up Inspector Morse so I can see Oxford again. I know who’s going to be the killer and everything, but sometimes I just put it on.”
And they had bigger plans. She recalled their initial reaction when assigned to RAF Upper Heyford. “Oh, man, we had all these plans like, oh, well, we’re going to go to Russia and we’re going to go to Germany… then the first month we were there, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait…so our plans were prohibited by the world situation, and he was on call too.”
I wondered if co-pilot Captain Jerry Lindh and Mike were close friends. Kathy reflected that they were not. In the 55th, she explained, “Pilot pairing was about configuration; it was just whoever was on the rota. I mean, they worked together, and knew each other in the squadron, and Mike outranked him…but I don’t really know how this assignment was made.”
HE LOVED GOING FAST
I asked if Mike ‘liked’ the F-111 aircraft he flew so many hours in. Yes, he liked it. Kathy was emphatic. “He liked it. I mean, it was at that time, really versatile. He particularly loved flying on combat readiness exercises in which they would fly from Heyford to Scotland, make a ‘fake’ bombing run, then return. “They would fly out of Upper Heyford and go up through Scotland and through all the mountain passes, and then they’d go up to the northern tip.” She recalled clearly.
And what would they do at this destination? “There was a special little island that they would bomb, not with real bombs, but laser precision and like play…. It was exciting for him. He loved to go fast…when I met him, he had a sporty Toyota Supra.” When the couple first got to England Mike pulled up in a tiny MG sports car. “Yeah, it was an orange / red. Convertible.”
I can only surmise flying 1800 miles per hour low level through Scottish mountains quenched his thirst for speed only temporarily. Various rumors indicated that a Ford Sierra Cosworth sat in the 55th parking lot for weeks after the incident might have been Mike’s. “No, that wasn’t ours,” replied Kathy, “That was Lindh’s.”
SEPTEMBER 17, 1992
When Mike McGuire woke up that morning on September 17, 1992, he hadn’t a clue how the day would unfold. Or did he? Let me explain.
Two weeks prior, as the leaves were falling, and a gorgeous British autumn spread its warm sunshine, cool breezes, and heady scents across the Oxfordshire countryside. Mr. and Mrs. McGuire were busy in their British rented home nestled in Wooton. The picturesque golden clad Cotswold village near Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Both were planning a terrific trip to Scotland. Only this time Mike would be driving a 3,600lb Toyota Supra not flying a 47,000lb F-111 Aardvark. Already postponed due to essential mission taskings, Kathy and Mike looked forward to finally escaping together.
That very day, after Mike arrived home from a scheduled flight, they would be up and out the door. Bags were packed already and Mike, in typical Air Force WSO fashion, had meticulously planned the upcoming trip. Each mile, each stop, every cost, every eventuality, methodical, and accurately prepared, the Mike McGuire way. Kathy remarked with both amusement and sadness, “Of course it was on the dining room table. He had all the maps and the schedule from point A to point B, and point B to point C. That’s how he traveled.”
Remember, this was the time prior to onboard navigation in vehicles which I can assure you Mike would have loved. But not as much as his maps. He was a navigator at heart and profession, so “that everything was laid out on the dining room table.”
UNCHARACTERISTIC PREMONITION?
Mike’s flight wasn’t scheduled until that afternoon, so instead of leaving the house like he typically did at 5 AM, it was a leisurely morning. Kathy asked Mike if he was going to eat something. She recalled, “I asked him, what do you want to eat before you leave? (pause) I thought, here we go.”
He eventually responded, “Oh, I’m just gonna have a bowl of oatmeal.”
I remember I said, “Okay, I’ll do it for you.”
That’s when Mike sat on the stairs, pulling on his combat boots, lacing them up. He soon ate his oatmeal, they talked, and Mike announced, “Well, I gotta go.” Then etched in Kathy’s memory for eternity, he did something very uncharacteristic of Mike that morning.
“He walked down the hallway,” she remembered clear as day, “But I remember he turned around and looked at me, and the look on his face was, ‘oh man, I wish I didn’t have to go in today.’
A GIFT FROM GOD
Even to this day, Kathy remembers a positive side to another uncharacteristic event. Mike did something else he never did. Prior to the flight he called her on the phone. Its ringing filled the Woodstock home. Kathy picked up the receiver. It was Mike.
“Well, I’m getting ready to take off,” he stated. “I just thought I’d call you to see if we have enough pounds (British money), so that we have enough cash on the trip,” Mike said.
“Yeah I know, I just went to the bank and exchanged money,” replied Kathy.
“OK…Great,” Mike answered.
Kathy will never forget what he said next. She recalls with clarity, “And then the sudden positive, the really good thing was…the last thing I heard from him.”
He said, “Great. I love you.”
“So, I mean, that was a godsend. I will always remember the last words I heard. I love you. That was great.” She paused then added, “I’m so thankful that we didn’t have some stupid argument or just ignore like, this is every day…I’ve heard of people, you know. They didn’t have those nice, wonderful. Final words, you know, arguing over what kind of coffee to have or whatever. Or, ‘I don’t care what you do’…they’re in a hurry too much.” Kathy considers Mike’s last words as a gift. She remarked, “That was a gift, a gift from God, so I could have that as a memory.”
THE AFTERNOON
Kathy proceeded to prepare for the upcoming trip. As an avid listener Radio Oxford, she cleaned like she normally did while tuned in. That’s when she heard the initial news bulletin. The words Upper Heyford and F-111 were heard, but there were no details. She continued to clean and listened for more. “And so, I’m going, oh, I gotta listen to this. I’ll wait for the next news cycle” and continued to get ready for the trip.
Then a feeling came over her. She remembered clearly, “I definitely got some kind of insight. I’m not sure what to call it, Intuition? And so, I actually took all the maps and itinerary, and I put them away.”
Two hours later she heard another news piece. They had more details. Kathy knew in her soul that something had happened to Mike and Jerry.
Kathy said she started to think more analytically. “I thought, oh, it couldn’t have been them because he wasn’t supposed to land until…” whatever time it was…I knew the approximate time they were supposed to land, so I was like, this is too early.
But, then who is it, who could it be? I would know the family. We’d know because you’re all big family, kind of thing. So now my senses are really on alert. Like, what’s going on?”
In her distress, Kathy forgot exactly how much time passed, but estimated it was a further hour later. When visitors arrived. A knock on the door thundered through the house.
Kathy will never forget the moment. “You know how England has that kind of frosted glass? (A common to front foyer doors in 70’s British homes). We had like a little sun porch or whatever…so when I went to the door, you could see them. I could see the whole group and they could see me. Not clearly, but you know, profile, or whatever.”
After two steps toward the door, before she even opened it, she heard something no wife ever wants to hear. “I heard one of the them say, she knows…which is true…I already knew in my spirit.”
UNWANTED VISITORS
On her doorstep, four dour faced individuals faced a shocked Mrs. McGuire. Standing there was Base Commander Colonel Terry J. Schwalier and his wife, an Air Force Chaplain, and a Flight Surgeon.
Kathy was speechless. She recalled, “Well, it’s the worst shock anyone could experience…I’ll spit it that way. Like the world’s being pulled out from under you.” Kathy recalled, “they came in and the commander had the exact words that they have to say…it doesn’t deviate because they have a script that they follow.”
Kathy’s faith stepped in. Even before she sat down on the couch, she knew God was by her side. Her mind began to draw upon stories from the bible. Jobe, and the potter, and the clay which helped her keep some sort of composure.
“So I go, okay. God is gonna form something out of this whole experience. So that’s what flew through my mind in, like, the first minute, and I mean, ever since then.” She continued, “I can look back on that. And I go, you know, there’s some, something purposeful God is forming through this whole thing…my faith absolutely helped me.”
FAITH – FRIENDS – FAMILY
The close knit Air Force family, specifically pilot families, are strong. Kathy recalled their friends, fellow pilots, family, and the Squadron were very, very supportive. Kathy stayed in the house for a while.
There was a memorial service on base and then Mike was transported to Dover Air Force Base, then home for a service in his family’s church in Pennsylvania. Unexpected partners to the end, both Mike and Jerry had requested burial at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. “The Funeral ceremony in the Air Force chapel was very meaningful, and then the graveside with the presentation of the flag, and the multi gun salute, taps and a flyover…It was very formal and traditional.”
Anchored in her faith, Kathy remained pragmatic. She reminded me that Mike had taken an oath to defend his country, knowing his life could be on the line at any moment. Having served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he remained thoroughly prepared—both legally and spiritually—at all times.
THE SERIOUS TALK
“Before the squadron went to Desert Shield (1990),” she recalled, “We had a very serious talk one evening about the what if. So that’s when I found out that he wanted to be buried at the Air Force Academy when the time came.”
“So, you are going to be buried at the academy?” she verified.
“Yeah, that’s where I want to be buried,” he confirmed.
“Well, I’ll probably be back in Ohio…so I won’t be able to put flowers on your grave,” Kathy retorted.
Mike answered in true McGuire style. He looked at Kathy very seriously, paused, then remarked simply, “Well, that’s okay.”
Kathy summarized affectionately, “These are the silly little things.”
Mike could teach us all about life. A gentleman to the end.
THE BLOKE NEXT DOOR
Kathy and Mike didn’t feel that pets were appropriate for a military life such as theirs. So British neighbors filled that void. Not literally, but a welcome addition to the McGuire’s life in Wooton. Kathy recalled, “there was one gentleman who lived just two doors away. He was a civilian engineer and was older. Interestingly, he engineered the cockpits for the for the British aircraft in World War II. So, he and Mike just hit it off….they both loved to talk to each other. That’s a nice memory. Like that. We got invited to their house. Real tea, real little glasses of sherry. Just like the movies. And he’s like, ‘look, Mike, what do you think about…blah, blah, blah.’ Oh, I’ll tell you, oh my God, we were like, ‘Here we go. We’re off.’ It was a great, great experience in that little village.”
KATHY’S SOULMATE FOREVER
Kathy and Mike were something special. Kathy never remarried. She quietly and confidently remarked, “I was open to it after a few years, but there just wasn’t that, you know, soulmate that came along…like Mike was.”
They didn’t have children, but Kathy is surrounded by loved ones in Dayton. “This is my hometown. I have a sister, a sister-in-law, and nephews here. In fact, I did have direct influence over my nephew, Ben, who became a lieutenant colonel in the USAF. “I can’t believe he’s put 20 years in,” she opined. He flew C-130s in Afghanistan and Iraq; Mike would have been proud. “I’m glad he doesn’t do that anymore,” she concluded.
THE HUMBLE PROTECTOR & MENTOR
Mike was a gentleman, a true protector, and mentor to his fellow squadron members. Younger, eager pilots felt comfortable confiding in Mike. “Mike was just a really good guy,” that’s what people would say…All these young hotshot pilots could always talk to Mike and he would give them the right advice or the right thing to say…he was very relatable. Approachable. No politics. Climbing the rank ladder on the backs of others just wasn’t in Mike’s nature. Kathy advised me that, “He just said, if I get promoted, I get promoted, If I don’t, I don’t.”
Always humble, Mike attended required Air Force events with Kathy. She stated that, “When there’s a change of command, you know, it’s a big, big thing…When you go, you go in your Sunday best, and you got a lot of respect around base…but I tried, I tried to just be one of the gang, …Mike was very humble too.”
Finally, let me be clear. I’m not intentionally ignoring co-pilot Captain Jerry Lindh, Mike’s partner that day and also member of the fighting 55th Fighter Squadron. Far from it. He is worthy of an article himself, however, when Kathy McGuire granted access to me to interview her, I had a mission. To tell the story of her late husband with accuracy, compassion, and in a way she can be proud of.
I HOPE MIKE IS PROUD
Mike was an Officer, a Gentleman, and Hero. His quick thinking, selflessness, and sacrifice, along with his co-pilot and partner Captain Jerry Lindh, avoided an unthinkable disaster. By forgoing their own futures, they ensured British civilians, including many children, went on to live and are living full lives themselves. They didn’t hesitate, they did what they needed to do. Many are indebted forever to Jerry and Mike.
I never want their bravery forgotten, but more importantly, I wanted to illuminate the man behind the name Major Mike McGuire as a human being, in addition to being a true officer, gentleman, husband, and hero.
I hope I have achieved this. I hope Kathy is proud. I hope Mike is proud.
SOURCES/CITATIONS
- https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9925479.villagers-honour-us-pilots-died-steering-stricken-plane-away-homes
- https://www.usafe.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/253337/village-remembers-honors-bravery-of-airmen
- https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/137312
- Interview by Steve Bragg with Kathy McGuire, January 2026.