He wrote several books railing against the influence of "radicals" and "liberals" in American cultural and political circles.He died in 1990. LeMay became aware that the new single sideband (SSB) technology offered a big advantage over amplitude modulation (AM) for SAC aircraft operating long distances from their bases. As a lieutenant colonel who served under LeMay, Robert McNamara was in charge of evaluating the effectiveness of American bombing missions. [10] For this first attack, LeMay ordered the defensive guns removed from 325 B-29s, loaded each plane with Model M-47 incendiary clusters, magnesium bombs, white phosphorus bombs, and napalm, and ordered the bombers to fly in streams at 5,000 to 9,000 feet over Tokyo. Aircrews at the tail end of the bomber stream reported that the stench of burned human flesh permeated the aircraft over the target. Sweeney, Charles (Maj. Gen., ret. This included the firebombing of Tokyo on the night of March 9–10, 1945, the most destructive bombing raid of the war. When World War II ended, he was appointed to the permanent rank of brigadier general in the Regular Army but held his temporary rank of major general in the Army until promotion to lieutenant general in the now separate United States Air Force in 1948. [23], General LeMay was instrumental in SAC's acquisition of a large fleet of new strategic bombers, establishment of a vast aerial refueling system, the formation of many new units and bases, development of a strategic ballistic missile force, and establishment of a strict command and control system with an unprecedented readiness capability. However, he also gained notoriety later in life for his involvement in ultra-right-wing politics, his fanatic anti-Communist views (he outraged many both inside and outside the military for what they saw as his attempting to use the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 as an excuse to instigate a nuclear war with the Soviet Union), his unrelenting advocacy of the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam and his close personal and, eventually, political association with former Alabama governor and white supremacist George Wallace.LeMay was born and raised in Columbus, OH, and attended Ohio State University. Share this story! Official Sites. Though LeMay lost significant appropriation battles for the Skybolt ALBM and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress replacement, the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, he was largely successful at expanding Air Force budgets. This resulted in his being selected as the vice-presidential candidate of arch-segregationist former Alabama governor George Wallace during his presidential campaign of 1968. Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate George Wallace in 1968. In conjunction with Art Collins (W0CXX) of Collins Radio, he established SSB as the radio standard for SAC bombers in 1957.[34]. [6][7] Japanese cities were largely constructed of combustible materials such as wood and paper. [20], Upon receiving his fourth star in 1951 at age 44, LeMay became the youngest four-star general in American history since Ulysses S. Grant and was the youngest four-star general in modern history as well as the longest serving in that rank. He fought segregation in the Air Force before Executive Order 9981 systemically banned the practice.[40]. At the start of 1940 he was still a first lieutenant but, beginning in 1941, began to receive temporary advancements in grade in the expanding Army Air Forces. Precision high-altitude daylight bombing was ordered to proceed only when weather permitted or when specific critical targets were not vulnerable to area bombing. However, LeMay made a string of reckless and alarming statements--such as declaring that the people of the US may have been afraid of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, but he was not--that cost the Wallace campaign much support. LeMay headed SAC until 1957, overseeing its transformation into a modern, efficient, all-jet force. During the war, he was known for planning and executing a massive bombing campaign against cities in Japan and a crippling minelaying campaign in Japan's internal waterways. Each of the armed forces had gradually jettisoned realistic appraisals of future conflicts in favor of developing its own separate nuclear and nonnuclear capabilities. Conducted by granddaughter Dorothy Danaher White. Though considered “effective” in the war effort, the general’s enthusiastic firebombing of Japanese civilian centers attained him the reputation reflected by one of his nicknamed, “The Demon.”, Adding to the notoriety, LeMay often expressed such heart-warming sentiments as “There are no innocent civilians.”. The other two aircraft used up more fuel than LeMay's in fighting headwinds, and they could not fly to Washington, DC, the original goal. He was honored by several countries, receiving the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the French Légion d'honneur and the Silver Star. This website uses cookies. [22], Despite popular claims that LeMay advanced the notion of preventive nuclear war, the historical record indicates LeMay actually advocated justified preemptive nuclear war. Several documents show LeMay advocating preemptive attack of the Soviet Union, had it become clear the Soviets were preparing to attack SAC or the US. This created a unique situation in LeMay's service record since in 1928 it was unusual for a person to hold commissions in both the National Guard and the Army Reserve. In 1961 he was promoted to Chief of Staff.His success on the battlefields of Europe and Japan, however, did not carry over to success on the battlefields of Washington. For this reason, among others, I consider that the national security will continue to require the flexibility, responsiveness, and discrimination of manned strategic weapon systems throughout the range of cold, limited, and general war."[37]. |  Eventually they returned to his native city of Columbus. Though considered “effective” in the war effort, the general’s enthusiastic firebombing of Japanese civilian centers attained him the reputation reflected by one of his nicknamed, “The Demon.” Library of Congress, Manuscript Reading Room, Papers of Curtis E. LeMay, Box B-205, Remarks by General Curtis E. LeMay at Quantico, 15 July 1955. "[6][7] The argument was that it was his duty to carry out the attacks in order to end the war as quickly as possible, sparing further loss of life. As the firebombing campaign took effect, Japanese war planners were forced to expend significant resources to relocate vital war industries to remote caves and mountain bunkers, reducing production of war materiel. The Air Force leadership, however, felt that such a promotion would lessen the prestige of this rank, which was seen as a wartime rank to be held only in times of extreme national emergency. He advocated the introduction of satellite technology and pushed for the development of the latest electronic warfare techniques. The Penguin Group, 2005, p. 382. December 24, 1985 recorded interview with Major General William P. Fisher, USAF, Retired. On December 7, 1964 the Japanese government conferred on him the First Order of Merit with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. If Soviet officers had launched them, many millions of US citizens could have been killed. Was responsible for the controversial firebombing of Japanese cities near the end of World War II. K0GRL is still the call sign of the Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club. Doubleday. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay Building, U.S. Strategic Command Headquarters. Evidence of LeMay's thinking is that, in his 1965 autobiography (co-written with MacKinlay Kantor) LeMay is quoted as saying his response to North Vietnam would be to demand that "they’ve got to draw in their horns and stop their aggression, or we’re going to bomb them back into the Stone Age. [36], The memorandum from LeMay, Chief of Staff, USAF, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 4, 1964, illustrates LeMay's reasons for keeping bomber forces alongside ballistic missiles: "It is important to recognize, however, that ballistic missile forces represent both the U.S. and Soviet potential for strategic nuclear warfare at the highest, most indiscriminate level, and at a level least susceptible to control. General Curtis E. Lemay, (1906-1990). Japan had intentionally decentralized 90 percent of its war-related production into small subcontractor workshops in civilian districts, making remaining Japanese war industry largely immune to conventional precision bombing with high explosives.[14]. Any plane that takes off will go over the target, or the crew will be court-martialed.' He said that while the American people may have been afraid of nuclear war, he was not. He received a regular commission in the United States Army Air Corps in January 1930. One of the pilots was of higher rank: Lieutenant General Barney Giles. His Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers flying from China were dropping their bombs near their targets only 5% of the time. LeMay made a name for himself in helping to draw up Washington’s strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater during the Second World War. B00005WGR2. 64–7. "Mission with LeMay: My Story". When Wallace announced his selection in October 1968, LeMay opined that he, unlike many Americans, clearly did not fear using nuclear weapons. His enrollment in the ROTC program there resulted in his being made a second lieutenant when he joined the US Army Air Corps in 1930. [6][7] In September 1943 he became the first commander of the newly-formed 3d Air Division. [21] In 1956 and 1957 LeMay implemented tests of 24-hour bomber and tanker alerts, keeping some bomber forces ready at all times. Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Find a Grave.com, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, American Independent Party vice-presidential nominees, American military personnel of World War II, American military personnel of the Korean War, American military personnel of the Vietnam War, Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force, Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword, Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium), Recipients of the Croix de guerre (France), Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States), Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States), Recipients of the Order of Aeronautical Merit (Brazil), Commanders of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco), Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class, Recipients of the Order of the Southern Cross, Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States), United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II, United States vice-presidential candidates, 1968, Vice Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force, flying from Japan to the U.S. in September 1945, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. 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"Mission with LeMay: My Story".

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