Retired Air Force Col. John M. Thacker died of kidney disease March 6 at his home in Virginia, reports the Los Angeles Times (Thacker obituary is third in a series of obits.) He was 90. Thacker was one of the few pilots who got into the air during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, receiving a Silver Star for his actions that day. He commanded a fighter group during the Korean War and last served as inspector general of Headquarters Command at Bolling AFB, D.C., before his retirement from the Air Force.
The Air Force will stand up a new unit next year to shape how the service fights with one-way attack drones.
