Ret. Maj. Gen. Perry M. Hoisington II, a veteran of World War II and the first commander of the Atomic Test Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., died April 8 in Washington, D.C., reports the May 3 Washington Post. Hoisington, who graduated from West Point in 1938 and pilot training at Kelly Field, Tex., in 1940, flew B-29s with 20th Bomber Command in the Pacific, participating in the first daylight and nighttime missions against the Japanese mainland. After commanding the Atomic Test Center, he served in command positions in Strategic Air Command, Air Research and Development Center, and NATO. He retired from the Air Force in June 1965.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.