What:

The Northwood Post Office building will be dedicated in honor of the late veteran Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Friend.

Who:

Congresswoman Katie Porter, the Friend family, Northwood postmaster Lam Le and local elected officials

When:

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Where:

Northwood Post Office
1 League
Irvine, CA 92602-9998

Please RSVP to natashi.l.garvins@usps.gov

Background:

Robert J. Friend was born in Columbia, SC on February 29, 1920, to William A Friend and Nella Mae (Jones) Liner. Friend was interested in aviation since his early childhood reading magazine stories about flying in World War I.

Friend’s journey began when he joined the Civilian Pilot Training program as a sophomore at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania. There, Friend earned a private pilot’s license in 1939/40. After being accepted as a cadet in the program in 1942, he went on to achieve many accomplishments leading to his position as Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.).

Lt. Col. Friend served in World War II as a Tuskegee airman with over 142 combat missions; he also served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Lt. Col. Friend was the recipient of multiple military awards for heroic service, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star with Flying Cross, three Distinguished Service Medals, and Air Medal.

After retirement from the Air Force in 1972, Lt. Col. Friend worked in the aerospace industry responsible for the design and production of space products for space shuttles, along with research and development of programs responsible for scientific and technological applications to meet strategic requirements.

Lt. Col. Friend resided in Irvine, CA. On June 21, 2019, Lt. Col. Friend passed away from natural causes. At the time of his passing, he was one of the last 12 surviving Tuskegee Airmen.

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