Changes

On January 1, 1958, Wade was assigned as commander of the 1st Missile Division at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. Here he commanded the first operational missile unit in Air Force history. His commission was two-fold: (1) maintain operational capability with [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, and (2) establish operational readiness training for the missile crews of the SAC missile sites. He hence played a role in the development of Discoverer, Samos, and Midas orbiting [[satellite]] programs. From Vandenberg, General Wade was sent in April 1961 to Tórrejon Air Base near [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], where he commanded SAC's 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force. He received his promotion to lieutenant general on August 1, 1963 and assumed command of SAC's Second Air Force with headquarters then at [[Barksdale Air Force Base]] in Bossier City, some fifty miles west of his hometown of Homer, Louisiana.{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/99999999/BARKSDALEWARRIOR/80124016/Barksdale-commanders|title=Barksdale Commanders, January 25, 2008|publisher=''Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 10, 2012}}

On January 1, 1958, Wade was assigned as commander of the 1st Missile Division at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. Here he commanded the first operational missile unit in Air Force history. His commission was two-fold: (1) maintain operational capability with [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, and (2) establish operational readiness training for the missile crews of the SAC missile sites. He hence played a role in the development of Discoverer, Samos, and Midas orbiting [[satellite]] programs. From Vandenberg, General Wade was sent in April 1961 to Tórrejon Air Base near [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], where he commanded SAC's 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force. He received his promotion to lieutenant general on August 1, 1963 and assumed command of SAC's Second Air Force with headquarters then at [[Barksdale Air Force Base]] in Bossier City, some fifty miles west of his hometown of Homer, Louisiana.{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/99999999/BARKSDALEWARRIOR/80124016/Barksdale-commanders|title=Barksdale Commanders, January 25, 2008|publisher=''Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 10, 2012}}

Then on August 1, 1966, he assumed command of the Eighth Air Force at Westover Air Reserve Base near Springfield, [[Massachusetts]]. As the commander at Westover, he was responsiible for bombers, tankers, and missiles located south from Goose Bay i, Labrador, Canada, to Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, [[Puerto Rico]], and extending westward from Loring Air Force Base in Aroostook County, [[Maine]], to Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base near Clinton, [[Oklahoma]]. Wade received the Legion of Merit with Oak leaf cluster, [[Distinguished Flying Cross]], Soldier's Medal, Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Air Force Commendation Medal.  

Then on August 1, 1966, he assumed command of the Eighth Air Force at Westover Air Reserve Base near Springfield, [[Massachusetts]]. As the commander at Westover, he was responsiible for bombers, tankers, and missiles located south from Goose Bay in Labrador, Canada, to Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, [[Puerto Rico]], and extending westward from Loring Air Force Base in Aroostook County, [[Maine]], to Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base near Clinton, [[Oklahoma]]. Wade received the Legion of Merit with Oak leaf cluster, [[Distinguished Flying Cross]], Soldier's Medal, Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Air Force Commendation Medal.  

After Wade's military retirement, Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] named him in 1967 as the director of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, with authority over both state police and prisons. From 1968 to 1972, he was the adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard. Wade died in 1990 at the age of seventy-eight. He and his wife, Dorothy, who is also since deceased, donated memorabilita to the [[Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum]] in Homer, Louisiana, which he considered to have been his hometown. On display are the general's portrait, flags, medals, and awards as well as various weapons from [[World War I]] to the Vietnam era, including a World War II "Liberator," a rare pistol meant to be discarded after a single use.{{cite web|url=http://www.claiborneone.org/ford/exhibits.html|title=The David Wade Military Room|publisher=claiborneone.org|accessdate=June 10, 2012}}

After Wade's military retirement, Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] named him in 1967 as the director of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, with authority over both state police and prisons. From 1968 to 1972, he was the adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard. Wade died in 1990 at the age of seventy-eight. He and his wife, Dorothy, who is also since deceased, donated memorabilita to the [[Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum]] in Homer, Louisiana, which he considered to have been his hometown. On display are the general's portrait, flags, medals, and awards as well as various weapons from [[World War I]] to the Vietnam era, including a World War II "Liberator," a rare pistol meant to be discarded after a single use.{{cite web|url=http://www.claiborneone.org/ford/exhibits.html|title=The David Wade Military Room|publisher=claiborneone.org|accessdate=June 10, 2012}}