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Hap Arnold

Hap ArnoldAKA Henry Harley Arnold

Born: 25-Jun-1886
Birthplace: Gladwyne, PA
Died: 15-Jan-1950
Location of death: Sonoma, CA
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Buried, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

Gender: Male
Religion: Baptist
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Military

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Commander, US Army Air Corps, WWII

Military service: US Army (1907-46)

Early duties included service in the Signal Corps, and after instruction from the Wright Brothers, he himself began the training of pilots. He rose to Assistant Director of the US Army Air Corps in 1935, becoming Director in 1938 and holding that office throughout World War II. In 1940, knowing war was coming, he asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt for 100,000 planes over coming years -- far more than his underlings had thought necessary, but a number much closer to reality. A series of heart attacks limited his effectiveness in later years. Even so, Roosevelt in 1944 appointed him a five star general -- a position held also by Omar Bradley, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and George C. Marshall. Arnold was also instrumental in creation of the Civil Air Patrol in 1941. He retired from active duty in 1946 and after writing a memoir, Global Mission, died in 1950 due to his heart condition.

Brother: Thomas Arnold
Wife: Eleanor Alexander Pool ("Bee", m. 10-Sep-1913, one daughter, four sons)
Daughter: Lois Elizabeth Arnold (Colonel, b. 17-Jan-1915)
Son: Henry H. Arnold, Jr. (USAF Colonel, b. 28-Jan-1917, d.)
Son: William Bruce Arnold (USAF Colonel, b. 17-Jul-1918, d. 21-Sep-1992 leukemia)
Son: John Arnold (b. 1921, d. 30-Jun-1923 acute appendicitis)
Son: David Lee Arnold (USAF Colonel, b. 24-Feb-1927, d. 11-Mar-1992 stroke)

    Military College: US Military Academy, West Point (1907)
    Military College: Army Command and General Staff College (1929)

    RAND Corporation
    National Aviation Hall of Fame 1967
    Heart Attack 28-Feb-1943
    Heart Attack 10-May-1943
    Heart Attack 10-May-1944
    Heart Attack 17-Jan-1945
    Heart Attack 1948 (hospitalized 3 months)

Author of books:
Winged Warfare (1941, with Ira C. Eaker)
Global Mission (1949, memoir)


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