Col Myles Alvin Rohrlick (Ret)

Colonel Myles A. “Mike” Rohrlick, USAF Retired, passed away November 12, 2022, at age 89, the day after Veterans Day. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Joy (Bruckner). Myles is survived by his son Mark (wife Maria), daughter Shari Cutting (husband Rob), grandchildren Ryan Burkett, Andrew Rohrlick, Alexandria Rohrlick, and his great granddaughter Callie Burkett.

Myles was born on August 31, 1933, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the middle child of Allie and Frances Gorzalczany Rohrlick. His father Allie was the son of Romanian immigrants, and his mother Frances was of Polish descent, having arrived at Ellis Island after the unfortunate death of her father. Myles had two brothers, older brother Howard and a younger brother Spenser, both deceased. He was very proud of his family’s military service, and he was close to his brothers as brothers could be. In a book he wrote about his life, Myles said he went from a lower middle-class young boy in Connecticut who saw President Franklin Roosevelt give a speech on the back of a train caboose to an expert executive involved in the building and improvement of America’s flying force.

Many of the men in his family have served in the US military, a fact that Myles was very proud. His paternal grandfather served with the US Army in New Mexico, joining in the fight against forces of Poncho Villa. His father hid his age, joined the US Army at 15, and served in China, Siberia, and the Philippines.  His older brother Howard joined the Army after high school graduation until he was injured in Korea. His younger brother Spenser joined the Navy and served aboard the USS Forrestal. The three brothers were all proud American heroes. His grandson Ryan was a US Marine and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Myles was a highly decorated USAF officer. He was a natural pilot, was trained and flew many types of aircraft. His leadership and flying skills earned him the respect of his command and the men and women under his leadership.  His wartime decorations were many and included two bronze stars (one for valor), three Legions of Merit, and numerous other decorations which demonstrated his dedication to duty and country.  He was an accomplished pilot with over 8,000 flying hours, including 140 hours flight time in combat.

As a Lieutenant Colonel, Myles engaged in military airlift ground operations in Cambodia from March 1975 through April 1975 where he earned a Bronze Star for valor. He was specifically responsible for all airlift operations which were highly successful against opposing forces while operating in a hostile environment of deadly rocket and howitzer attacks in Song Be, Pochentong. Myles also earned a Bronze Star at the battle of Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive where he directed his squadron C-130 aircraft in a dangerous resupply mission at the base after the enemy had destroyed nearly 90 percent of the defense rounds (mortar and artillery) in the largest battle of the Vietnam war. He contributed greatly in these two events by helping to save thousands of lives.

After 32 years and many military adventures behind him, Myles retired from the USAF and went on to spend decades in the aerospace industry working at companies such as Lockheed, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and Embraer where he contributed his military and combat experience to help develop aircraft and aircraft cargo handling systems making aircraft much more resilient to combat situations. He holds 21 design and contributing design patents for parachute reefing systems and military cargo handling systems.

In 2018, after recovering from double pneumonia and at the encouragement of his family, Myles published his life’s journey in a book aptly named “Super Jew”. The name of the book was derived from the time when Myles when was squadron commander of the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron located at Clark Air Base, Philippines. He published a squadron newsletter called the Jew’s News and it was signed Super Jew. Despite a military that could often be difficult for Jewish personnel, Myles excelled and climbed the ranks despite facing various forms of antisemitism throughout his career. He took it with stride and always seemed to find a way to turn a negative into a positive.

Myles was a true American hero but had a softer side as a doting father and family man. He loved his entire family and would do whatever it took to bring people together, oftentimes to cook and eat a meal together. He was the glue that held his extended family together. He loved to put on a show, especially featuring his favorite meal of Mongolian BBQ. He learned how to cook that dish after years living in Southeast Asia. Myles's travels landed him in places such as Greenland, Iceland, Morocco, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Spain, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and California. Myles shared his love of horses with his daughter Shari and made it a priority for her to have a horse to ride wherever they were stationed. Shari and Myles worked together on a pony mule rescue. Later upon retirement in California, he and his son Mark carried on a flying tradition. They owned a 1946 Aeronca Champ and flew that World War II era “tail dragger” together almost every weekend.

He has been described by his family as a man with humor, courage, a man who loved his cigars and food, fiercely loyal to his family, kind, warm and willing to take new members of the family under his wing. Myles positively impacted people’s lives in his private life as an inventor, mentor, and friend.  He was modest about his contribution and bravery in the military. He would often use the phrase “no biggie” during stressful events. Well Dad, this time it is a “biggie”. We lost our hero and our dad.

Myles will be laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia (date TBD).

Charitable donations can be given to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US, Wounded Warriors Foundation, or a similar organization of your choice.