Gen. William Begert never forgets he came from Lewiston.

Four-star Gen. William Begert commands thousands of men, women and aircraft. But one little woman from Lewiston commands him.

While talking with Gov. John Baldacci Monday, the commander of U.S. Air Forces in the Pacific did what his mother ordered.

“Show it to him,” said Martine Begert, watching as her son pulled a crumpled, ink-stained card from his wallet and showed it to Baldacci. It was the driver’s license the state gave him before he left home for the Air Force Academy in 1964.

Valid for as long as he served in the military, it’s the license that Begert, now 57, has used all his adult life. It has been one of the few official ties to his birthplace, to the place he always called home.

“I’ve always considered myself a Mainer,” said Begert, who plans to move back this summer, following his retirement from the Air Force.

He plans to boat and swim near his camp on Sabbathday Lake in Gray and see more of his family, whom he has known only from brief summertime visits.

His mother still lives in the house where he grew up, in the neighborhood around Saints Peter and Paul Church.

Combat missions

As a kid, he was a standout. He was the president of his senior class at Lewiston High School. Before he graduated, Sen. Edmund Muskie nominated him for the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

During the Vietnam War, he flew more than 300 combat missions over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Begert commanded air squadrons and wings. In the late 1990s, he was vice commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf clusters and the Legion of Merit, also with oak leaf clusters.

In May 2001, he left a Pentagon post for his current command, responsible for the support of 45,000 Air Force people in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Korea and elsewhere.

Four months into his job, the tragedy struck at the World Trade Center.

His “No. 1 mission,” to ensure that the Air Force’s assets across the Pacific were ready for any call, suddenly became even more vital.

Tensions increased in North Korea. Then the war in Iraq began.

“Some of the first planes over there were mine,” Begert said. Fighter planes, F-15s and F-16s, were from his commands.

It has been a busy three years, said Begert, who smiled Monday at the understatement. During that time, he has taken 73 trips from his base in Hawaii.

Missing autumn days

It was on one of those trips, to his 35th academy reunion, that he decided to retire. To stay in, he knew he would have to sign for another three years in the military.

“I didn’t want to do that,” Begert said Monday, sitting on a bench outside Baldacci’s office.

A small collection of uniformed men waited for him, even here. During his short visit to Maine, he planned to talk to several press representatives, give two speeches and swear in some new recruits.

He plans to leave Hawaii in early July. Officially, his retirement will take effect on Aug. 1. He will leave the rarefied air of four-star command.

In Air Force history, only 19 people have attained the rank. But it’s time, he said.

He plans to take the summer off. In the fall, he’ll try something else. He doesn’t know what that may be.

Until then, he’ll relax with his wife, Jody, and the rest of his family, many of whom live in the area.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the change of seasons,” he told Baldacci. “I have not had an autumn day since I was in high school.”

He may also get out for a drive. On Monday morning, he replaced his license at a motor vehicle office. His 40-year-old card drew stares from the man at the counter.

Begert said, “The guy looked at it and said, I don’t think you’re in the computer.”

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