William Paul Fife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Bill |
| Born | (1917-11-23)November 23, 1917 |
| Died | October 13, 2008(2008-10-13) (aged 90) |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–1967 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Awards | American Defense Service Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 arrowhead and 3 bronze stars Philippine Liberation Medal World War II Victory Medal American Campaign Medal Army of Occupation Medal - Japan Korean Service Medal with 1 bronze star Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation National Defense Service Medal Commendation Ribbon with cluster Air Force Longevity Service Award 1 silver and 1 bronze oak cluster Bronze Star Medal with 3 clusters and 1 bronze arrowhead United Nations Service Medal with 2 clusters Legion of Merit Parachute wings with star Combat Infantryman Badge |
| Other work | Texas A&M University University of Texas Medical Branch |
ColonelWilliam Paul FifeUSAF (Ret) (November 23, 1917 – October 13, 2008) was aUnited States Air Force officer that first proved the feasibility forU.S. Air Force Security Service airborne Communications Intelligence (COMINT) collection and Fife is considered the "Father of Airborne Intercept".[1][2] Fife was also ahyperbaric medicine specialist who was known for his pioneering research on pressurized environments ranging fromhigh altitude tounderwater habitats.[1][3] Fife was aProfessor Emeritus atTexas A&M University.[1][4]
Fife began his training inanatomy from theUniversity of Washington in 1935 and had started his first year ofmedical school whenWorld War II began. Fife earned aBachelor of Science inbiology from theUniversity of Oregon in 1956.[5] He later completed aPh.D. inphysiology atOhio State University in 1962.
Fife was a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT) through theNational Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology.[5]
Fife left medical school and was commissionedSecond Lieutenant inU.S. Army in June 1939.[2] Fife then reported to the 15th Infantry atFort Lewis, Washington for training in Aug 1940.[2] After receiving his basic infantry training, he reported to the 60th Infantry atFort Bragg in North Carolina where he served as an Assistant Operations Officer in September 1940.[2] Fife volunteered for the 18th class ofParachute Jump School inFort Benning, Georgia in April 1942.[2][3] Following his training in May 1942, he joined the newly formed 503rd parachute infantry battalion asCompany Commander.[1][2] As Company Commanding Officer of the503rd parachute infantry regiment in Sept 1943, Fife led his company in a jump in the Markham Valley, New Guinea.[2] This was the first successful airborne combat jump in thePacific Theater of Operations.[2] His first combat jump was planned with the groundelevation 500 feet lower than it actually was and Fife found himself in acoconut tree.[3] Fife had completed 35 training and combat jumps by the time WWII ended.[2][3]
Fife reported to the U.S. Army FE Headquarters Office of Intelligence in January 1944 then to the 68thAirborne Air Control Squadrons (AACS) combat operations in SW Pacific in September.[2] He then went on to the 141st AACS special ops in New Guinea & P.I. in January 1945.[2] Fife reported to the AACS Headquarters Office of Intelligence in Washington, D.C., in August 1945.[2] Hoping for a chance to ride in the planes more often, Fife transferred to theAir Force in November 1947 where he was immediately sent to theDefense Language Institute to learnRussian.[2][3] He became the first Russian linguist of theUSAF Security Service (USAFSS) command.[2] Fife was among the first inductees to theDefense Language Institute Hall of Fame.[1]
Fife was sent to 1st Radio Squadron Mobile,Johnson Air Base,Japan during theAllied Occupation where he earned the unofficial title, "Father of USAFSS Command in the Far East".[2] Part of his duties included intelligence briefings for GeneralDouglas MacArthur. Russian forces were beginning to build up and theFar East Air Force needs were changing, Fife proposed airborne Communications Intelligence (COMINT) collection.[2] In 1950, Fife planned and flew the first USAF Security Servicereconnaissance missions fromKadena Air Base over theSea of Japan with awire recorder andjury-rigged receiver on anRB-29 air plane.[1][2] As a result of these missions proved the feasibility for USAFSS airborne COMINT collection and Fife is considered the "Father of Airborne Intercept".[1][2] He also managed to earn afirst degree black belt.[3] In 2006, Fife was inducted into theAir Intelligence Agency Hall of Honor.[1][6]
Fife was then sent toNorth Korea where he served as USAFSS 1st RSM's liaison officer to Fifth Air Force Headquarters located inKim Il Sung's palace and stayed until the then Capt. Fife, ordered the evacuation of USAFSS COMINT personnel as China entered theKorean War.[2][3] Fife's position was the beginning of the future USAFSSSpecial Security Office program.[2] In 1951, Fife set up USAFSS linguist team operations inPyeongtaek with the606th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron.[2] Fife had a great respect for the Korean operators he worked with noting they were "the best I have ever seen".[7][8]
In 1951, Fife returned to Japan until transfer toMoscow shortly afterStalin died.Lieutenant Colonel Fife, with his wife Ann, served as Assistant Air Attaché at the U.S. Embassy withmilitary intelligence as a Russian expert.[1][3] Following his time in Moscow, he spent time atThe Pentagon as the Intelligence Briefing Officer forGeneral Twining andGeneral LeMay.[3]Colonel Fife translated for PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower a radio transmission from a Soviet fighter pilot intercepted after shooting down a USAFC-130 ACRP (60528) overArmenia in September 1958.[2]
In 1962, after obtaining his Ph.D., he served as Assistant Chief of the Aerospace Medical Research Division atBrooks Air Force Base,San Antonio, Texas, where he performed research essential to thespace race.[1] His work was in cardiovascular responses and measurement tools critical for tests ofg-force andnear-vacuum survival.[9][10] The Air Force did not have a training program in hyperbaric medicine so Fife was trained by the Navy.[3] His first test dive was performed with Micky Goodwin and Robert Workman.[3]
Col. Fife retired from the Air Force in 1967.[3]
Dr. Fife joined the Texas A&M University Department of Biology faculty in 1967.[3] In his time there he served as the Chairman of the Biology Department, Dean of Research and Vice President for Academic Affairs as well as chairman for numerous academic committees.[5]
In the 1980s Dr. Fife acted as the expedition physician on TAMU's Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) project in Turkey.
Dr. Fife was instrumental in the founding of theAmerican Academy of Underwater Sciences.
He retired from Texas A&M in 1997.
Fife was a pioneer inundersea medicine and served as director of the Texas A&M UniversityHyperbaric laboratory.[1]
Fife was active with theHydroLabsaturation diving research program funded by theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fife was anaquanaut having spent 28 days in saturation in thehabitat performing physiology experiments.[3][11][12]
The first uses ofhydrox, a gas mixture ofhydrogen andoxygen is used as abreathing gas in verydeep diving are usually attributed to six ocean dive trials by theSwedish engineer,Arne Zetterström in 1945.[13] Fife later showed that hydrox would allow divers to descend and work at great depths.[13][14][15] Fife also developed the firstdecompression tables for the use of the mixture.[14] The French engineering company COMEX (Compagnie maritime d'expertises) later applied Fife's work in developing their HYDRA dive series.[15]
Much of his other diving medical research was focused on women in diving andspinal corddecompression sickness.[16]
Fife's interest in clinical hyperbaric medicine lead to several research projects to look for new indications for the use ofhyperbaric oxygen therapy. It has been estimated that about half of the 2,000 patienttreatments done by his lab were for research.[3]
These projects included the treatment of:
HyperTrak clinical documentationsoftware, marketed by Intellicure, Inc., was started at Texas A&M University with Dr. Fife and David Walker in 1996.[23]
Fife was a member of theAerospace Medical Association, theAmerican Physiological Society,Sigma Xi and theAmerican Academy of Underwater Sciences. He served on the executive committee of theUndersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.
Texas A&M University presented Fife with the University Outstanding Award for Teaching in 1975. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society conveyed theirPaul Bert Award for Distinguished Research to Fife in 1983 and theirOceaneering Award for Research in 1994. On his 78th birthday in 1995, Fife and a team fromDiving Diseases Research Centre received "TheDuke of Edinburgh's Prize of theBritish Sub-Aqua Club" which was presented byH.R.H.Prince Philip for their work on "Men and Women in Diving".[3][16][24]
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