Air Service
Andrews became an outspoken advocate for airpower and the need to put the B-17 into mass production.
Creator, Innovator, and Advocate for an Independent Air Force.
Eaker was an outstanding pilot. He had a degree in journalism, and he used that expertise to write and promote the cause of airpower.
Although coming to aviation late in life—he learned to fly at age 59—Patrick soon recognized the potential of the air weapon.
Rickenbacker was a fearless and aggressive hunter. He would never admit defeat and rejected any attempts at sentimentality.
Principal USAF and major command leaders through the years.
Three Legends
For 32 years, Mason Mathews Patrick (West Point, 1886) was a brilliant though somewhat obscure member of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Hugh Merle Elmendorf, after whom USAF named an Alaskan air base.
Overlooked.
Ring Leader