Milton ‘Mike’ Bellovin, Col, USAF (Ret)

Milton “Mike” Bellovin, a retired Air Force colonel who worked in intelligence and assisted in the rescue of orphans during the Korean War, died July 11 at his home in McLean. He had Parkinson’s disease and died on his 89th birthday.

Col. Bellovin, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduated from the City College of New York, joined the Army in 1943 and won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., the next year. When he graduated in 1947, with a second bachelor’s degree, he joined the newly formed Air Force.

During the Korean War, he was executive officer to Dean E. Hess, an Air Force colonel who coordinated the evacuation of almost 1,000 orphans from the war zone. Hess wrote a best-selling book about the episode, “Battle Hymn,” which was the basis for a 1957 film starring Rock Hudson. In the book, Hess praised Col. Bellovin, writing that he gave him ”the highest effectiveness report I had ever given a man in the service and still did not think I’d done justice to his contribution.”

Col. Bellovin had overseas assignments in Austria, Germany and Japan and worked on an Air Force project investigating UFOs. He received a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University in 1967. He received the Bronze Star during the Korean War and served in the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force in 1977.
After working for several government contractors, Col. Bellovin operated his own consulting firm, CM Technologies, from 1983 to 2004.

He was a member of the Fort Belvoir Jewish Congregation and later Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Stella Meyer Bellovin of McLean; three children, Dr. Sabra M. Bellovin of Chesapeake, Va., Marc Bellovin of McLean and Sharon R. Bellovin of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and a granddaughter.