Billy Mitchell | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Lendrum Mitchell |
Born | Nice, France | December 29, 1879
Died | February 19, 1936 New York City, U.S. | (aged 56)
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | |
Years of service | 1898–1926 |
Rank | Colonel (Permanent) Brigadier General (Temporary) |
Commands held | Air Service, Third Army – AEF |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Congressional Gold Medal (posthumous) |
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is sometimes regarded as the father of the United States Air Force, [1][2] though his true contribution to its creation is disputed.[3]
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, commanded all American air combat units in that country. After the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating for increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars. He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and organized a series of bombing runs against stationary ships designed to test the idea.
He antagonized many administrative leaders of the Army with his arguments and criticism and in 1925, his temporary appointment as a brigadier general was not renewed, and he reverted to his permanent rank of colonel, due to his insubordination. Later that year, he was court-martialed for insubordination after accusing Army and Navy leaders of an "almost treasonable administration of the national defense"[4] for investing in battleships. He resigned from the service shortly afterwards.
Mitchell received many honors following his death, including a Congressional Gold Medal. He is also the first person for whom an American military aircraft design, the North American B-25 Mitchell, is named. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is also named after Mitchell.
For too long the early history of the predecessors of the United States AIr Force have been lost to the overarching tale of Billy Mitchell...Mitchell's persona dominated contemporary media coverage, and since that time, it has dominated histories as well. Nearly lost to all but the most ardent of airpower scholars are the names Mason Patrick, James Fechet, Benjamin Foulois, and Oscar Westover, each of whom was a chief of the Air Corps -- a position never held by Mitchell. It was these men who organized and structured the Air Corps in the interwar years. While it might be true to say that Mitchell's DNA -- a streak of maverickism -- still lives on in the Air Force, it was the work and building of the Air Corps by these leaders that truly brought the organization into existence
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