Elwood Richard Quesada
Elwood Richard Quesada CB CBE | |
---|---|
US | |
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | |
Years of service | 1924–1951 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Unit | Joint Chiefs of Staff |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | |
Other work |
Elwood Richard Quesada,
Early years
Elwood Richard Quesada was born in Washington, D.C. in 1904 to an Irish-American mother and a Spanish father. He attended Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., University of Maryland, College Park, and Georgetown University.
Early military career
In September 1924, Quesada enlisted in the
Tactical airpower pioneer
As a junior officer, Quesada became interested in the concept of close air support of ground forces, which was thoroughly developed by the 9th AF during his time as commander in North Africa and Europe.
Quesada was instrumental in developing many of the principles of tactical air-ground warfare for the
Postwar difficulties
In 1946, Quesada was appointed as the first commander of the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and later promoted to lieutenant general in the newly independent U.S. Air Force. However, Quesada quickly became disillusioned as he saw how TAC was being ignored while funding and promotions were largely going to the Strategic Air Command.
In December 1948, Air Force Chief of Staff Hoyt Vandenberg stripped TAC of its planes and pilots and reduced its status to that of a planning headquarters under the newly formed Continental Air Command. Strategic airpower advocates such as General Curtis LeMay gained a lock on the budget for the Air Force in the post-World War II years, and the Air Force's tactical air warfare ability suffered.
Quesada thus asked for reassignment and was given a dead-end job by Vandenberg as head of a committee to find ways to combine the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard. Quesada was removed from this job after only two months, as his blunt and impatient nature only served to stir up controversy in this near-impossible task. A subsequent heated exchange during a meeting with Vandenberg and LeMay regarding the slow progress of the committee only added to Quesada’s difficulties. These episodes led to his request for early retirement from the Air Force, at the age of 47 in 1951.
The onset of the Korean War resulted in the re-formation of TAC, headed by Quesada's friend, General Otto P. Weyland, who led the XIX TAC during World War II. To Quesada’s dismay, Vandenberg and LeMay credited Weyland for “restoring both the morale and professionalism of TAC”. Weyland gratefully accepted this praise, further infuriating Quesada.
Civilian and family life
On October 12, 1946, Quesada married Kate Davis Putnam, a war widow (her first husband was Capt. Henry Ware Putnam, who died in an air raid over Tokyo on May 25, 1945). She was a granddaughter of newspaper mogul Joseph Pulitzer, and inherited part of his holdings. Mrs. Quesada had two daughters from her previous marriage; the Quesadas had two sons of their own: Thomas Ricardo Quesada and Peter Wickham Quesada.
He served as an executive for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation from 1953–55. In 1957, he became President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Special Adviser for Aviation, leading to his appointment as the first administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (At that time a cabinet level agency known as the Federal Aviation Agency-FAA) from 1959–61.
As FAA chairman, Quesada was instrumental, along with American Airlines president C. R. Smith, in passing a mandatory retirement age of 60 for commercial airline pilots. Smith had lobbied for this rule on the grounds that young pilots with experience serving in World War II and the Korean War would be cheap and easy to train for the new jetliners. Quesada agreed, but went even further to suggest that civilian pilots be barred entirely from jetliner cockpits. The age 60 rule went into effect in 1960 and remained in effect until 2007, although Quesada's proposal to limit jetliners to ex-military personnel was ignored along with an additional suggestion of his that jetliner training be limited to pilots under 55.
C.R. Smith rewarded Quesada handsomely for his help; after the latter stepped down as FAA chairman in 1961, he was granted a seat on American Airlines' board of directors.
Quesada became involved in professional sports when he became owner of the expansion
Quesada, his wife, and their two sons were involved in a dispute with
Death
General Quesada died on February 9, 1993, at a
His wife Kate Davis Putnam Quesada died March 5, 2003, and was interred with him at Arlington National Cemetery.[4]Recognitions, decorations and medals
American decorations and medals
United States Air Force Command Pilot Badge | |
USAAF Observer Badge |
Army Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
| |
Distinguished Flying Cross | |
Purple Heart | |
Air Medal with two silver leaf clusters | |
American Defense Service Medal | |
American Campaign Medal | |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver and two bronze campaign stars
| |
World War II Victory Medal | |
National Defense Service Medal |
Foreign orders and medals
Order of the Bath (Degree of Companion) | |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire | |
French Legion of Honor (Chevalier)
| |
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
| |
Luxembourg Croix de Guerre
| |
Order of Adolphe of Nassau | |
l'Ordre de la Couronne with Palm | |
Croix d'Officier de l'Order de la Couronne with Palm |
Other honors
The Arnold Air Society Squadron at Clarkson University is named in his honor.
On September 14, 2011, he was honored posthumously during Hispanic Heritage Month activities in
In 2012 Quesada was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. [7]
Rank and promotions
Lieutenant General Quesada was promoted and held commands as follows:
- Second Lieutenant – 14 September 1925
- First Lieutenant – 1 November 1932
- Captain – 20 April 1935
- Major – 1 February 1941; 3rd Pursuit Group
- Lieutenant Colonel – 5 January 1942; Philadelphia Region, I Fighter Command
- Brigadier General – 11 December 1942; 1st Air Defense Wing; XII Fighter Command; IX Fighter Command; IX Tactical Air Command
- Major General – 28 April 1944; Ninth Air Force
- Lieutenant General – 1 October 1947; Tactical Air Command
See also
References
- ^ a b "Private Housing Urged for Pennsylvania Avenue." New York Times. October 7, 1969.
- ^ Pfaff, D. W. No Ordinary Joe (pp. 149–166)
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (Feb 10, 1993). "Elwood R. Quesada, First F.A.A. Chief, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved Jun 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "Burial Detail: Quesada, Elwood R. (Section 30, Grave 439-LH)". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website).
- ^ Bethanne Kelly Patrick. "Gen. Elwood 'Pete' Quesada – Aviation Pioneer Epitomized 20th Century's Fascination with Flight". Military.com. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.clevelandairport.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Enshrinee Elwood Quesada". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ Army and Air Force Register, 1948. p. 1479.
- General
- Lieutenant General Elwood R. Quesada official USAF bio
- Hughes, T. H. Overlord – General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II, 1995
- Pfaff, D.W . No Ordinary Joe: A Life of Joseph Pulitzer III, 2005
- Pfaff, D. W. Joseph Pulitzer II and the Post-Dispatch, 1991
- The New York Times – Deaths: Quesada, Kate Davis, March 12, 2003
External links
- Papers of Elwood R. Quesada, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- "Elwood Richard Quesada". at ArlingtonCemetery.net. 12 July 2022. (Unofficial website).