Lauris Norstad - Arlington VA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 2, Site 4954-5

From Wikipedia-Wolrld War II: In August 1942, Norstad was named assistant chief of staff for operations (A-3) of the Twelfth Air Force, going to England with it the following month in support of Operation Husky, and to Algiers, North Africa in October 1942. he met General Dwight Eisenhower, who said of him: "It was on that occasion that I first met Lieutenant Colonel Lauris Norstad, a young air officer who so impressed me by his alertness, grasp of problems, and personality that I never thereafter lost sight of him. He was and is one of those rare men whose capacity knows no limit.

He retired on December 31, 1963 with 33 years of continued active military service in the US Army Air Corps and US Air Force. Among his military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal, and the French Legion of Honor. He was rated a command pilot, combat observer, and technical observer.

Description: From Find A Grave: US Air Force General. He was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe from 1956 until 1963. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of a Lutheran minister whose had immigrated from Norway. In 1910 he moved with his family to Red Wing, Minnesota where his father became the pastor of its Lutheran Church. After graduating from Red Wing Central High School, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated in June 1930 with a commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant of Cavalry. In September 1930 he entered Primary Flying School at March Field (now March Air Reserve Base), California, and graduated from Advanced Flying School and was transferred to the US Army Air Corps in June 1931. In January 1932 he was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where he served in to the 18th Pursuit Group, assuming command of it in July 1933. In March 1936 he was named adjutant of the Ninth Bomb Group there. In September 1939 he entered the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, graduating in September of that year. He then was assigned to Mitchel Field (now closed) in Long Island New York as officer in charge of the 9th Bomb Group Navigation School. In July 1940 he transferred to Langley Field (now Langley Air Force Base as part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis), Virginia, where he became the Adjutant of the 25th Bomb Group, and the following November he was named Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence of General Headquarters Air Force there. In February 1942 he was appointed a member of the Advisory Council to the commanding general of the US Army Air Forces at Washington, DC. In August 1942 he was named Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations (A-3) of the Twelfth Air Force, going to England with it the following month in support of Operation Husky, and then to Algiers, North Africa in October 1942. In February 1943 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and assumed the additional duty of Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the Northwest African Air Forces. In December 1943 he was appointed Director of Operations of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces at Algiers, moving with it to Caserta, Italy, two months later. In August 1944 he returned to the US where he became Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Headquarters Army Air Force in Washington DC with additional duty as Chief of Staff of the 20th Air Force. In May 1945 he was relieved of this additional duty and assumed additional duty as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Plans at Headquarters Army Air Force. He was promoted to the rank of major general the following month. Relieved of his 20th Air Force assignment in February 1946, he continued as Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans until the following June, when he was appointed Director of the Plans and Operations Division of the War Department at Washington, DC. On October 1, 1947, following the division of the War Department into the Departments of The Army and The Air Force, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the Air Force, and the following May assumed additional duty as acting Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. In October 1950 he became the Commander-in-Chief of US Air Forces in Europe, headquartered at Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany. In April 1951 he assumed additional duty as Commanding General of the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe under the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers (SHAPE) in Europe. In July 1952 he was promoted to the rank of general and the following year he was designated Air Deputy to SHAPE. In November 1956 he was appointed as the new Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command. In this role, Headquarters Air Force there. In February 1942 he was appointed a member of the Advisory Council to the commanding general of the US Army Air Forces at Washington, DC. Date of birth: 03/24/1907 Date of death: 09/12/1988 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: None Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   10/09/2021 Don.Morfe visited it