E.N. Tyndall, Col., USAF (Ret.), Georgetown, enlisted in the Army as an aviation cadet the day the U.S. entered World War II. He was assigned to navigator training, finishing second in his class. Upon earning his wings and commission, he was assigned as a navigator instructor in Texas.
He later volunteered for the B-29 bomber program and joined the 58th Bomb Wing, the first unit to be equipped with the new bomber. The B-29 was the world's largest aircraft, capable of attacking the home islands of Japan. He was.assigned to a lead crew and flew 25 combat missions, averaging 15-16 hours in duration, on raids against every major city and industrial site in Japan. On V-J Day, he was lead avigator in a formation of nearly 500 B-29s that overflew the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay as the signing of Japan's surrender took place.
After the war, Col. Tyndall participated in one of five crews selected to test the atom bomb's effect on naval vessels, conducted at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. He subsequently served five years on the Air Staff at Air Force HQ in the Pentagon, was commander of the USAF ROTC program at Clemson University and, after 30 years of military service, became Assistant to the President of Clemson University for eight years.
Among his awards and achievements are the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal, the rating of Master Navigator, and bachelor's and Master's degrees. He also earned and greatly enjoyed a private pilot's license for many years.
