Elwood Richard Quesada
Encyclopedia
Elwood Richard "Pete" Quesada, CB
, CBE
(April 13, 1904 – February 9, 1993) was a United States
Air Force
General, FAA administrator, and, later, a club owner in Major League Baseball
.
in 1904 to an Irish-American mother and a Spanish father. He attended Wyoming Seminary
in Kingston, Pa., University of Maryland, College Park
, and Georgetown University
.
as a flying cadet and was commissioned as a reserve officer a year later. He had a wide variety of assignments as aide to senior officers, military attache and technical adviser to other air forces, and in intelligence. He was also part of the team (with Ira Eaker and Carl Spaatz
) that developed and demonstrated air-to-air refueling in 1929 on the Question Mark. All five crew members were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
for their participation in the mission.
Quesada was promoted and held commands as follows:
of ground forces, which was thoroughly developed by the 9th during his time as commander in North Africa
and Europe
.
Quesada was instrumental in developing many of the principles of tactical air-ground warfare for the Ninth Air Force
during the European campaign. Innovations attributed to him included adapting a microwave early warning radar
(MEW) for real-time direction of fighter bombers that were already in-flight, as well as placing pilots as forward air controllers inside tanks equipped with VHF aircraft radios on the front lines. This latter technique allowed for direct ground communication with overhead fighter-bombers by personnel who understood what pilots needed to identify ground targets. Besides reducing friendly fire incidents, such tactics allowed attacking ground troops to use close air support
with greater precision and speed, allowing for air cover to take the place of artillery support in a rapid armored advance. These improved tactics enormously expanded the contributions of tactical airpower to the Allied defeat of Germany on the Western Front.
The end of World War II would emphasize the importance of strategic bombers, however. Post-war military budgets reflected the predominance of strategic bombers over tactical aircraft, as the Cold War nuclear standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union seemed to indicate that tactical airpower would be of little importance in future wars. Strategic airpower advocates such as General Curtis LeMay
would gain a lock on the military budgets for the Air Force in the post-World War II years, and the U.S. Air Force's ability to engage in tactical air warfare would suffer all the way through the Korean and Vietnam Wars until a resurgence of interest and improved budgetary priorities in the 1970s.
In 1947, Quesada was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the first commander of the Tactical Air Command
(TAC) in the newly independent U.S. Air Force. However, Quesada quickly became disillusioned as he saw how TAC was being ignored while funding and promotions were largely going to the Strategic Air Command
. In December 1948, Air Force Chief of Staff Hoyt Vandenberg
stripped TAC of its planes and pilots and reduced its status to that of a planning headquarters under the newly formed Continental Air Command.
Quesada thus asked for re-assignment and was given a dead-end job by Vandenberg as head of a committee to find ways to combine the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard. Quesada was removed from this job after only two months, as his blunt and impatient nature only served to stir up controversy in this near-impossible task. This episode led to his request for early retirement from the Air Force, which came about at the age of 47 in 1951.
The onset of the Korean War would result in the re-formation of TAC, which would be headed by Quesada's friend, General Otto P. Weyland
, who had also been a champion of tactical airpower with XIX TAC during World War II.
(founder of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
), and a war widow (her first husband was Capt. Henry Ware Putnam who died in an air raid over Tokyo on May 25, 1945). His wife had two daughters from the previous marriage and they would have two sons of their own - Thomas Ricardo Quesada and Peter Wickham Quesada.
He was an executive for Lockheed
Aircraft Corporation from 1953 to 1955. In 1957, he became President Dwight D. Eisenhower
's Special Advisor for Aviation, leading to his appointment as first administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) from 1959 to 1961.
Quesada became involved in professional sports when he became owner of the expansion Washington Senators
in 1961. Quesada sold his stake in the team in 1963. He later became President and Chief Executive Officer of the L'Enfant Plaza Corporation, a private corporation which successfully partnered with the federal government to develop L'Enfant Plaza
. He later became a member of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue, a precursor of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, which helped redevelop Pennsylvania Avenue NW
between the White House
and the United States Capitol
.
He, his wife, and their two sons were involved in a dispute with Joseph Pulitzer III in 1986 over the control and value of their two sons' shares in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, an episode chronicled in "No Ordinary Joe" (p. 149-166).
Distinguished Service Medal
with oak leaf cluster
; Distinguished Flying Cross
; Purple Heart
; Air Medal
with two silver oak leaf clusters; American Defense Service Medal
; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
and seven bronze battle stars; World War II Victory Medal
; National Defense Service Medal
Foreign Orders and Medals
Order of the Bath
(Degree of Companion); Commander of the British Empire
; French Legion of Honor; French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Luxembourg Croix de Guerre; Order of Adolphe of Nassau; Polish Pilot Badge; Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Couronne
with Palm; Croix d'Officier de l'Order de la Couronne with Palm.
On September 14, 2011, he was honored posthumously during Hispanic Heritage Month activities in Cleveland, Ohio
.
.
His wife Kate Davis Putnam Quesada died March 5, 2003, and was interred with him at Arlington National Cemetery
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(April 13, 1904 – February 9, 1993) was a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
General, FAA administrator, and, later, a club owner in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
Early years
Elwood Richard Quesada was born 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 1904 to an Irish-American mother and a Spanish father. He attended Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary, founded in 1844 and currently led by President Kip P. Nygren, is a private college preparatory school located in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in Kingston and Forty Fort It is near the Susquehanna River and the city of Wilkes-Barre...
in Kingston, Pa., University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
Early military career
In September 1924, Quesada enlisted in the U.S. Army Air CorpsUnited 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...
as a flying cadet and was commissioned as a reserve officer a year later. He had a wide variety of assignments as aide to senior officers, military attache and technical adviser to other air forces, and in intelligence. He was also part of the team (with Ira Eaker and Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
) that developed and demonstrated air-to-air refueling in 1929 on the Question Mark. All five crew members were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
for their participation in the mission.
Rank and promotions
Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant 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...
Quesada was promoted and held commands as follows:
- First Lieutenant 1932
- Captain 1935
- Major 1941—33rd Pursuit Group
- Lieutenant Colonel 1942—Philadelphia Region, I Fighter Command
- Brigadier General 1942—1st Air Defense Wing; XII Fighter Command; IX Fighter Command; IX Tactical Air Command
- Major General 1944—Third Air Force
- Lieutenant General 1947 -- Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
Pioneer of Tactical Airpower in World War II and Post War Difficulties
During his time as a junior officer he became interested in the concept of close air supportClose air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
of ground forces, which was thoroughly developed by the 9th during his time as commander in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Quesada was instrumental in developing many of the principles of tactical air-ground warfare for the Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
during the European campaign. Innovations attributed to him included adapting a microwave early warning radar
Early warning radar
An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the defences the maximum time in which to operate...
(MEW) for real-time direction of fighter bombers that were already in-flight, as well as placing pilots as forward air controllers inside tanks equipped with VHF aircraft radios on the front lines. This latter technique allowed for direct ground communication with overhead fighter-bombers by personnel who understood what pilots needed to identify ground targets. Besides reducing friendly fire incidents, such tactics allowed attacking ground troops to use close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
with greater precision and speed, allowing for air cover to take the place of artillery support in a rapid armored advance. These improved tactics enormously expanded the contributions of tactical airpower to the Allied defeat of Germany on the Western Front.
The end of World War II would emphasize the importance of strategic bombers, however. Post-war military budgets reflected the predominance of strategic bombers over tactical aircraft, as the Cold War nuclear standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union seemed to indicate that tactical airpower would be of little importance in future wars. Strategic airpower advocates such as General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
would gain a lock on the military budgets for the Air Force in the post-World War II years, and the U.S. Air Force's ability to engage in tactical air warfare would suffer all the way through the Korean and Vietnam Wars until a resurgence of interest and improved budgetary priorities in the 1970s.
In 1947, Quesada was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the first commander of the Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
(TAC) in the newly independent U.S. Air Force. However, Quesada quickly became disillusioned as he saw how TAC was being ignored while funding and promotions were largely going to the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
. In December 1948, Air Force Chief of Staff 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....
stripped TAC of its planes and pilots and reduced its status to that of a planning headquarters under the newly formed Continental Air Command.
Quesada thus asked for re-assignment and was given a dead-end job by Vandenberg as head of a committee to find ways to combine the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard. Quesada was removed from this job after only two months, as his blunt and impatient nature only served to stir up controversy in this near-impossible task. This episode led to his request for early retirement from the Air Force, which came about at the age of 47 in 1951.
The onset of the Korean War would result in the re-formation of TAC, which would be headed by Quesada's friend, General Otto P. Weyland
Otto P. Weyland
Otto Paul Weyland was an Air Force General, and the post-World War II Commander of Far East Air Forces during the Korean War and of Tactical Air Command.-Early life:...
, who had also been a champion of tactical airpower with XIX TAC during World War II.
Civilian and Family Life
On October 12, 1946, Quesada married Kate Davis Putnam, the granddaughter of Joseph PulitzerJoseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
(founder of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
), and a war widow (her first husband was Capt. Henry Ware Putnam who died in an air raid over Tokyo on May 25, 1945). His wife had two daughters from the previous marriage and they would have two sons of their own - Thomas Ricardo Quesada and Peter Wickham Quesada.
He was an executive for Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
Aircraft Corporation from 1953 to 1955. In 1957, he became President 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...
's Special Advisor for Aviation, leading to his appointment as first administrator
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
of the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) from 1959 to 1961.
Quesada became involved in professional sports when he became owner of the expansion Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in 1961. Quesada sold his stake in the team in 1963. He later became President and Chief Executive Officer of the L'Enfant Plaza Corporation, a private corporation which successfully partnered with the federal government to develop L'Enfant Plaza
L'Enfant Plaza
L'Enfant Plaza is a complex of one governmental and three commercial buildings, as well as the "La Promenade" shopping mall, in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C. The plaza is located south of Independence Avenue SW between 12th and 9th Streets SW...
. He later became a member of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue, a precursor of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, which helped redevelop Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
between the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
.
He, his wife, and their two sons were involved in a dispute with Joseph Pulitzer III in 1986 over the control and value of their two sons' shares in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, an episode chronicled in "No Ordinary Joe" (p. 149-166).
Recognitions, Decorations and Medals
General Quesada's decorations and medals include: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...
with 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...
; Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
; Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
; Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with two silver oak leaf clusters; American Defense Service Medal
American Defense Service Medal
The American Defense Service Medal is a decoration of the United States military, recognizing service before America’s entry into the Second World War but during the initial years of the European conflict.-Criteria:...
; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
and seven bronze battle stars; World War II Victory Medal
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of...
; National Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
Foreign Orders and Medals
Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(Degree of Companion); Commander of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
; French Legion of Honor; French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Luxembourg Croix de Guerre; Order of Adolphe of Nassau; Polish Pilot Badge; Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Couronne
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
with Palm; Croix d'Officier de l'Order de la Couronne with Palm.
On September 14, 2011, he was honored posthumously during Hispanic Heritage Month activities in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
Death
General Quesada died on February 9, 1993 and was buried in Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
His wife Kate Davis Putnam Quesada died March 5, 2003, and was interred with him at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
See also
- Hispanic Americans in World War IIHispanic Americans in World War IIHispanic Americans, also referred to as Latinos, fought in every major battle in the European Theatre of World War II in which the armed forces of the United States were involved, from North Africa to the Battle of the Bulge, and in the Pacific Theater of Operations, from Bataan to Okinawa...
- Hispanics in the United States Air ForceHispanics in the United States Air ForceHispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces , the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, which was the predecessor of the United States Air Force which was formed as...