Millard Harmon
Millard Fillmore Harmon Jr. | |
---|---|
5th Composite Group Second Air Force Air Force Combat Command US Army Forces in the South Pacific Area Army Forces South Pacific Area Army Air Forces Pacific Area | |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal Croix de Guerre |
Millard Fillmore Harmon Jr. (January 19, 1888 – February 26, 1945) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaign in World War II. He was presumed to have perished in February 1945 on a flight when the plane carrying him disappeared in transit.
Harmon, Frank Maxwell Andrews, Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. and Lesley J. McNair, all lieutenant generals at the time of their deaths, were the highest-ranking Americans to die in World War II.[1]
Biography
He was born on January 19, 1888, at
Two weeks before the United States entered World War I, Harmon, then a first lieutenant, was on his way to France. There he attended aviation schools in Paris, served at Allied and American headquarters, and was finally attached to the French 13th Group de Combat as a pilot during the Somme defensive, for which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Regarding the U.S. Air Service fields under control of the Training Section in operation on January 20, 1919, Harmon was then a lieutenant colonel and wing commander of the 1st Provisional Wing (Active) at Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, Long Island, New York. [3] Less than three months later, however, Lt. Col. Harmon was the commanding officer at France Field, Cristobal Canal Zone. (On April 16, he had sent a cablegram to the Director Air Service, stating that two of his Army fliers reported lost and delayed by engine trouble, were safe at Bluefields Bluffs.) [4] As of May 29, 1919, Lt. Col. Harmon's 7th Aero Squadron at France Field, Panama Station, was given a reduction in force to 32 officers and 146 regular Army personnel. [5] In March 1920, Lt. Col. Harmon was part of a hunting party operating in the interior of Panama near the Chepo River. The 7th Aero Squadron sent out four flights to locate and communicate with Harmon's party. This involved a great deal of difficulty, and it is unclear whether Harmon's party in the jungle was rescued or returned on their own. [6] At the end of WWI, flying officers who desired to remain in the Air Service to make it a career were permitted to do so, but career commissions in the Regular Army required written examinations, which did not begin until July 7, 1920. After taking this examination, however, Harmon would have to relinquish his (temporary) lieutenant colonel officer rank in order to accept a permanent Regular Army rank of major. This occurred sometime in the four-month period between August 5, when he was still reported to be a Lt. Col., and the first week of December 1920, when Maj. Harmon placed first among his fellow officers in pistol shooting competition at France Field. [7] On March 12, 1921, France Field reported that Maj. Harmon was ordered to report back to Washington and leaving by transport ship the last of March. During his time there, Harmon was an avid polo player who organized his France Field polo team in matches against teams from nearby Army bases. [8] Upon his return to Washington in April, he served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Air Service. In April 1927, Maj. Harmon was relieved from duty with the War Department General Staff and assigned to March Field, Riverside, California for duty. [9] When March Field officially reopened as an Air Corps Primary Flying School on November 1, 1927, Maj. Harmon was appointed as a Faculty Board member and listed as Commandant of March Field. [10] On March 10, 1928, Maj. Harmon commanded a formation of DH-4s and flew the California Lieutenant-Governor on a flight to Blythe for the official opening of the new bridge across the Colorado River. [11] During the years of peace, he continued his training, graduating from the Command and General Staff School and the Army War College. He taught military science and tactics at the University of Washington in Seattle, was assigned as an instructor in the Command and General Staff School, and served with the War Department General Staff for two years.
From 1927 to 1930, he was commandant of the Air Corps Primary Flying School at
In January 1941, Harmon was sent to the
On January 26, 1942, he became Chief of the Air Staff,
On February 2, 1943, Harmon was promoted to lieutenant general. Until September of the following year, he commanded the Army Forces in the
Harmon wanted his command of AAFPOA to be more than an administrative, service, and coordinating agency. He lobbied Headquarters AAF for operational control of all USAAF combat operations in the Pacific Ocean Area and partial operational control of the B-29 operations against Japan, from his headquarters on Guam. Wearing his AAFPOA hat, he gained control of all Army and Navy land-based bomber and fighter operations when theater commander
The issue came to a head in February 1945 when Harmon clashed with Major General
Legacy
Harmon Air Force Base, Guam was named after him. Harmon field was returned to the government of Guam, and has since become an industrial park. The area is still known as Harmon.
See also
References
- ^ Hamner, Christopher. "Friendly Fire." Teachinghistory.org, accessed 2 September 2011.
- ^ a b 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. 778–782. USAF historical studies: no. 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ “Air Service Fields Under Control of Training Section,” D.M.A. Weekly News Letter I, OS 1244 (Washington, DC: War Dept. Air Service, January 25, 1919), 3.
- ^ “Army Fliers From France Field Safe At Bluefields,” Air Service News Letter II, V‒154 (Washington, DC: War Dept. Air Service, April 19, 1919), 5.
- ^ “Recruiting Statistics,” Air Service News Letter II, V‒452, June 6, 1919, 11.
- ^ “Activities of 7th Aero Squadron, France Field, Panama,” Air Service News Letter IV, no. 13, March 22, 1920, 21.
- ^ “France Field, Canal Zone,” Air Service News Letter IV, no. 30, August 5, 1920, 13; “France Field, C.Z.,” Air Service News Letter IV, no. 46, December 15, 1920, 10.
- ^ “France Field, C.Z., March 12,” Air Service News Letter V, no. 13, April 1, 1921, 17; “France Field, Cristobal, C.Z., March 19,” Air Service News Letter V, no. 15, April 15, 1921, 13.
- ^ "Changes in Station of Air Corps Officers," Air Corps News XI, no. 5 (Washington, DC: Information Division, April 27, 1927), 117.
- ^ "Official Opening of New Primary Flying School," Air Corps News XII, no. 1, January 7, 1928, 14.
- ^ "March Field, Riverside, Calif., March 10," Air Corps News XII, no. 5, March 31, 1928, 130.
- ^ "War Department Orders Affecting Air Corps Officers," Air Corps News XIV, no. 3, March 5, 1930, 62.
- ^ "20th Pursuit Group Goes 'On the Air,'" Air Corps News XVIII, no. 4, March 1, 1935, 73; "Army Day at Air Corps Fields," Air Corps News XVIII, no. 9, May 15, 1935, 8.
- Ammentorp, Steen (2007). "Harmon, Millard Fillmore Jr., Lieutenant-General". The Generals of WWII. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
- United States Air Force. "LIEUTENANT GENERAL MILLARD F. HARMON". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2008.