Lewis H. Brereton

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Lewis H. Brereton

Lewis Hyde Brereton (born June 21, 1890 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † August 1, 1967 in Washington, DC ) was an American lieutenant general . When the Pacific War broke out in late 1941, he was commander of the Far East Air Force in the Philippines . In August 1944 he was given command of the 1st Allied Airborne Army in Europe , whose first deployment was Operation Market Garden .

Life

After graduating from St. John's College in Annapolis , Maryland , he applied to the US Naval Academy , where he was accepted in 1907. After graduating, he moved to the United States Army Academy in 1911 , where he was assigned to the Coast Guard Artillery. On February 27, 1912, he married Helen Clason Willis.

Brereton joined the Aeronautical Division of the US Army Signal Corps in September 1912 and acquired one of the first pilot's licenses from the Aero Club of America in early 1913 . As a result, he also acquired the relevant licenses to become a military pilot at the Aviation School in San Diego , California .

In mid-1916 he was transferred to the field artillery in the Philippines, and in early 1917 to the 2nd flight squadron. Brereton gained his first combat experience after joining the European front in October 1917. With the 12th Air Squadron, which was one of the first American units on the front, Brereton fought at Toul and Lunéville and took part in the attack at Vaux in July 1918. After serving in support of operations during the Battle of St. Mihiel , for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross , he was appointed operations officer by Billy Mitchell in October 1918 .

After the war, he served in Washington, DC, and was appointed Chief of Operations for the Training and Operations Group (led by Mitchell) by the new Army Air Service Chief Charles T. Menoher . From December 1919 he held the post of aviation attaché at the American embassy in Paris . In 1920 he received the permanent rank of major .

From mid-1922 Brereton took over the leadership of a group of student pilots in Kelly Field , Texas . He later directed tactical lessons and was president of the combat flight panel. After serving in Langley Field as a teacher at the Air Service Tactical School and commander of the 2nd bomber group, he graduated from the school for command officers in Fort Leavenworth , Kansas from 1927 , where he later worked as an instructor up to and including 1959 with war-related interruptions. His close connection to Billy Mitchell proved to be a hindrance to his career at this time; from 1928 to 1931 he was only commander of a reconnaissance squadron in Oklahoma. He then served as Commander of the 6th Group in the Panama Canal Zone until 1935 and the next four years at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth.

After he had commanded Barksdale Field in Louisiana for one year from 1939 , he was promoted to Brigadier General and set up the 17th Bombardment Wing in Savannah, Georgia . In July 1941, after his promotion to major general , he took command of the 3rd Air Force . Shortly before the outbreak of the Pacific War, Brereton was appointed commander of the Far East Air Force in the Philippines in October 1941. After his evacuation from the Philippines, he became Deputy Commander in Chief (under Richard Peirse ) of the Allied Air Command, which was part of the ABDACOM . This was established in early 1942 under the orders of the British General Archibald Wavell in Java .

After command posts in India to build up the 10th Air Force , Brereton was transferred to Egypt in June 1942 , where he took over command of the US Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF, later 9th Air Force ). With this he supported the British in the defense of the Suez Canal and in the further course of the African campaign as well as in attacks on Italy. He was the officer in charge of Operation Tidal Wave on August 1, 1943. During the operation, the oil refineries of Ploiesti were to be destroyed by 177 B-24 Liberator bombers. In October 1943, Brereton's 9th Air Force was relocated to England to take part as a "tactical" air fleet in the preparations for and later Operation Overlord . In August 1944, General Eisenhower gave him command of the 1st Allied Airborne Army , whose first deployment was Operation Market Garden . In early 1945, Brereton's army also carried out Operation Varsity . Brereton stayed in Europe until the end of the war.

Back in the US, Brereton was called to Air Force Headquarters in Washington. In January 1946 he was appointed commanding general of the 1st Air Force in Tampa , Florida .

Another important station in his life was membership of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, where he headed the military liaison.

Lewis Hyde Brereton died on August 1, 1967 and was buried in Section 7 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

Brereton was recognized for his military achievements in the First and Second World War many times by the American and European governments, including

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Brereton, Lewis H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brereton, Lewis Hyde (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Lieutenant General
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH August 1, 1967
Place of death Washington, DC