Van Sickle was born in
Minot, North Dakota on July 8, 1915 to Guy R. Van Sickle and Hilda Alice (Rosenquist) Van Sickle. His military career began in 1932 when he enlisted in the
North Dakota National Guard. Two years later he was appointed to the
United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from USMA on June 14, 1938; his
Cullum number was 11191. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry, assigned to the
Fourth Cavalry Regiment at
Fort Meade, South Dakota. He served with the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command in the North Atlantic area early in World War II as a squadron commander and in various staff positions. In 1944 he served on the staff of the
73rd Wing on
Saipan and flew 16 combat missions against Japan. At the end of the war he was deputy commander of the
497th Bombardment Group. Van Sickle served successively in diplomatic, arctic, congressional liaison and high-level budget planning, operational and training activities. These included assignments as assistant secretary of the U.S. delegation of the United Nations Military Staff Committee; director of operations, Yukon Air Division; commander,
Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska; and chief of aircraft programming in Headquarters U.S. Air Force. From 1955 to 1957 he commanded the
28th Bombardment Wing (Strategic Air Command) at
Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. In April 1957 Van Sickle was assigned to the United States-Taiwan Defense Command as assistant chief of staff for operations, promoted to brigadier general, and named chief of staff in October 1958. Generaliasimo
Chiang Kai-shek personally awarded him the
Order of the Cloud and Banner for his service during the
1958 Taiwan Straits crisis. His next assignment was to Headquarters Pacific Air Forces at
Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where he served as assistant chief of staff for operations until 1961. He was then assigned to
Mather Air Force Base, California, as commander of the 3535th Navigator Training Wing. In August 1963 he moved to Headquarters
Air Training Command,
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, as deputy chief of staff, flying training and was promoted to the grade of major general in June 1964. On January 15, 1965, he assumed command of the
U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service, with headquarters at Randolph Air Force Base. In November 1969 he was assigned to Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Air Force deputy inspector general. Van Sickle, a command pilot, rated navigator and radar observer, logged more than 7,000 hours' military flying in all types of aircraft. He graduated in 1949 from the
Armed Forces Staff College, and in 1954 from the
Air War College. He is well known in civil and military aviation for his widely read textbook
Modern Airmanship, which deals comprehensively with flying in modern aviation. First published in 1957; a third edition of which appeared in June 1966. He was an associate fellow of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He retired August 1, 1968. Van Sickle's decorations included the
Legion of Merit,
Bronze Star Medal,
Air Medal with two
oak leaf clusters and the
Air Force Commendation Medal. He
turned 100 in July 2015 and died in September 2019 at the age of 104. ==References==