Retired Air Force Reserve general dies Published Aug. 2, 2007 940th ARW ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Air Force Reserve lost a longtime friend and former numbered air force commander July 22. Retired Maj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi died in Citrus Heights, Calif., after a long illness. He was 85. General Novaresi began his military career as a private in the California National Guard in 1939. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1982 and commanded 4th Air Force at McClellan AFB, Calif., from 1975 to 1981. He was commissioned and earned his pilot's wings in 1943. He flew P-47 Thunderbolts over the Pacific in World War II and F-84 Thunderjets over Korea. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service from a 940th Air Refueling Wing news release)