Harold Geiger
Harold Geiger | |
---|---|
Aircrash | |
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Education | United States Military Academy (1904–1908) |
Spouse | Frances M. Bridges |
Children | 2 |
Biography
He was born on October 7, 1884, in East Orange, New Jersey, to Frederick C. Geiger and Josephine Dodd Squier. He attended East Orange High School.[1]
Geiger was a cadet at the
He was promoted to first lieutenant November 8, 1908.[2]
As a lieutenant, Geiger commanded the aviation assets of the United States Army Signal Corps in the Hawaiian Islands. The first Army airplanes, pilots and crews arrived in Oahu in July 1913. The planes were based at Fort Kamehameha, near present-day Hickam Air Force Base.
Lieutenant Geiger arrived in Oahu with two Curtiss Aeroplane Company seaplanes, a mechanic, 12 enlisted men, and other equipment.[3] However, Geiger's aircraft were in poor shape. His flights were limited to short flights in Pearl Harbor and a longer flight to Diamond Head, Hawaii, and back to Fort Kamehameha.
Geiger was ordered to cease all flying operations in late 1913 because the
Balloons and dirigibles
Geiger completed courses at the U.S. Army Balloon School in April 1917, and later during World War I served overseas with the Army's Balloon Section Headquarters in France as a lieutenant colonel. He completed dirigible studies in France and Italy. He was attached later to the Ambassador's staff in Berlin. While in Germany, Major Geiger sent reports to the Chief of the United States Army Air Service on the construction of the dirigible USS Los Angeles, and repeatedly urged that the craft, which was later taken over by the Navy, be purchased by the Army. He was on the Los Angeles on its transatlantic flight.[1]
Geiger also commanded the Army Balloon School at Ross Field, Arcadia, California.[5] By 1927, Geiger was commandant of Phillips Air Field at Aberdeen, Maryland.
On May 10, 1926, Major Geiger was slightly injured in a mid-air collision between two airplanes at
Death
On May 17, 1927, Geiger died in the crash of an
Legacy
In 1941, the
Gallery
-
Geiger in 1912
-
Geiger in 1911
-
Geiger in 1911
References
- ^ a b c d e "Was Native of East Orange, N.J.". The New York Times. May 18, 1927. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- ^ a b Cullum, George Washington (1920). Robinson, Wirt (ed.). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. From Its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890. Vol. VI-B: 1910–1920. Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. pp. 1352–1353. Retrieved August 9, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-942597-51-6.
- ^ Burlingame, Burl (December 11, 2003). "100 milestones of Hawaii aviation history". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on March 13, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ San Diego Aerospace Museum
- ^ "Parachutes Save 2 Falling Flyers". Columbia Record. Norfolk. AP. May 11, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- The Evening Star. May 17, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Major Geiger, Commander of Aberdeen (Md.) Field, Is Burned to Death. Accident Occurs at Olmstead Field, Pa. Was a Native of East Orange, N.J.". The New York Times. May 18, 1927. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
Apparently only slightly hurt when his De Haviland plane took a fifty-foot nose dive, Major Harold Geiger, commandant of Phillips Air Field at Aberdeen, Md., could not extricate himself before the machine burst into flames and he was burned to death at Olmstead Field, near here, at noon today.
- ^ "Arlington National Cemetery: Geiger, Harold". Army Cemeteries Explorer. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Frequently asked Questions". Spokane International Airport. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2022.