Rano E. Lueker – Brigadier General, United States Air Force

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Rano E. Lueker, Brigadier General, United States Air Force (Retired), age 70, died on Saturday, July 14, 2001, at his home in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis (Augustin) Lueker; three sons, Commander Randal E. Lueker, USN (Ret.) of Bethlehem, PA, Ronald K. Lueker of Dallas, TX, Terrance A. Lueker of Pittsburgh, PA; one brother, Commander Wendell H. Lueker, USN (Ret.) of Fairfax, VA; one sister, Bonnie L. Weaver of Riverside, CA and five grandchildren. Viewing will be Monday, July 23, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bolock Funeral Home, 940 & 390, Paradise Valley, PA. Funeral service Tuesday, July 24, 7 p.m. at Lutheran Church of our Savior, Belmont Ave., Mt. Pocono, PA. Interment Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lutheran Church of Our Savior, 675 Belmont Ave., Mt. Pocono, PA 18344.

Courtesy of the United States Air Force

BRIGADIER GENERAL RANO E. LUEKER
Retired November 1, 1982
Died July 14, 2001

Brigadier General Rano E. Lueker was vice commander, Headquarters Twenty-first Air Force, Military Airlift Command, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.

General Lueker was born in 1931, in Woodbine, Kansas. He graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California, in 1948. He attended Valley College, San Bernardino, California, from 1948 to 1950, before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., where he received a bachelor of science degree in engineering. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force upon his graduation in June 1954.

General Lueker earned a master of business administration degree in engineering management from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1960. He completed the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1967 and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., in 1971.

After completing pilot training and receiving his wings in September 1955, General Lueker flew C-97s for the Military Air Transport Service at Travis Air Force Base, California, until February 1959.

He then went to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a graduate student at the Air Force Institute of Technology, receiving a master of business administration degree in engineering management in September 1960. He remained at Wright-Patterson serving as research and development staff assistant in the F-104 Consortium Program Office at the Aeronautical Systems Division.

In June 1963 he was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans at Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Md., serving as a project officer in the Policy Division until July 1965 and then as chief of the Management Office. He attended the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, from August 1966 to July 1967.

Following combat crew training at Hurlburt Field, Florida, General Lueker served 12 months in Southeast Asia as a C-123 pilot, instructor pilot, flight examiner and assistant for standardization-evaluation while assigned to the 19th Special Operations Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam.

His next assignment was as an analyst and study director in the Office of the Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Studies and Analysis at the Pentagon from November 1968 to August 1970. He then studied at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., until June 1971, when he returned to the Pentagon to work
on the Air Staff in the Directorate of Operational Requirements as program element monitor for strategic bomber penetration.

From May 1973 to January 1974, General Lueker was assistant deputy commander for operations with the 63rd Military Airlift Wing at Norton Air Force Base, California, with subsequent duty as deputy commander and then acting commander of the base.

General Lueker reported to Wright-Patterson in August 1974 as director of aeronautical logistics for Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command, with duty at Aeronautical Systems Division.

He became vice commander of the 2750th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson on Feb. 8, 1976, and assumed command on Jan. 14, 1977. He assumed his current position in April 1979.

General Lueker is a command pilot with more than 6, 100 flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Presidential Unit Citation emblem, Navy Presidential Unit Citation emblem, Vietnamese Service Medal with three stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

He was promoted to the grade of brigadier general June 1, 1979, with date of rank May 25, 1979.

General Lueker’s hometown is Riverside, California.

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