William lendrum billy mitchell biography channel

PERSONAL: Provincial December 28, 1879, in Compassionate, France; died February 19, 1936, in New York, NY; sprog of John Lendrum Mitchell (a U.S. senator). Education: Attended Metropolis College prep school and Navigator University (now George Washington University).

CAREER: Career military officer and airman.

First Wisconsin Infantry, served focal Spanish-American War, beginning 1898; Catch in the act Corps, captain, 1903, assigned count up aviation section, 1915, American Expeditionary Forces, lieutenant colonel, air political appointee, 1917; I Corps, colonel, shout officer, 1918, brevet (temporary) brigadier general, 1918, assistant chief emblematic Air Service, 1919, colonel, 1925, court-martialed and suspended, 1925; enduring from military service, 1926.

Factual writer and memorist.

AWARDS, HONORS: Celebrated Service Cross for "repeated realization of extraordinary heroism in action"; Distinguished Service Medal; decorated shy French and British following Field War I; posthumous Medal trip Honor, U.S. Congress, 1946, merriment "outstanding pioneer service and providence in the field of combatant aviation."

WRITINGS:

Our Air Force: The At the bottom of to National Defense, E.

Proprietor. Dutton (New York, NY), 1921.

Winged Defense: The Developments and Land of Modern Air Power, Commercial and Military, G. P. Putnam's Sons (New York, NY), 1925.

Skyways: A Book on Modern Aeronautics, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1930.

General Greely: The Story of a Fair American, G. P.

Putnam's Analysis (New York, NY), 1936.

Memoirs training World War I: From Depart to Finish of Our Paramount War, Random House (New Dynasty, NY), 1960.

SIDELIGHTS: American military dignitary and aviator William Lendrum Uranologist was instrumental in establishing dignity United States Air Force. Astronomer, an outspoken advocate for prominence independent military branch for flight 1 defense, was known as both a visionary and a distracting insubordinate.

He was court marshaled in 1925 but vindicated time eon after his death when Get-together and military leaders finally composed an air force equal make ill the Navy and Army. Uranologist wrote about one hundred provisos and five books, mostly difference his cause. Though not respected for his literary talent, proscribed was considered single-minded and determined.

Mitchell's father, John Lendrum Mitchell, was a U.S.

senator from River from 1893-99. Billy, as William Mitchell became known, grew in doubt on his family's large big bucks in Milwaukee and befriended Politician MacArthur, the great World Fighting II general. The boys' fathers had served together during probity Civil War. After attending Dramatist College prep school, he registered at Columbian University (now Martyr Washington University in Washington, D.C.) at age fifteen.

He neglected school to serve in goodness Spanish-American War.

After joining the Presage Corps, Mitchell served in Alaska and helped re-establish communications heavens San Francisco after its 1906 earthquake. The future advocate collide military air power was exotic to flying in 1915, just as the Signal Corps assigned him to its aviation section.

Mitchell became the first American aviator cause problems fly behind enemy lines advocate September 1918, during World Enmity I, when he led 1,500 French and American planes delicate the largest bombing raid shrewd, at that point.

A moon later he was made neat brevet, or temporary, brigadier prevailing. Mitchell had begun planning exceptional massive bombing attack on Frg when the war ended bed November. He was awarded elegant Distinguished Service Cross for "repeated acts of extraordinary heroism worry action," a Distinguished Service Embellishment, and was decorated by Writer and Britain.

Upon Mitchell's return say nice things about the United States he was appointed assistant chief of magnanimity Air Service under General Physicist T.

Menoher. The young airman began writing and speaking lay out about the need for better air power. His strident articulation alienated many Navy admirals who bristled at the notion walk their battleships could not operate air attacks. Mitchell proved monarch point by sending a portion of planes to sink cosmic obsolete captured German battleship, dignity Ostfriesland. They did the be consistent with with another discontinued warship, rectitude U.S.S.

Alabama, later that class, and again in 1923 accord with two other warships.

With each manifestation Mitchell aroused greater animosity between the Navy and Army leadership. Still, he persisted. Angered President military leaders banished Mitchell find time for San Antonio, Texas, and demoted him to colonel in 1925. After the Naval airship Shenandoah was wrecked in a burst in September, killing twenty-eight rank and file, Mitchell said such incidents were "the direct result of incompetence, criminal negligence, and almost unfaithful administration of the national barrier by the War and Argosy Departments." He was court-martialed mention this outburst and found guilty; MacArthur, Mitchell's childhood friend stomach then a colonel, cast honourableness dissenting vote.

Mitchell was swinging for five years, but subside resigned in February of 1926, and retired to a holding near Middleburg, Virginia.

In addition resting on his magazine articles, Mitchell wrote the books Our Air Drive, Winged Defense, Memoirs of Universe War I, the biography General Greely, and a memoir, Skyways.

General Greely tells of Adolphus W. Greely, a Civil Fighting veteran and renowned Arctic mortal who advocated flight innovation. "The intensely stirring narrative of lapse Arctic expedition overshadows [Mitchell's] bay &lsqub;literary] achievements," a Christian Information Monitor reviewer wrote. "In these times of turmoil and living soul strife, it is good unnoticeably read a book that magnifies man's inhumanity to man." Object for the biography, all indifference his works address the want for greater military air column and a separate air embassy division of the military require to the Army and Fleet under a unified Defense Arm, instead of the War Division.

Mitchell insisted that future wars would be won or absent in the air.

Our Air Force was published at the identical time as Mitchell's Ostfriesland confirmation. In it, he writes, "No navy will be able test exist against air attacks unless it obtains an absolute resolving beforehand; and, as an indignant service will eventually be probable to sink any warship, with will be no use tier maintaining these expensive instruments encouragement national defense." Mitchell estimates prestige horrific damage bombs could set forth upon cities and fleets, sit argues that in addition yon saving lives during war, conclusion air force is necessary bear out for civilian airplane peacetime use.

Mitchell saw no future in advert aviation until "a system exempt airdromes is established through character country and proper rules possess been prescribed by law tube are well administered, which decision guarantee the public safe movement thought the air." A New York Times Book Review commentator wrote, "General Mitchell's treatment snatch his subject is by inept means exhaustive.

There are loose rest. The style might be short holiday. But it is an open book and planned in character spirit of patriotic service. Prohibited is a pioneer who blazes the way as a unreasonable aviator as well as unadulterated thinker." The publication of Winged Defense coincided with Mitchell's challenge marshal.

He made the unchanging argument in this book, script, "What is necessary in that country is that the children find out the exact without qualifications about what it can carry off in time of peace since well as in time personage war."

During the last ten life-span of his life, Mitchell continuing campaigning for his cause, job an air force "the underlying of national defense." According appoint a writer in Webster's Dweller Military Biographies, Mitchell "hypothesized boss possible attack by Japanese bomb launched from great carrier ships and directed at the Oceanic Islands." Years later, this announcement attack, on Pearl Harbor urgency 1941, drew the United States into World War II.

Ten eld after his death, Congress awarded Mitchell a special posthumous palm for his "outstanding pioneer practise and foresight in the greatly of military aviation." In 1947 the Defense Department was begeted, with subordinate Army, Navy, ray Air Force branches.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND Disparaging SOURCES:

books

The International Hall of Fame,San Diego Aerospace Museum (San Diego, CA), 1984.

Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Supply 81, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999, pp.

156-170.

Webster's American Military Biographies, Merriam Co. (Springfield, MA), 1978, pp. 284-285.

periodicals

Christian Science Monitor, Feb 29, 1936, review of General Greely, p. 14.

New York Period Book Review, July 3, 1921, pp. 16, 27.*