General Trzaskoma was born March 13, 1937 in Hamtramck, Michigan. He was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Michigan and he entered pilot training at Moore AB and Laredo AFB, Texas in October 1959.
His long career was spent for the most part in airlift and he rose to command a wing at Travis AFB, California, two airlift divisions in Hawaii and Germany and culminated in the command of 22nd Air Force, an organization of 38,000 people who provided more than half the nation's airlift capability. As Chief of Plans and Programs at Headquarters, Military Airlift Command, Scott AFB, Illinois, he was instrumental in the development of the C-17, helping to insure military unity and capability of the aircraft.
His many decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal. He was named an honorary Chief Master Sergeant and elected to the Order of the Sword by the enlisted men and women he led.
Upon retirement in 1993 he and his wife settled in Austin, Texas and lived there for 18 years until moving to the Army Residence Community in San Antonio in 2011.
General Trzaskoma is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sylvia Lozano of San Benito, Texas, always known to him as Mi Vida; three children: retired Air Force Major Richard Joseph, Jr. (Stacey) of Tavares, Florida; Theresa Marie (Nicholas Turner) of Brooklyn, New York; Professor Stephen Michael (Laurel) of Exeter, New Hampshire, and five grandsons: Richard Joseph III; Darren; Nathan Trzaskoma and Wiley and Malcolm Turner.
Funeral arrangements will be posted as soon as they become available.
If you would like to make a donation see following: Since the gift agreement is still in the works, I've created a link that will direct people to our online write-in feature, and autofill the 'in memory of' section. Just instruct them to type in your desired fund name here: https://donate.umich.edu/vbGZn
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.colonialuniversal.com for the Trzaskoma family.
