Major General John Allen Corder

Major General John A. Corder, United States Air Force, passed away peacefully in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 1, 2026, at the age of 86.

John was born on August 28, 1939, in Salem, Oregon, to James Vincent Corder and Ruth Elizabeth Corder. His parents were married near Clovis, New Mexico, in November 1938 during the Great Depression and soon moved between California and Oregon in search of work. With the onset of World War II, the family relocated to the Bula, Texas area, where they farmed West Texas cotton throughout the war years.

At the conclusion of World War II in 1945, the family returned to a farm near Newberg, Oregon, where John attended his first eight years of school. Alongside his mother, sister, and brother, he spent summers milking cows and raising strawberries on the family farm while his father worked in the Oregon mountains as a timber logging bulldozer driver to support the family. In 1954, the family moved to Albany, Oregon. John continued working on nearby farms during the summers and graduated from Albany Union High School in June 1957, ranking 74th in a class of 212 students. Following high school, he joined his father as a lumberjack in the Oregon mountains.

In March 1959, John entered the United States Air Force as an Aviation Cadet. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he went on to serve for 32 years in increasingly responsible command and staff leadership positions involving air operations, electronic warfare, command and control, inspector general duties, air base support, logistics, joint military assistance, and Pentagon assignments. His flying specialties included serving as a Senior B-52F Bomber Navigator and later as a Command Fighter Pilot in both the F-4 Phantom II and F-16 aircraft. He retired from the United States Air Force in September 1992 with the rank of Major General.

During the first decade of his military career, John attended night school at six different universities while simultaneously serving on active duty. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University. During this same period, he also completed advanced military education at Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and the National War College.

His military decorations included the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Medals, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, eleven Air Medals, and numerous campaign medals.

Among the accomplishments most meaningful to him were three extraordinary chapters of his military service. As a young navigator, he received spot promotions to First Lieutenant and Captain while flying 41 twenty-six-hour B-52F airborne nuclear alert missions over the North Pole, including four missions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Navigating with only the stars, a sextant, and a watch, he helped maintain America’s strategic deterrent during one of the Cold War’s most dangerous periods.

Later, as an F-4D fighter pilot flying combat missions over North Vietnam, he led a White House-directed, two-aircraft low-level attack against a target of personal interest to the President located on one of the most heavily defended airfields in North Vietnam. On his 94th combat mission, flying beneath a 300-foot overcast ceiling and under intense anti-aircraft artillery fire that wounded him and severely crippled his aircraft, he continued the attack and destroyed the designated target. Forced to eject over enemy territory, he successfully evaded hostile search parties before being rescued by a friendly helicopter. Four Air Force Crosses were awarded to the four crew members of the two F-4D aircraft involved in the mission.

Finally, in January 1991, Major General Corder served in the Persian Gulf as Deputy Commander for Air Combat Operations for Central Command Air Forces during Operation DESERT STORM. He was responsible for the revolutionary planning and execution of 2,500 to 3,000 combat sorties per day to liberate Kuwait. This effort required the daily coordination and tasking of more than 50,000 personnel and over 2,400 United States Air Force and U.S. Navy and Marine combat aircraft, along with aircraft from nine allied nations. The overwhelming success of the air campaign enabled coalition ground forces to liberate Kuwait in just 100 hours of ground combat operations with minimal casualties.

Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1992, John and his devoted wife, Willene, built a home in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, where they remained for the rest of his life. During the following decade, he continued serving the nation as a member of the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the Naval Studies Board, and, as requested, the Department of Defense Science Board. He also served on advisory boards providing operational military guidance to the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office.

In 2003, John and two partners founded CymSTAR, an aircraft simulator modification and repair company based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, which grew over the years to employ more than 200 people. He was also an original founding stockholder and board member of First Oklahoma Bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

John is survived by his faithful wife of 62 years, Willene; his daughter, Teri; his son, David; his grandchildren, Rachel and Daniel; his brother, James Richard; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Margaret Kroese.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Red River Valley Association by going to https://www.river-rats.org/donations/