US Air Force Lieutenant General. A combat bomber pilot veteran of World War II, he rose in rank to become the Vice Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Air Command (SAC). After graduating from Central High School at St. Joseph, Missouri in 1933, he attended Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1937. The following year he enlisted in the US Army Air Force as an aviation cadet and received his pilot wings in 1939 at Randolph Field (now Randolph Air Force Base, a part of Joint Base San Antonio), Texas. He was then assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, the first US military flying unit equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress bomber aircraft, at Langley Field (now Langley Air Force Base, a part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis), Virginia and in April 1942 he commanded the 409th Bomb Squadron, with a follow-on assignment to Fort Myers, Florida as the operations officer for the 93rd Bomb Group. The following year he was assigned to the Middle East and became commander of the 376th Bombardment Group, under 9th Air Force Commander Brigadier General Uzal G. Ent. By this time, he had been promoted to the rank of colonel and was one of the youngest of his rank in the US Army Air Force. On August 1, 1943 he led the 376th Bombardier Group as part of the ill-fated force of 177 B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft under Operation Tidal Wave against the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania, one of the most daring low-level but costly attacks in military aviation history. The raid was one of the costliest missions for the US Army Air Forces and was overall the worst loss ever on a single mission, with 53 aircraft destroyed, 55 aircraft damaged, 440 airmen killed, and 220 others captured or missing. The mission did little to reduce oil output and it was deemed a strategic Allied failure. In March 1944 he became the assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, 15th Air Force in North Africa and four months later he returned to the US and became the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training of 2nd Air Force at Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1948 he was assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as the Deputy for Operations, and served in that position until February 1953. He then served on several assignments for the SAC until September 1961 when he became the SAC Director of Operations at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. In June 1963 he became the Chief of Staff for SAC. In August 1964 he was assigned to Headquarters US Air Force in Washington DC, first as Inspector General and then the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations. In February 1967 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and became the Vice Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Air Command (now inactivated) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska and retired in this position in August 1969 with 31 years of continuous military service. Among his military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit (with one oak leaf cluster), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with one oak leaf cluster), the Air Medal (with nine oak leaf clusters)Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation medals, the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with two service stars), the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. Additionally, he was the recipient of the 1951 National Air Races Bendix Trophy after setting a new national speed record flying an F-86 Saberjet fighter aircraft. He died at the age of 88.