Mason M. Patrick | |
|---|---|
 Patrick in uniform,c. 1926 | |
| Birth name | Mason Mathews Patrick |
| Born | (1863-12-13)December 13, 1863 Lewisburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1942(1942-01-29) (aged 78) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1886–1927 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | 1st Engineer Regiment US Army Air Corps |
| Conflicts | World War I |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal French Legion of Honor Italian Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus Order of Leopold Order of the British Empire |
| Other work | Author,The United States in the Air (1928) Public Utilities Commissioner, District of Columbia |
Mason Mathews Patrick (December 13, 1863 – January 29, 1942) was ageneral officer in theUnited States Army who led theUnited States Army Air Service during and afterWorld War I and became the firstChief of the Army Air Corps when it was created on July 2, 1926.
He was born and educated inLewisburg,West Virginia, and at age 18 enteredU.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he finished second in his class. Early in his career, he served aschief engineer for the Army of Cuban Pacification and 1st U.S. Army Engineers on theU.S.-Mexico border. He served inFrance duringWorld War I and was appointed Chief ofAir Service by GeneralPershing in May 1918. Under his direction the Air Service established experimental facilities atWright Field,Ohio, andSan Antonio, Texas.
In 1926, Patrick drafted and proposed the Air Corps Act (44Stat. 780) to the Military Affairs Committee of theCongress. The act created theUnited States Army Air Corps from the existing Air Service. Patrick served as commander of the Air Corps until his retirement in 1927. He died inWashington, D.C., on January 29, 1942. ThePatrick Space Force Base inBrevard County, Florida, is named for him.
Mason Mathews Patrick was born inLewisburg,Greenbrier County,West Virginia, on December 13, 1863, to Alfred Spicer Patrick and Virginia (Mathews) Patrick.[1] His father was a surgeon in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War. His paternal grandfather, Spicer Patrick, served in theVirginia General Assembly during the American Civil War on the side of theUnion, and was later the firstspeaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates on the creation of that state in 1863.[2] His maternal grandfather,Mason Mathews, served in theConfederate Virginia House of Delegates.[3] In Lewisburg, Patrick attended local public and private schools and on graduation taught for two years at his former high school.
Patrick, at age 18, entered theU.S. Military Academy at West Point on July 1, 1882.[1] Patrick excelled at West Point in mathematics and engineering, and he was reported to have spoken excellent French. Biographer Robert P. White described young Patrick as "well read, almost Renaissance in nature."[1] Outside of the classroom, he received numerous demerits for misconduct; his infractions included tobacco use, use of profanity, lateness, two citations for "sliding down the banister," and he was cited 24 times for being improperly dressed.[1] At the academy, he became a friend to classmateJohn J. Pershing. Pershing and Patrick held the top two posts in their senior class, being first and second captains of theCorps of Cadets, respectively.[1] On graduation, Patrick's high standing allowed him to choose a career in engineering.[1] He was commissioned asecond lieutenant of Engineers on June 12, 1886. The following three years he attended the Engineer School of Application,Willets Point,New York, graduating in June 1889. He was promoted tofirst lieutenant the following July.
He returned to West Point as an instructor in 1892, spending the next three years teaching engineering.[4] Patrick was involved inMississippi River improvements from 1897 to 1901, and after two years in the office of theChief of Engineers, he again returned to the West Point faculty in 1903. He was promoted tomajor in 1904. He was thechief engineer for the Army of Cuban Pacification from 1907 to 1909 and then worked on river and harbor projects inVirginia (1909–1912) andMichigan (1912–1916). He was also a member of a board directing the raising of theUSSMaine inHavana Harbor (1910–1912). During this period, he was promoted tolieutenant colonel in June 1910 andcolonel on March 24, 1916, and found himself in command of the 1st U.S. Army Engineers serving on theU.S.-Mexico border in that same year.
Patrick was promoted tobrigadier general on August 5, 1917. He was sent toFrance that month after America declared war on Germany on August 6 and in September was named Chief Engineer of Lines of Communication and Director of Construction and Forestry of theAmerican Expeditionary Forces.[5]
In May 1918, Patrick was appointed by his old classmate GeneralJohn J. Pershing to command the combinedAir Service, and subsequently promoted to temporarymajor general in June. Patrick replaced generalBenjamin Foulois as commander, as Pershing had felt staff planning under Foulois had been inefficient, with considerable internal friction as well as conflict between its members and those of Pershing's General Staff. Pershing also felt aircraft and unit totals lagged far behind those promised by Foulois. Considerable house-cleaning of the existing staff resulted from Patrick's appointment, bringing in experienced staff officers to administrate, and tightening up lines of communication.[6] The situation at Air Service headquarters was described as "a tangled mess" before Patrick was brought in. Pershing acknowledged that Foulois requested relief before he was replaced, but the request came only after Foulois became aware of the severity of Pershing's displeasure and attempts in April to rein in his own staff had failed.[citation needed]
Patrick oversaw the organization of 28 air squadrons for the battle, with the French, British, and Italians contributing additional units to bring the total force numbers to 701 pursuit planes, 366 observation planes, 323 day bombers, and 91 night bombers. The 1,481 total aircraft made it the largest air operation of the war.[7][8]Patrick remained with the Air Service until June 1919, returning then to the U.S. and to various engineering duties, including Assistant Chief of Engineers in 1920.[5]
Patrick was again appointed Chief of the Air Service on October 5, 1921 with the permanent rank of major general.[9]
Under Patrick's direction, the Air Service established experimental facilities atWright Field,Ohio, and a large training facility atSan Antonio, Texas. It was here in 1922 that he learned how to fly, receiving therating of Junior Airplane Pilot at the age of 59 years.[5][10] This was a requirement of his position as Chief of the Air Service, as Air Service officers holding command positions were required by theNational Defense Act of 1920 to be rated pilots.
At this time Patrick began having an increasingly difficult time managing his Assistant Chief of Air Service,Billy Mitchell. Patrick made it clear to Mitchell that although he would accept Mitchell's expertise as counsel, all decisions would be made by Patrick. Mitchell, however, known for his outspoken personality, began fervently pushing his personal agenda for air power independence by breaking chain of command and speaking directly with the press. When Mitchell soon got into a minor but embarrassing protocol rift with R/Adm.William A. Moffett at the start of thenaval arms limitation conference, Patrick used the opportunity to assign him to an inspection tour of Europe withAlfred V. Verville and Lt.Clayton Bissell that lasted the duration of the conference over the winter of 1921–22.[11]
Around this time Patrick displayed a concern for military vulnerabilities in the Pacific, and again sent Mitchell on an inspection tour, this time a survey of the Pacific and the East. Patrick called Mitchell's subsequent report, which identified vulnerabilities in Hawaii, a “theoretical treatise on employment of airpower in the Pacific, which, in all probability undoubtedly will be of extreme value some 10 or 15 years hence.”[12]
In 1924, Patrick hand-pickedHenry "Hap" Arnold, despite a mutual dislike, to head the Air Service's Information Division,[13] working closely withBilly Mitchell, Assistant Chief of Air Service.[14] Mitchell began using Arnold's Information Division as an outlet to promote his personal opinions on the need for air power independence. When Mitchell was latercourt-martialed for accusing Army and Navy leaders of an "almost treasonable administration of the national defense"[15] for investing in battleships instead of aircraft carriers as he so wished, Arnold and other high-ranking officers on Patrick's staff, includingCarl Spaatz, andIra Eaker were warned that they would jeopardize their careers should they vocally support Mitchell, but they testified on his behalf anyway. After Mitchell was convicted on December 17, 1925, Arnold and other officers continued to use the Information Division to mail pro-Mitchell information to airpower-friendly congressmen and Air Service reservists. In February 1926,Secretary of WarDwight F. Davis ordered Patrick to find and discipline the culprits. Patrick was already aware of the activity and chose Arnold to set an example. He gave Arnold the choice of resignation or a general court-martial, but when Arnold chose the latter, Patrick decided to avoid another public fiasco and instead transferred him to Ft. Riley, far from the aviation mainstream, where he eventually took command of the16th Observation Squadron.[16][17]
In early 1926, the Military Affairs Committee of the Congress reviewed bills set forth before it to create a more autonomous air power. Patrick, in his "Air Corps Act", proposed that the Air Service be made a semi-independent service within the War Department along the lines of the Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy, requesting a "five-year plan" for expansion and development. His proposal was met with criticism and the service that was created, though retaining the name of Air Corps, would not achieve the independence he envisioned until the creation of theUnited States Air Force in 1947.[18]
The Air Corps Act (44Stat. 780) became law on 2 July 1926. In accordance with the Morrow Board's recommendations, the act created an additionalAssistant Secretary of War to "help foster military aeronautics", and established an air section in each division of the General Staff for a period of three years. Previous provisions of the National Defense Act of 1920 that all flying units be commanded only by rated personnel and that flight pay be awarded were continued. The Air Corps also retained the "Prop and Wings" as its branch insignia through its disestablishment in 1947. Patrick became Chief of the Air Corps and Brig. Gen.James E. Fechet continued as his first assistant chief.[19]
Patrick retired from the Army on December 12, 1927.[5] He remained in Washington, D.C. and was an advisor to PresidentsHerbert Hoover andFranklin D. Roosevelt.[20] The following year he publishedThe United States in the Air (1928). He was the Public Utilities Commissioner for theDistrict of Columbia from 1929 to 1933.[5]
Patrick died atWalter Reed General Hospital inWashington, D.C., on January 29, 1942[5] and was buried inArlington National Cemetery on January 31, 1942.[21]
Patrick obtained the following ranks:
| No Insignia | Cadet,United States Military Academy: 1 September 1882 |
| No Insignia in 1886 | Second Lieutenant,Regular Army: 1 July 1886 |
 | First Lieutenant, Regular Army: 2 July 1889 |
 | Captain, Regular Army: 18 May 1898 |
 | Major, Regular Army: 23 April 1904 |
 | Lieutenant Colonel, Regular Army: 13 June 1910 |
 | Colonel, Regular Army: 24 March 1916 |
 | Brigadier General,National Army: 31 August 1917 (Date of rank was 5 August 1917.) |
| Major General, National Army: 11 July 1918 (Date of rank was 26 June 1918.) |
| Colonel, Regular Army: 1 August 1919 (Reverted to permanent rank.) |
| Major General, Temporary: 5 October 1921 |
| Major General, Retired list: 13 December 1927 |
Patrick's military decorations and awards include:[20][22]
Patrick's DSM citation reads as follows:[23]
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Mason M. Patrick, United States Army Air Service, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. General Patrick displayed much ability to duty as Director of Construction and Forestry and later as Chief of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces, he perfected and ably administered the organization of this important Department.
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The following U.S. Navy ship and U.S. Space Force base was named after Patrick:
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| Preceded by | Cover of Time Magazine 9 July 1923 | Succeeded by |
