Thomas D. White
Thomas D. White | |
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General Thomas Dresser White (August 6, 1901 – December 22, 1965) was the fourth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.
Life and military career
White was born in Walker, Minnesota, on August 6, 1901.[1] His father was John Chanler White.[2] Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy on July 2, 1920, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry and immediately promoted to first lieutenant.
Entering the
In September 1924, he entered Primary Flying School at
In June 1927, White was assigned to duty as a student of the
White was named assistant military attache for air to Russia in February 1934. A year later, he was appointed assistant military attache for air to Italy and Greece, with station at Rome.
White graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at
In April 1940, White became military attache to Brazil and the following August was named chief of the U.S. Military Air Mission to Brazil.
Returning to the United States in March 1942, White was appointed assistant chief of staff for operations of the Third Air Force at MacDill Field, Florida, and subsequently named chief of staff.
Reassigned to Army Air Forces Headquarters at The Pentagon, Virginia, in January 1944, he became assistant chief of air staff for intelligence.
Proceeding to the Southwest Pacific in September 1944, White assumed duty as the deputy commander of the
Transferred to the Office of the
White was promoted to the rank of general on June 30, 1953, and designated Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force at that time,[4] becoming Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force on July 1, 1957. He retired June 30, 1961.
Life after military
Right after his retirement White was elected a director in Eastern Air Lines.[5]
General White was the 1963 recipient of the General William E. Mitchell Memorial Award, which was awarded "the United States citizen making the outstanding individual contribution to aviation progress."[6]
White was a fisherman,
He died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on December 22, 1965, of leukemia, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[1]
He was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2011.[8]
Awards and decorations
US Air Force Command Pilot Badge |
Army Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster | |
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster | |
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster | |
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
| |
World War I Victory Medal | |
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal | |
American Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star | |
American Campaign Medal | |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Arrowhead device and four service stars
| |
World War II Victory Medal
| |
Army of Occupation Medal | |
National Defense Service Medal with service star | |
Korean Service Medal | |
Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
| |
Air Force Longevity Service Award
| |
Philippine Liberation Medal with service star | |
Philippine Independence Medal | |
Order of the British Empire, Military version | |
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Knight Grand Cross | |
Order of Orange-Nassau, Knight Grand Cross with Swords (Netherlands, 21 February 1962)[9] | |
Order of the Southern Cross, Grand Officer (Brazil) | |
Order of the Rising Sun, grade unknown (Japan) | |
United Nations Korea Medal
|
- White received at least two more foreign decorations.
References
- ^ a b "Gen. T. White, Ex-Air Chief, is Dead at 64". Chicago Tribune. Washington. AP. December 23, 1965. p. 78. Retrieved December 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dallman, V. Y. (1942). "Lighter Vein". The State Register.
- OCLC 45521126.
- ^ "Biography of General Thomas D. White" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. May 11, 1956. pp. 16, 21–22. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ^ "Who's Where". Aviation Week and Space Technology: 23. December 18, 1961.
- ^ "Who's Where". Aviation Week. April 15, 1963.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (May 31, 2019). "Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families APLOCHEILIDAE and NOTHOBRANCHIIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
- ^ "Enshrinee Thomas White". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Nationaal Archief, inventory 2.02.32, dossier 373, registry number 1075
- Official USAF biography at archive.today (archived 2012-12-12)
- Thomas Dresser White Papers at Syracuse University