The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General Ira Clarence Eaker - Jan. 12th, 2004

Handbook of Texas ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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General Ira Clarence Eaker
(1896-1987)

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Ira Clarence Eaker, aviation pioneer and United States Air Force general, was born on April 13, 1896, at Field Creek, Texas, the eldest of five boys born to Young Yancy and Dona Lee (Graham) Eaker. In 1906 the family moved to Concho County, where they spent three years in the rural community of Hills before moving to a farm a mile outside of Eden. They moved to southeastern Oklahoma in 1912 and returned to Eden ten years later. Ira attended public school at Hills, in Eden, and in Kenefic, Oklahoma. He graduated from Southeastern State Teachers College (now Southeastern Oklahoma State University) at Durant, Oklahoma, and entered the United States Army in 1917.

Eaker was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry Section, Officers Reserve Corps, on August 15, 1917, and assigned to the Sixty-fourth Infantry at Fort Bliss, Texas. He received a similar commission in the regular army on October 26, 1917. His aviation experience began in March 1918, when he was directed to attend ground school at the University of Texas in Austin and flight training at Kelly Field at San Antonio. He received his pilot rating and a promotion to first lieutenant on July 17, 1918. After training, he was sent to Rockwell Field, California, where he met Col. H. H. "Hap" Arnold and Maj. Carl A. "Tooey" Spaatz, two men with whom he had a close military relationship for the rest of his life. In July 1919 he was appointed commander of the Second Aero Squadron and sent to the Philippines for a two-year tour. In 1920 he was reassigned as commander of the Third Aero Squadron and promoted to captain. Upon return to the United States in 1921 he was assigned to Mitchel Field, New York; while there, he attended Columbia Law School. He subsequently spent three years to the staff of Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patrick, chief of air service, in Washington, D.C.


January 1929, Major Carl Spaatz, USAAC, with Captain Ira Eaker as relief pilot, shown at left, and a crew of three, set a refueling endurance record of 150 hours 40 minutes in the Fokker C2-3 transport "Question Mark", flying over the Los Angeles Airport. This Fokker is now in the NASM exhibit. In 1936, Major Eaker helped pioneer blind flying techniques as he flew from New York to Los Angeles relying on instruments alone. He became a Brigadier General in 1940.

Captain Eaker was one of ten pilots chosen to make the Pan American Goodwill Flight in 1926. During the flight both members of one crew died in a crash. Eaker and his copilot were the only team to complete the entire 23,000-mile itinerary, which included stops in twenty-three countries. The flight left San Antonio on December 21 and ended at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., where President Calvin Coolidge presented the pilots with the Distinguished Flying Cross, a new award authorized by Congress just a few months earlier. In 1929 Eaker, with Tooey Spaatz and Elwood R. Quesada (both of whom were later generals), flew a Fokker tri-motor named the Question Mark for 150 hours, 40 minutes, and 15 seconds, shuttling between Los Angeles and San Diego, refueling with a hose lowered from a Douglas C-1. They set an endurance record that endured for many years. In 1930 Eaker flew the first transcontinental flight that depended solely on aerial refueling. Eaker was promoted to major in 1935. Beginning on June 2, 1936, he flew blind under a hood from Mitchel Field, New York, to March Field, Riverside, California. Maj. William E. Kepner (who also became a general) flew alongside in this experiment in instrument flight as a safety observer. He stated that Eaker "was under the hood and flying blind" the entire time except for eight take-offs and landings.


The crew of the Question Mark:
Maj. Spaatz, Capt. Eaker, Lt. Halverson, Lt. Quesado, and MSgt.Hooe.

During the middle to late 1930s Eaker attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, and the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He also served on the Air Staff in Washington. He was promoted to full colonel in December 1941 and to brigadier general in January 1942, when he was assigned to England to form and command the Eighth Bomber Command. He was instrumental in the development and application of daylight precision bombing in the European Theater. This tactic was a major factor in the defeat of the Germans. In December 1942 Eaker became commander of the Eighth Air Force in England. On September 13, 1943, he received promotion to lieutenant general, and on October 15, 1943, he assumed overall command of both American air forces in the United Kingdom, the Eighth and the Ninth. He took over as commander of the joint Mediterranean Allied Air Forces on January 15, 1944. With 321,429 officers and men and 12,598 aircraft, MAAF was the world's largest air force. On March 22, 1945, Eaker was transferred back to Washington to become deputy chief of the army air force under Gen. H. H. Arnold. In that position, representing the air force, he transmitted the command from President Harry Truman to General Spaatz, who was then commanding the Pacific Air Forces, to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Eaker announced his plans to retire from the army in mid-June 1947, saying that he felt he could do more to provide security for the United States out of uniform.



After retirement he was associated with Hughes Aircraft from 1947 to 1957. In 1957 he became a corporate director of Douglas Aircraft Company, a post he held until 1961, when he returned to Hughes as a consultant, with the freedom to pursue a long-desired goal of being a journalist. He had already coauthored three books with H. H. Arnold: This Flying Game (1936), Winged Warfare (1941), and Army Fliers (1942). In 1964 he began a newspaper column in the San Angelo Standard Times that continued for eighteen years and was syndicated by Copley News Services in 700 newspapers. In 1974 he transferred to the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. He wrote from the point of view of a military man on security matters. Between 1957 and 1981, 329 of his articles appeared in military periodicals. In 1972 he became the founding president of the United States Strategic Institute.



Among his more than fifty decorations were the Congressional Gold Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Order of the Partisan Star (First Class), the Silver Star, and the Wright Trophy; he was also made a Knight of the British Empire. He was promoted from lieutenant general to general by an act of Congress in 1985.



Eaker married Leah Chase about 1930; the couple had no children, and the marriage ended in divorce the year it began. On November 23, 1931, he married Ruth Huff Apperson. General Eaker died on August 6, 1987, at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. He was survived by his wife.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[snippy_about_it]

‘Landed three miles east of West in a rice paddy, please send propeller.’” The reply Ira received was, “Sober up and come home and all will be forgiven.”

I love this! The General sure led a full life.

Thanks for bringing us his biography.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning feather. LOL. No Starbucks yet.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut.

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, Iowa (BB-53)

South Dakota class battleship
Displacement: 43,200 tons
Dimensions: 684' (length overall); 106' (maximum beam)
Powerplant: 60,000 horsepower steam turbines with electric drive, producing a 23 knot maximum speed
Armament (Main Battery): Twelve 16"/50 guns in four triple turrets
Armament (Secondary Battery): Sixteen 6"/53 guns in single mountings (eight guns on each side of the ship)

Iowa, (BB-53) was laid down as Iowa at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., 17 May 1920, but on 8 February 1922, work was suspended when the ship was 31.8 percent complete. Construction was canceled 17 August 1923 in accordance with the terms of the W ashington Treaty limiting Naval armaments. She was sold for scrap 8 November 1923.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Walt.

I'm working on a thread about night fighters for next weekend and in reading about that I learned that some folks didn't believe they really needed the fighter planes once the heavy bombers were developed. 'They' figured there would be no defense needed against high flying planes that could drop bombs over the enemy. Of course they were proven wrong.

[snippy_about_it]

Morning AntiJen, glad to see that Sasso is still hanging in there.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks aomagrat. Those seem like they would have been great ships with those twelve big guns.

[snippy_about_it]

That pup with Eaker is adorable. Like your tagline today too. Off to work now, see you later.

[The Mayor]

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. —Revelation 3:15

A half-hearted Christian needs to regain a heart for God.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[Darksheare]

I'm in, more or less in one piece.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on January 12:
1562 Charles Emanuel I the great, Duke of Savoy
1580 Jean Baptiste van Helmont Belgian chemist, (found boiling point temperature)
1588 John Winthrop 1st Governor (Massachusetts Bay Colony)
1729 Edmund Burke British author (Philosophy & Inquiry)
1737 John Hancock patriot (1st to sign Declaration of Independence)
1792 Robert Patterson Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1881
1825 Joseph Robert Davis Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1896
1852 Joseph J C Joffre French field marshal (Indo-China, Marne)
1853 Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro Italian mathematician (tensor analysis)
1856 John Singer Sargent US, portrait painter (Wyndham Sisters)
1876 Jack London writer/socialist (Call of the Wild)
1893 Hermann Goering WWI hero Reichsmarshall (Nazi Germany)
1899 Paul H Müller Swiss chemist (DDT-Nobel 1948)
1904 Mississippi Fred McDowell blues artist
1906 Henny Youngman England, comedian (Take my wife please...)
1906 Tex Ritter Texas, country singer (5 Star Jubilee, The Wayward Wind)
1930 Glenn Yarborough singer (Limeliters-Honey & Wine, Jubilee)
1935 "The Amazing" Kreskin Montclair NJ, mentalist/telepath
1943 Ray Manzarek rock pianist (Doors-Light my Fire, People are Strange)
1947 Tom Dempsey NFL record-holder (longest field goal, 63 yards)
1951 Kirstie Alley Wichita KS, actress (Star Trek II, Cheers-Rebecca)
1951 Rush Hudson Limbaugh III Cape Girardeau MO, conservative radio & television host
1967 Vendela [Kirsebom] Stockholm Sweden, model (Sports Illustrated 1993)
1996 Sarah Morales Mexico, Siamese twin (survived)
1996 Sarahi Morales Mexico, Siamese twin (died on Jan 27, 1996)

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Deaths which occurred on January 12:
1049 Abu Sa'id ibn Aboa al-Chair Persian mystic, dies at 81
1167 Aelred of Hexham/Rievaulx English abbot/saint, dies at about 56
1517 Vasco Núñez de Balboa Spanish conquistador/admiral, beheaded at 41
1519 Maximilian I of Hapsburg German kaiser, dies
1867 Victor Cousin French philosopher/minister of Education, dies at 74
1880 Ida Gräfin von Hahn-Hahn author (Aus der Gesellschaft), dies at 74
1962 Ernie Kovacs comedian (Ernie Kovacs Show), killed in auto crash at 42
1965 Porcupine in Washington DC zoo, dies at 27; oldest known rodent
1976 Agatha Christie mystery writer (10 Little Indians), dies at 85
1990 Laurence J Peter author (Peter Principle), dies from a stroke at 70

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 KEMP CLAYTON CHARLES---WHEATRIDGE CO.
1967 REINECKE WAYNE CONRAD---MILWAUKIE OR.
1968 COHRON JAMES D.---CENTERVILLE IA.
1968 PORT WILLIAM D.---ELIZABETHTOWN PA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
1493 Last day for all Jews to leave Sicily
1583 Holland begins use of Gregorian calendar (yesterday was 1/1/1583)
1598 Pope Clement VIII seizes duchy of Ferrara on death of Alfonso
1773 1st US public museum established (Charleston SC)
1812 1st cargo arrives in New Orleans by steam, from Natchez
1816 France decrees Bonaparte family excluded from the country forever
1820 Royal Astronomical Society founded in England
1839 Anthracite coal 1st used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk PA
1863 President Davis delivers his "State of the Confederacy" address
1879 British Zulu War begins Lieutenant-General Chelmsford invades Zululand
1896 1st X-ray photo in US (Dr Henry Smith, Davidson NC)
1906 Football rules committee legalizes the forward pass
1906 1st time Dow Jones closes above 100 (100.26)
1912 -47ºF (-44ºC), Washta IA (state record)
1913 Kiel and Wilhelmshaven become submarine bases in Germany.
1915 House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote
1921 Kenesaw Mountain Landis becomes 1st commissioner of baseball
1932 France's Laval government falls
1932 Hattie W Caraway elected 1st woman senator (D-AR)
1933 US Congress recognize independence Philippines
1937 Plow for laying submarine cable patented
1943 Soviet forces raise the siege of Leningrad
1943 Frankfurters replaced by Victory Sausages (mix of meat & soy meal)
1944 Churchill & de Gaulle begin a 2-day wartime conference in Marrakesh
1945 German forces in Belgium retreat in Battle of the Bulge
1945 US Task Force 38 destroys 41 Japanese ships in Battle of South China Sea
1948 Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
1949 "Arthur Godfrey & His Friends" premieres on CBS TV
1949 Dutch court affirms death sentence against SS chief Hanns Rauter
1950 USSR re-introduces death penalty for treason, espionage & sabotage
1951 Ezzard Charles TKOs Lee Oma in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
1952 University of Tennessee admits its 1st black student
1953 9 "Jewish" physicians arrested for "terrorist activities" in Moscow
1961 UN genocide pact goes into effect
1965 "Hullabaloo" premieres on NBC-TV
1966 "Batman" with Adam West & Burt Ward premieres on ABC TV
1966 LBJ says US should stay in S Vietnam until communist aggression ends
1966 Red Auerbach wins his 1,000th game as coach of NBA Boston Celtics
1968 Nighttime version of "Hollywood Squares" premieres on NBC TV
1970 Biafran War ends, Biafra surrenders to Nigeria
1970 Boeing 747 makes its maiden voyage
1971 "All in the Family" premieres on CBS featuring 1st toilet flush on TV
1975 Chrysler Corp offers 1st car rebates
1975 Super Bowl IX Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings, 16-6 in New Orleans; Super Bowl MVP Franco Harris, Pittsburgh, Running Back
1976 UN Security Council votes 11-1 to seat Palestine Liberation Organization
1977 Anti-French demonstrations takes place in Israel after Paris released Abu Daoud, responsible 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes
1979 Los Angeles's Hillside Strangler, Kenneth Bianchi, arrested in Bellingham
1979 Record blizzard struck midwest killing over 100
1983 Brooks Robinson & Juan Marichal elected to Hall of Fame
1988 Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirate), elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1990 Civil Rights activist Reverand Al Sharpton is stabbed in Bensonhurst Brooklyn
1990 Romania bans Communist party (1st Warsaw Pact member to do so)
1991 US Congress gives George Bush authority to wage war against Iraq
1992 Algeria's General elections canceled after strong gains by Islamic Salvation Front in the 1st round
1995 Major earthquake kills 5,092 in Kobe Japan
1995 Murder trial against OJ Simpson, begins in Los Angeles
1997 HAL becomes operational (2001: A Space Odyssey); this date was given as January 12, 1992 on screen, but 1997 is the date used in both the novel and screenplay

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Tanzania : Zanzibar Revolution Day
US : Life Every Voice and Sing Day
US : Volunteer Fireman Day
US : National Clean Off Your Desk Day
Human Resources Month

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Religious Observances
Anglican : Commemoration of St Aelred
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Victorian
Christian : Plough Monday

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Religious History
1777 The Mission Santa Clara de Asis was established. It was one of nine missions founded by Spanish Franciscan missionary, Father Junipero Serra, between 1769-1784.
1779 Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury recorded in his journal: 'If the Lord is pleased to work, who or what can hinder?'
1825 Birth of Brooke Foss Westcott, British N.T. scholar. In 1881, he and F. J. A. Hort co-edited a famous critical text of the Greek New Testament -- one which is still used today.
1839 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'It is not the tempest, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but the still small voice of the Spirit that carries on the glorious work of saving souls.'
1893 Representatives of 21 mission boards met in NY City to discuss common concerns. Soon becoming an annual event, by 1911 the convention was known as the Foreign Missions Conference. In 1950 it became a constituting member of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, serving as its Division of Foreign Missions.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and there is a 100% mortality rate."

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Question of the day...
When night falls who picks it up?

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Murphys Law of the day...(Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Governments)
No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.

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Amazing fact #35.7...
Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., but technically it is number 47. Until August 7, 1953, Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit Ohio to the Union.

[bandleader]

Dear snippy_about_it,General Eaker was more than surprised when Hap Arnold gave command of The Mighty Eighth to Jimmy Doolittle!He felt(and quite rightly),that this should have been his command!!

[SCDogPapa]

Mornin' Snippy,,Mornin' Sam

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Matt! Good to see you.

[snippy_about_it]

Morning Darksheare. More or less will do. :-)

[CholeraJoe]

Great thread SAM. One thing always puzzled me about Eaker and the Bombing Campaign in Europe. After pioneering aerial refueling years earlier, why didn't he apply it in WWII? B-17's could have delivered twice as much bomb tonnage if they had taken off nearly empty and topped off over the English Channel. That very technique became SOP for the B-52.

[snippy_about_it]

Amazing fact...

They forgot Ohio. Figures. I think we are the land of nutcase politicians anyway. Who needs us. :-)