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Donald Wilson (general)
Encyclopedia
Donald Wilson was a United States Army Air Forces
general during World War II
.
Wilson enlisted in the Maryland National Guard
as a private
in 1916 and served with it on the Mexican border
and the Western Front
during World War I
before transferring to the United States Army Air Service
. After the war, he obtained a regular commission. Already qualified as an aerial observer
, he became a pilot in 1922. For many years he was an influential instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School
. Wilson became a leading theorist who embraced the doctrine that strategic bombing
was the most important aspect of air power. He argued that by attacking vulnerabilities, whole industries could be brought to a halt without necessarily having to destroy all of the factories. The doctrine which Wilson expounded later became the basis for AWPD-1, the Army Air Forces'
strategic war plan developed in 1941.
During World War II, Wilson served as Chief of the Personnel Division (G-l) of the War Department General Staff. He became Chief of Staff of the Fifth Air Force
in September 1942, before returning to the United States in 1944 to become Assistant Chief of Staff, United States Army Air Forces
for Organization, Commitments and Requirements. For a time he was acting Chief of Staff of Army Air Forces. In February 1945, Wilson was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima
as an official Army Air Forces observer. In June 1945, he assumed command of the Air Force Proving Ground Command
.
After the war, Wilson served as a member of the Gerow Board, which examined the military educational system and instituted a series of long-lasting reforms. In 1947, he was diagnosed with Neurasthenia
and retired with the rank of major general.
on 25 September 1892, the third of seven children of John Hamilton Wilson and his wife Martha Jane, née Siple. John Wilson worked a number of odd jobs before becoming a mail carrier
with the Baltimore
Post Office in 1899. Donald was educated at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
. In 1910, he went to work as a surveyor
for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
.
in the Maryland National Guard
and was posted to Company H, 5th Maryland Infantry. This unit was called to active duty at Laurel, Maryland
in June 1916 for service on the Mexican border
, where it was based at Eagle Pass, Texas
.Wilson was soon promoted to corporal, and later sergeant. The 5th Maryland Regiment returned to Baltimore
in February 1917.
The 5th Maryland Infantry was again called up in April 1917 following the declaration of war by the United States
on the German Empire
. Wilson was promoted to second lieutenant, effective 9 April 1917. He was posted to Company C, 5th Maryland Infantry. This time, the regiment moved to Camp McClellan
, Alabama
, where the 5th Maryland Infantry was absorbed into the 115th Infantry of the 29th Division on 1 October 1917. While at Camp McClellan, Wilson applied for training as an aerial observer
but his request was disapproved. Wilson was promoted to first lieutenant on 23 April 1918. In June 1918, the 29th Division sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey
to Brest, France
. It travelled across France, entering the front line trenches
in the Traubach-le-Bas
sector. In France, Wilson once again applied for training as an aerial observer, in response to an appeal from AEF
headquarters. This time, he was successful and in September 1918 he reported to the Air Service
Concentration Barracks at Saint-Maixent
. After training there, at Camp de Souge, and at Tours
in November 1918, he was posted to the 2nd Corps Aeronautical School at Châtillon-sur-Seine
. He was assigned to the 186th Aero Squadron at Weißenthurm
in May 1919. He returned to the United States in July 1919 and was discharged from the Army on 15 August 1919.
, they settled in Baltimore. The couple eventually had two children: Teresa Jane, born in 1921, and Donald, born in 1923.
In 1920, Wilson applied for and received a Regular Army commission in the Air Service, into which he was commissioned as a first lieutenant on 1 July 1920. He was immediately advanced to captain and posted to the Observation School at Post Field, Oklahoma
as a senior instructor. In 1922, he was sent to Carlstrom Field
, Florida
for primary pilot
training and then to Kelly Field, Texas
for advanced training. He also served there as an instructor in observation. From 1924 to 1927, he served in Washington, D.C.
in the Office of the Chief of the Air Service. This was followed by a two-year tour of duty in the Philippines
as commander of the 2nd Observation Squadron.
On return to the United States in 1929, Wilson was posted to the Air Corps Tactical School
at Langley Field, Virginia
as an instructor. In 1931 the school moved to Maxwell Field
, Alabama
, where he was promoted to major
on 1 February 1932. At the Air Corps Tactical School, Wilson became "one of the leading theorists...during the thirties". The school embraced the doctrine that strategic bombing
was the most important aspect of air power. In preparing the training course, Wilson drew on his knowledge of railroads, where critical breaks could disrupt the entire system and theorized that this was equally true of other industries. By attacking vulnerabilities, whole industries could be brought to a halt without necessarily having to destroy all the factories. The school identified transportation, steel, iron ore, and electric power as key economic industries. Wilson accepted the argument, most forcibly advanced by fellow instructor Kenneth Walker
, that fighter aircraft
did not have the range or speed to accompany bomber
s and probably could not shoot them down.
The doctrine, which Wilson termed the "industrial web theory
", became the basis for AWPD-1, the Army Air Forces'
strategic war plan developed in 1941. The formulators of this doctrine were relatively young junior officers, nearly all of them former reservists commissioned during or immediately after World War I. They viewed war in the abstract, admitted being unable to offer conclusive proof of their theories, but firmly believed that the dominance of air power lay in the future, when certain limitations of technology
had been overcome. Wilson was one of the nine key advocates, all instructors at the Tactical School, who became known as the "Bomber Mafia
." In addition to Wilson and Walker, the Bomber Mafia consisted of future generals Haywood S. Hansell
, Laurence Kuter, Muir Fairchild, Robert Olds
, Robert M. Webster
, and Harold L. George
; and Major Odas Moon
, who died in 1937.
Wilson attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in June 1934. He considered the course to be a waste of time, "devoted in large part to the minutiae of ground officers' duties" and "devoid of serious recognition of the airplane as an instrument of war." After graduation he returned to the Air Corps Tactical School as Director of the Department of Air Tactics and Strategy, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
on 16 June 1936. From November 1938 to March 1939, he was also assistant commandant of the school.
on 16 October 1940. He returned to Washington, DC, where he served in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps
in Washington, D.C.
under Brigadier General
Carl A. Spaatz, the chief of its Plans Division. In May 1940, he was transferred to the Plans Division of the War Department General Staff, which was headed by Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow
. Wilson was briefly chief of staff of Major General
Walter H. Frank's Third Air Force
in Tampa, Florida
but after only two months he was recalled to Washington, DC to again serve on the War Department General Staff, this time in the G-1 (Personnel) Division, which was headed by Major General John H. Hilldring, a Command and General Staff School classmate. Wilson was promoted to Brigadier General on 22 June 1942. In July 1942, Hilldring left to take over command of the 84th Infantry Division and Wilson became Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1.
In September 1942, Wilson became chief of staff of Major General George Kenney
's Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area and Fifth Air Force
. Kenney had specifically requested General
Henry Arnold to send Wilson to replace his chief of staff, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock
, an RAAF officer. Wilson had known Kenney for many years and was on a first name basis with him; but while serving as his chief of staff, Wilson always addressed Kenney respectfully as "general". The loss of Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker over Rabaul
in January 1943 and then his successor, Brigadier General Howard K. Ramey on a reconnaissance mission in March did not dampen Wilson's desire to accompany a mission, and he tagged along as a passenger on a B-24 on a bombing raid on Rabaul. For his service in the Southwest Pacific, Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
.
In March 1944, Arnold asked for Kenney to return Wilson to work on his own staff. Wilson took the long way back, visiting the other war theatres in India
, China
, the Middle East, Italy
and England
. Wilson found the Army Air Forces Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General
Barney Giles anxious for Wilson's return so Giles could pay a visit to the war theatres. Wilson therefore found himself acting chief of staff. On Giles' return, Wilson became Assistant Chief of Staff, Organization, Commitments and Requirements. In February 1945, Wilson was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima
as an official Army Air Forces observer. He was promoted to major general on 17 March 1945.
On 25 June 1945, Wilson was replaced as assistant chief of staff by Major General Hoyt Vandenberg
. For his service in the post, Wilson was awarded an oak leaf cluster
to his Distinguished Service Medal. He was appointed to command the Air Force Proving Ground Command
. At the time, some 22,000 airmen were assigned to this command.
Wilson served as a member of the Gerow Board, under his former chief, Lieutenant General Leonard T. Gerow, which examined the military educational system. The board met in Washington, DC between 3 and 12 January 1946. Its final report to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army
, General of the Army
Dwight D. Eisenhower
, recommended a system of five joint colleges, which would collectively form a National Security University under the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
. In addition to the existing Industrial College
and National War College
, the board recommended the establishment of a joint administrative college, a joint intelligence college, and a Department of State college. Wilson went further and argued for the establishment of an air university, under the control of the Army Air Forces. Wilson's proposal was accepted, and the Gerow Board's recommendations resulted in a multi-tiered educational system still in effect today, with a Squadron Officer School
for junior officers; an Air Command and Staff College
for middle level officers; and an Air University for senior officers. All were created from the old Air Corps Tactical School. Beyond that, air officers would have to participate in joint training with their Army and Navy colleagues at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces
, National War College
and Joint Forces Staff College
, the last two being creations of the Gerow Board. The first classes began at these two new institutions in September 1946 and January 1947 respectively.
In October 1946, Wilson was diagnosed with Neurasthenia
. Discharged on the grounds of disability with the rank of major general, he retired to Carmel, California. Wilson published his memoirs, entitled Wooing Peponi in 1973. He died on 21 June 1978. His papers are in the The George C. Marshall Foundation
.
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
general during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Wilson enlisted in the Maryland National Guard
Maryland Army National Guard
The Maryland Army National Guard is the Army component of the organized militia of the State of Maryland. It is headquartered at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore and has units at armories and other facilities across the state....
as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in 1916 and served with it on the Mexican border
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
and the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
before transferring to the United States Army Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
. After the war, he obtained a regular commission. Already qualified as an aerial observer
Aerial observer
Aerial Observer- Air Force Reconnaissance.An Aerial Observer is the functional position of gathering information visually from an airborne platform for use by military or commercial purposes. This history started when the first balloons were flown in Europe...
, he became a pilot in 1922. For many years he was an influential instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School
Air Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...
. Wilson became a leading theorist who embraced the doctrine that strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
was the most important aspect of air power. He argued that by attacking vulnerabilities, whole industries could be brought to a halt without necessarily having to destroy all of the factories. The doctrine which Wilson expounded later became the basis for AWPD-1, the Army Air Forces'
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
strategic war plan developed in 1941.
During World War II, Wilson served as Chief of the Personnel Division (G-l) of the War Department General Staff. He became Chief of Staff of the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
in September 1942, before returning to the United States in 1944 to become Assistant Chief of Staff, United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
for Organization, Commitments and Requirements. For a time he was acting Chief of Staff of Army Air Forces. In February 1945, Wilson was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
as an official Army Air Forces observer. In June 1945, he assumed command of the Air Force Proving Ground Command
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
Located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force...
.
After the war, Wilson served as a member of the Gerow Board, which examined the military educational system and instituted a series of long-lasting reforms. In 1947, he was diagnosed with Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, neuralgia and depressed mood...
and retired with the rank of major general.
Early life
Donald Wilson was born at Hiner's Mill in Pendleton County, West VirginiaPendleton County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,196 people, 3,350 households, and 2,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 5,102 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
on 25 September 1892, the third of seven children of John Hamilton Wilson and his wife Martha Jane, née Siple. John Wilson worked a number of odd jobs before becoming a mail carrier
Mail carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman , postman/postwoman , letter carrier or postie is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses...
with the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Post Office in 1899. Donald was educated at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is a US public high school founded in 1883. Though established as an all-male trade school,it now is a institution that emphasizes mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. It is located on a tract of land in North Baltimore at Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane,...
. In 1910, he went to work as a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
.
World War I
In February 1916, Wilson enlisted as a privatePrivate (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the Maryland National Guard
Maryland Army National Guard
The Maryland Army National Guard is the Army component of the organized militia of the State of Maryland. It is headquartered at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore and has units at armories and other facilities across the state....
and was posted to Company H, 5th Maryland Infantry. This unit was called to active duty at Laurel, Maryland
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
in June 1916 for service on the Mexican border
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
, where it was based at Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County The population was 27,183 as of the 2010 census.Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area is one of six...
.Wilson was soon promoted to corporal, and later sergeant. The 5th Maryland Regiment returned to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
in February 1917.
The 5th Maryland Infantry was again called up in April 1917 following the declaration of war by the United States
Declaration of war by the United States
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall have power to ... declare War"...
on the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Wilson was promoted to second lieutenant, effective 9 April 1917. He was posted to Company C, 5th Maryland Infantry. This time, the regiment moved to Camp McClellan
Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, was a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, where the 5th Maryland Infantry was absorbed into the 115th Infantry of the 29th Division on 1 October 1917. While at Camp McClellan, Wilson applied for training as an aerial observer
Aerial observer
Aerial Observer- Air Force Reconnaissance.An Aerial Observer is the functional position of gathering information visually from an airborne platform for use by military or commercial purposes. This history started when the first balloons were flown in Europe...
but his request was disapproved. Wilson was promoted to first lieutenant on 23 April 1918. In June 1918, the 29th Division sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
to Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. It travelled across France, entering the front line trenches
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
in the Traubach-le-Bas
Traubach-le-Bas
Traubach-le-Bas is a communes in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
sector. In France, Wilson once again applied for training as an aerial observer, in response to an appeal from AEF
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
headquarters. This time, he was successful and in September 1918 he reported to the Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
Concentration Barracks at Saint-Maixent
Saint-Maixent
Saint-Maixent is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
. After training there, at Camp de Souge, and at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
in November 1918, he was posted to the 2nd Corps Aeronautical School at Châtillon-sur-Seine
Châtillon-sur-Seine
Châtillon-sur-Seine is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-Personalities:Châtillon-sur-Seine was the birthplace of:* Auguste Marmont, duke of Ragusa , Marshal of France...
. He was assigned to the 186th Aero Squadron at Weißenthurm
Weißenthurm
Weißenthurm is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite Neuwied, approx. 12 km north-west of Koblenz....
in May 1919. He returned to the United States in July 1919 and was discharged from the Army on 15 August 1919.
Between the wars
Wilson married Edna Taggert, the older sister of the wife of his best friend in Anniston, in a ceremony in her home in Pittsburgh. After a honeymoon in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, they settled in Baltimore. The couple eventually had two children: Teresa Jane, born in 1921, and Donald, born in 1923.
In 1920, Wilson applied for and received a Regular Army commission in the Air Service, into which he was commissioned as a first lieutenant on 1 July 1920. He was immediately advanced to captain and posted to the Observation School at Post Field, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
as a senior instructor. In 1922, he was sent to Carlstrom Field
Carlstrom Field
Carlstrom Field was named for Lt. Victor Carlstrom, who was killed in an aircraft accident in Newport News, Virginia. At the outbreak of World War I, he was one of the foremost aviators of his time. He made many first flights and set many altitude and distance records...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for primary pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
training and then to Kelly Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
for advanced training. He also served there as an instructor in observation. From 1924 to 1927, he served in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in the Office of the Chief of the Air Service. This was followed by a two-year tour of duty in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as commander of the 2nd Observation Squadron.
On return to the United States in 1929, Wilson was posted to the Air Corps Tactical School
Air Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...
at Langley Field, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
as an instructor. In 1931 the school moved to Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, where he was promoted to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
on 1 February 1932. At the Air Corps Tactical School, Wilson became "one of the leading theorists...during the thirties". The school embraced the doctrine that strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
was the most important aspect of air power. In preparing the training course, Wilson drew on his knowledge of railroads, where critical breaks could disrupt the entire system and theorized that this was equally true of other industries. By attacking vulnerabilities, whole industries could be brought to a halt without necessarily having to destroy all the factories. The school identified transportation, steel, iron ore, and electric power as key economic industries. Wilson accepted the argument, most forcibly advanced by fellow instructor Kenneth Walker
Kenneth Walker
Brigadier General Kenneth Newton Walker was a United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general who had a significant influence on the development of airpower doctrine. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor in World War II.Walker joined the United States Army in 1917,...
, that fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
did not have the range or speed to accompany bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s and probably could not shoot them down.
The doctrine, which Wilson termed the "industrial web theory
Industrial web theory
Industrial web theory is the military concept that an enemy's industrial power can be attacked at nodes of vulnerability, and thus the enemy's ability to wage a lengthy war can be severely limited, as well as his morale—his will to resist...
", became the basis for AWPD-1, the Army Air Forces'
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
strategic war plan developed in 1941. The formulators of this doctrine were relatively young junior officers, nearly all of them former reservists commissioned during or immediately after World War I. They viewed war in the abstract, admitted being unable to offer conclusive proof of their theories, but firmly believed that the dominance of air power lay in the future, when certain limitations of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
had been overcome. Wilson was one of the nine key advocates, all instructors at the Tactical School, who became known as the "Bomber Mafia
Bomber Mafia
The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war...
." In addition to Wilson and Walker, the Bomber Mafia consisted of future generals Haywood S. Hansell
Haywood S. Hansell
Haywood Shepherd Hansell Jr., was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and later the United States Air Force...
, Laurence Kuter, Muir Fairchild, Robert Olds
Robert Olds
Robert Olds was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. Gen...
, Robert M. Webster
Robert M. Webster
Robert Morris Webster was a United States Air Force major general who was an early advocate of daylight precision bombing as a war-winning strategy...
, and Harold L. George
Harold L. George
Harold Lee George was an American aviation pioneer who helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing...
; and Major Odas Moon
Odas Moon
Odas Moon was an American aviation pioneer who was among a team of United States Army Air Corps aviators to break endurance records by performing aerial refueling. Moon was a founding member of the Order of Daedalians...
, who died in 1937.
Wilson attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in June 1934. He considered the course to be a waste of time, "devoted in large part to the minutiae of ground officers' duties" and "devoid of serious recognition of the airplane as an instrument of war." After graduation he returned to the Air Corps Tactical School as Director of the Department of Air Tactics and Strategy, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
on 16 June 1936. From November 1938 to March 1939, he was also assistant commandant of the school.
World War II
Wilson was promoted to colonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
on 16 October 1940. He returned to Washington, DC, where he served in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
under Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Carl A. Spaatz, the chief of its Plans Division. In May 1940, he was transferred to the Plans Division of the War Department General Staff, which was headed by Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow
Leonard T. Gerow
Leonard Townsend Gerow was a United States Army general.-Early life:Gerow was born in Petersburg, Virginia. The name Gerow is derived from the French name "Giraud". Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended the Virginia Military Institute. He was three times elected class...
. Wilson was briefly chief of staff of Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Walter H. Frank's Third Air Force
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
but after only two months he was recalled to Washington, DC to again serve on the War Department General Staff, this time in the G-1 (Personnel) Division, which was headed by Major General John H. Hilldring, a Command and General Staff School classmate. Wilson was promoted to Brigadier General on 22 June 1942. In July 1942, Hilldring left to take over command of the 84th Infantry Division and Wilson became Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1.
George Kenney
George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...
's Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area and Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
. Kenney had specifically requested General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
Henry Arnold to send Wilson to replace his chief of staff, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock
William Bostock
Air Vice Marshal William Dowling Bostock CB, DSO, OBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, with responsibility for the defence of Australia and air offensives against Japanese targets in the...
, an RAAF officer. Wilson had known Kenney for many years and was on a first name basis with him; but while serving as his chief of staff, Wilson always addressed Kenney respectfully as "general". The loss of Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker over Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
in January 1943 and then his successor, Brigadier General Howard K. Ramey on a reconnaissance mission in March did not dampen Wilson's desire to accompany a mission, and he tagged along as a passenger on a B-24 on a bombing raid on Rabaul. For his service in the Southwest Pacific, Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
.
In March 1944, Arnold asked for Kenney to return Wilson to work on his own staff. Wilson took the long way back, visiting the other war theatres in India
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
, China
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, the Middle East, Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
and England
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
. Wilson found the Army Air Forces Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Barney Giles anxious for Wilson's return so Giles could pay a visit to the war theatres. Wilson therefore found himself acting chief of staff. On Giles' return, Wilson became Assistant Chief of Staff, Organization, Commitments and Requirements. In February 1945, Wilson was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
as an official Army Air Forces observer. He was promoted to major general on 17 March 1945.
On 25 June 1945, Wilson was replaced as assistant chief of staff by Major General Hoyt Vandenberg
Hoyt Vandenberg
Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg was a U.S. Air Force general, its second Chief of Staff, and second Director of Central Intelligence....
. For his service in the post, Wilson was awarded an oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
to his Distinguished Service Medal. He was appointed to command the Air Force Proving Ground Command
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
Located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force...
. At the time, some 22,000 airmen were assigned to this command.
Post war
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
, General of the Army
General of the Army (United States)
General of the Army is a five-star general officer and is the second highest possible rank in the United States Army. A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above General of the Army, does exist but has only been conferred twice in the history of the Army...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, recommended a system of five joint colleges, which would collectively form a National Security University under the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
. In addition to the existing Industrial College
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
The Industrial College of the Armed Forces is a U.S. military educational institution tasked with preparing military officers and civilian government officials for leadership and executive positions in the field of national security...
and National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
, the board recommended the establishment of a joint administrative college, a joint intelligence college, and a Department of State college. Wilson went further and argued for the establishment of an air university, under the control of the Army Air Forces. Wilson's proposal was accepted, and the Gerow Board's recommendations resulted in a multi-tiered educational system still in effect today, with a Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School , is a five-week long Professional Military Education course for U.S. Air Force Captains. It fulfills the U.S. Air Force's requirement for primary developmental education . SOS is based at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and the in-residence version of the course is taught there...
for junior officers; an Air Command and Staff College
Air Command and Staff College
The Air Command and Staff College is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate professional military education school. It prepares field grade and equivalent officers of all U.S...
for middle level officers; and an Air University for senior officers. All were created from the old Air Corps Tactical School. Beyond that, air officers would have to participate in joint training with their Army and Navy colleagues at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
The Industrial College of the Armed Forces is a U.S. military educational institution tasked with preparing military officers and civilian government officials for leadership and executive positions in the field of national security...
, National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
and Joint Forces Staff College
Joint Forces Staff College
The Joint Forces Staff College located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinational warfighters to plan and lead at the operational level...
, the last two being creations of the Gerow Board. The first classes began at these two new institutions in September 1946 and January 1947 respectively.
In October 1946, Wilson was diagnosed with Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, neuralgia and depressed mood...
. Discharged on the grounds of disability with the rank of major general, he retired to Carmel, California. Wilson published his memoirs, entitled Wooing Peponi in 1973. He died on 21 June 1978. His papers are in the The George C. Marshall Foundation
The George C. Marshall Foundation
Founded in 1953 at the urging of President Harry Truman, the independent George C. Marshall Foundation is the place where the values that shaped and motivated Marshall are kept alive...
.