Former Michigan Governor William Milliken

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of former Michigan Governor William Milliken.  He passed away at his Traverse City home this afternoon at age 97.  Prior to serving as our longest serving governor, he served as a a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II, a retailer, a state senator, and a lieutenant governor to George Romney.  Honor.  Respect.  Remember.

SSG William G. Milliken

U.S. Army Air Force

Traverse City, Michigan

(Governor 1969-1983) William Milliken enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in February 1943 with the intention of becoming a pilot. He was sent to Fort Devons for boot training and then on to Miami, Florida, for additional training. There Milliken found out that there was already a surplus of pilots but not enough aerial gunners. He went to Lowry Field, Colorado, for gunnery school and the on to Salt Lake City, Utah, for more training until April 2, 1944. Sergeant Milliken then went to Topeka, Kansas, from where he left to go overseas on June 17th. His assignment was to go to Italy to join the Fifteenth Air Force, 721st Squadron, 42nd Wing, 450th Bombardment Group. Milliken’s first mission was over the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. He flew a total of 50 missions over Romania, Italy, Austria, and Germany. The first member of his crew to be wounded, he was hit in the chest by flak over Vienna on the 25th mission. Because of a flak vest, the wound was not too serious and he was back flying ten days later. All ten members of Milliken’s crew survived the war, though he reports that their plane was hit by flak on almost every mission. Three other crew members were badly wounded; they aborted one mission because of bad oil leaks; boarded another older ship that crashed on take-off with a full bomb load; were hit in two engines on another mission and had to make an emergency landing in Italy; and then over Munich, Germany, they were hit again in the engines and returned to Italy where they had to bail out of the plane. Staff Sergeant Milliken was discharged in October 1945. He returned to Yale where he obtained his law degree. Milliken was Michigan’s longest-serving governor.