Ira C. Eaker
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Douglas Aircraft (1957–61) |
General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896[1] – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and organize its bomber command. While he struggled to build up airpower in England, the organization of the Army Air Forces evolved and he was named commander of the Eighth Air Force on December 1, 1942.
Although his background was in single-engine
.Childhood and education
Eaker was born in Field Creek, Texas, in 1896, the son of a Dutch tenant farmer. He attended Southeastern State Teachers College in Durant, Oklahoma, and then joined the United States Army in 1917. He was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry, Officer's Reserve Corps, and assigned to active duty with the 64th Infantry Regiment at Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas. The 64th Infantry was assigned to the 14th Infantry Brigade on December 20, 1917, to be part of the 7th Infantry Division when it deployed to France. On November 15, 1917, Eaker received a commission in the Regular Army. He later received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Southern California in 1934.
Air Service and Air Corps career
Eaker remained with the 64th Infantry until March 1918, when he was placed on detached service to receive flying instruction at
In July 1919, he transferred to the
Meanwhile, on July 1, 1920, he was commissioned into the Regular Army as a captain in the Air Service and returned to the United States in January 1922, for duty at
In June 1924, Eaker was named executive assistant in the Office of Air Service at
In September 1926, he was named operations and line maintenance officer at
In October 1934, Eaker was ordered to duty at
Eaker entered the Air Corps Tactical School at
World War II
Promoted to
Much of Eaker's initial staff, including Captain
Throughout the war, Eaker was an advocate for daylight "precision" bombing of military and industrial targets in German-occupied territory and ultimately Germany—of striking at the enemy's ability to wage war while minimizing civilian casualties. The British considered daylight bombing too risky and wanted the Americans to join them in night raids that would target wider areas, but Eaker persuaded a skeptical Winston Churchill that the American and British approaches complemented each other in a one-page memo that concluded, "If the RAF continues night bombing and we bomb by day, we shall bomb them round the clock and the devil shall get no rest." He personally participated in the first US
Eaker also strongly advocated work on improving the range of
Eaker was reassigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, previous commander Tedder having been selected by Eisenhower to plan the air operations for the Normandy invasion. Eaker had under his command the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces and the British Desert and Balkan Air Forces. He did not approve of the plan to bomb Monte Cassino in February 1944, considering it a dubious military target, but ultimately signed off the mission and gave in to pressure from ground commanders. Historians of the era now generally believe Eaker's skepticism was correct and that the ancient abbey at Monte Cassino could have been preserved without jeopardizing the allied advance through Italy. He personally led the first raid of Operation Frantic on 2 July 1944, flying in a B-17 called Yankee Doodle II and landing at a Soviet base at Polotava in the Ukraine.[6]
On April 30, 1945, General Eaker was named deputy commander of the Army Air Forces and
Almost 40 years after his retirement, Congress attempted to pass special legislation awarding
Civilian career
Ten days before the Democratic Party primary runoff election of the 1948 United States Senate election in Texas on Saturday, August 28, 1948, Eaker spoke in support of candidate Lyndon B. Johnson. Coke R. Stevenson's campaign attacked Eaker, and Eaker was defended by other prominent military officers and Johnson. Criticizing a prominent military leader so soon after World War II likely had a negative effect on Stevenson's turnout in the election, and in Howard County in particular (which had quartered an Army Air Force Bombardier School during World War II) returned an abnormally high net gain for Johnson as compared to his gains in other areas.[11]: 605–606 Johnson would go on to be declared the winner of the election by a small margin.
Eaker was a vice president of
While stationed in New York in the early 1920s, Eaker studied law at Columbia University. Eaker went back to school in the early 1930s at the University of Southern California and received a degree in journalism. With Henry Arnold, Eaker co-authored This Flying Game (1936), Winged Warfare (1937), and Army Flyer (1942). Starting in 1962, he wrote a weekly column, carried by many newspapers, on military affairs.
Eaker was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, in Dayton, Ohio, in 1970. Over his 30 years of flying, General Eaker accumulated 12,000 flying hours as pilot.
On September 26, 1978, the U.S. Congress passed, and on October 10, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed, Public Law 95-438, which awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to General Eaker, "in recognition of his distinguished career as an aviation pioneer and Air Force leader".[12]
Eaker died August 6, 1987, at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[13]
The airport in
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
---|---|---|---|
No pin insignia at the time | Second lieutenant | Infantry, Officers' Reserve Corps | 15 August 1917 |
No pin insignia at the time | Second lieutenant | Regular Army, Infantry | 26 October (effective 15 November) 1917 |
First lieutenant | Regular Army, Infantry | 17 June 1918 (temporary) 6 September 1919 (permanent) | |
Captain | Regular Army (United States Army Air Service) | 1 July 1920 | |
Major | Regular Army, Air Corps | 20 April-26 July 1935 (temporary) 1 August 1935 (permanent) | |
Lieutenant colonel | Regular Army, Air Corps | 1 December 1937 (temporary) 18 August 1940 (permanent) | |
Temporary Colonel | Regular Army, Air Corps | 30 August 1940 (effective 1 February 1941) | |
Colonel | Army of the United States | 24 December 1941 | |
Brigadier general | Army of the United States | 17 January 1942 | |
Major general | Army of the United States | 7 September 1942 | |
Brigadier general | Regular Army (United States Army Air Forces) | 1 September 1943 | |
Lieutenant general | Army of the United States | 13 September 1943 | |
Major general | Regular Army (United States Army Air Forces) | 1 December 1944 | |
Major general | Regular Army (United States Army Air Forces), Retired | 31 August 1947 | |
Lieutenant general | United States Air Force, Retired | 29 June 1948 | |
General (Honorary) | United States Air Force, Retired | 4 April 1985 [14] |
Source:[15]
Awards and decorations
- Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
- Army Distinguished Service Medalwith two oak leaf clusters
- Navy Distinguished Service Medal
- Silver Star
- Legion of Merit
- Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster
- Air Medal
- World War I Victory Medal
- American Defense Service Medal
- American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal with bronze service stars- World War II Victory Medal
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Knight Commander of the BathLegion of Honor, Grand Officer (France)Croix de Guerrewith Palm (France)- Silver Cross of Merit with Swords (Krzyż Zasługi z Mieczami) (Poland)
- Order of Kutuzov, Second Degree (USSR)
- Grand Master of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy)
Order of the Liberator General San Martin, Commander (Spanish: Comendador) (Argentina)- Order of the Southern Cross, Grand Officer (Brazil)
Officer, Order of the Sun(Peru)- Order of Aeronautical Merit (Brazil)
- Order of the Condor of the Andes (Bolivia)
- Order of Merit, Officer (Chile)
- Order of the Liberator, Officer (Venezuela)
- Order of the Partisan Star, First Class (Yugoslavia)
- Congressional Gold Medal
General Ira C. Eaker Award
The General Ira C. Eaker Award is given by the
Cadet Lieutenant Colonel, the second highest grade in the program.[16]In 1970, Eaker was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. [17]
In 1993 he was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Association Hall of Fame.[18]
In 1981, Eaker was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.[19]
Influence on literature
Kurt Vonnegut quotes his foreword to David Irving's The Destruction of Dresden in his novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
See also
References
- ^ Fogerty, Robert P. (1953). "Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers, 1917-1952, Volume 1 – A thru L" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. pp. 504–508. USAF historical studies: no. 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ "Official Site of the U.S. Air Force – History Milestones". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
- ^ "General Eaker Leads First U.S. Bomber Raid". Life. September 14, 1942. p. 38. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4102-1736-3.
- ^ Bishop, Benjamin W. (2015). "Chapter 4: Tactical and Technical Innovation". Jimmy Doolittle: The Commander behind the Legend. Air University Press. pp. 59–60.
- ISBN 978-0-241-40456-0.
- ^ "Stars on Tombstones: Honorary Promotions of Air Corps and Air Force Leaders" (PDF). Air & Space Operations Review: 16. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
- ^ "Stars on Tombstones: Honorary Promotions of Air Corps and Air Force Leaders" (PDF). Air & Space Operations Review: 16. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
- ^ "Stars on Tombstones: Honorary Promotions of Air Corps and Air Force Leaders" (PDF). Air & Space Operations Review: 16. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
- ^ "Decision" (PDF). gao.gov. November 28, 1986. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- JSTOR 2151840.
- ^ "S.425, 95th Congress". thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php. October 10, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2012.[permanent dead link]Full Text, Public Law 95-38
- ^ Burial Detail: Eaker, Ira C – ANC Explorer
- ^ USAF Special Order AA-775, 4 Apr 1985
- ^ Official Army Register, 1947, p. 320.
- ^ "Eaker Award – CAP". members.gocivilairpatrol.com/. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
- ^ "Enshrinee Ira Eaker". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ "Airlift/Tanker Association". www.atalink.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ira Eaker.- Official USAF biography at the Wayback Machine (archived November 9, 2006)
- Ira C. Eaker at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website
- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Eaker, Ira
- Generals of World War II