Ira Clarence Eaker - Arlington VA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 30, Site 490-2

Description: From Find A Grave: US Air Force General, Aviation Pioneer. He is remembered as the World War II chief architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty groups of 60 heavy bombers each, and supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1,500 aircraft, most of which was in place by the beginning of 1944. Born in Field Creek, Texas, his father was a tenant farmer. He attended Southeastern State Teachers College in Durant, Oklahoma prior to joining the US Army in 1917. He was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry in Officer's Reserve Corps, and was assigned to active duty with the 64th Infantry Regiment at Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas. In November 1917 he received a commission in the Regular Army. In March 1918 he was placed on detached service to receive flying instruction at Austin and Kelly Fields in Texas. Upon graduation the following October, he was rated a pilot and assigned to Rockwell Field (now Naval Air Station, North Island), California. In July 1919 he was transferred to the Philippine Islands, where he served with the 2d Aero Squadron at Fort Mills, the 3d Aero Squadron at Camp Stotsenburg, an executive officer of the Department Air Office, Department and Assistant Department Air Officer, Philippine Department, and finally as commander of the Philippine Air Depot at Manila. During this time, he was commissioned as a captain in the Air Service and in January 1922 he returned to the US for duty at Mitchel Field (now decommissioned) on Long Island, New York, where he commanded the 5th Aero Squadron and later was post adjutant. During this time, he studied law at Columbia University in New York City, New York. In June 1924 he became executive assistant in the Office of Air Service at Washington, DC, and from December 1926, to May 1927, he served as a pilot of one of the Loening OA-1 float planes of the Pan American Goodwill Flight that made a 22,000 mile voyage around South America and, with the other crewmembers, was awarded the Mackay Trophy. He then became the executive officer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War at Washington, DC. In September 1926 he was named operations and line maintenance officer at Bolling Field (now part of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling), Washington, DC. While there, he participated as chief pilot on the endurance flight of the Army plane, "Question Mark" (a modified Atlantic-Fokker C-2A aircraft) from 1 through 7 January 1929, establishing a new world non-stop flight endurance record of 150 hours, 40 minutes, and 14 seconds, as part of the US Army Air Corps' experiment with aerial refueling. For this achievement, he and the crew (including future General Carl Spaatz), were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1930, he made the first transcontinental flight entirely with instruments. In October 1934 he was assigned to at March Field (now March Air Reserve Base), California, where he commanded the 34th Pursuit Squadron and later the 17th Pursuit Squadron. While there, he returned to college at the University of Southern California and received a degree in journalism. In the summer of 1935, he was detached for duty with the Navy and participated aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, on maneuvers in Hawaii and Guam. In August 1935 he entered the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base), Alabama and upon graduation in June 1936 he entered theCommand and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in June 1937. During his time at Ft Leavenworth from June 3 through 7, 1936, he made the first blind (instruments only) transcontinental flight from New York to Los Angeles. In June 1937 he became assistant chief of the Information Division in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps (OCAC) at Washington, DC, during which he helped plan and publicize the interception (a training exercise) of the Italian liner "Rex" at sea, using B-17 Flying Fortress bomber aircraft. Date of birth: 04/13/1896 Date of death: 08/06/1987 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link] Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   10/10/2021 Don.Morfe visited it