Lauris Norstad | |
|---|---|
 General Lauris Norstad | |
| Born | (1907-03-24)March 24, 1907 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | September 12, 1988(1988-09-12) (aged 81) |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1930–1947 (Army) 1947–1963 (Air Force) |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands | Supreme Allied Commander Europe |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an Americangeneral officer in theUnited States Army andUnited States Air Force.[2]
Lauris Norstad was born inMinneapolis, Minnesota to Martin and Marie Norstad. Martin Norstad was born in Iowa toNorwegian immigrants fromRogaland.[3] Lauris earned his high school diploma from Red Wing Central High School in 1925.[4] He graduated from theUnited States Military Academy June 12, 1930 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army as acavalry officer. In September 1930, he entered Primary Flying School atMarch Field, California, and graduated from Advanced Flying School and was transferred to theAir Corps in June 1931. Going toSchofield Barracks, Hawaii, in January 1932, he was assigned to the18th Pursuit Group, assuming command of it in July 1933. In March 1936 he was named adjutant of theNinth Bomb Group there. Entering the "short course" theAir Corps Tactical School atMaxwell Field, Alabama, in September 1939, he graduated three months later and returned toMitchel Field as officer in charge of the9th Bomb Group Navigation School.[5]
Moving toLangley Field, Virginia, in July 1940, Norstad was adjutant of the25th Bomb Group, and the following November he was named assistant chief of staff for intelligence of General Headquarters Air Force there. In February 1942 he was appointed a member of the Advisory Council to the commanding general of theArmy Air Forces at Washington, DC.[6]
In August 1942, Norstad was named assistant chief of staff for operations (A-3) of theTwelfth Air Force, going toEngland with it the following month in support ofOperation Husky, and toAlgiers, North Africa in October 1942. Here he metGeneral Dwight Eisenhower, who said of him: "It was on that occasion that I first met Lieutenant Colonel Lauris Norstad, a young air officer who so impressed me by his alertness, grasp of problems, and personality that I never thereafter lost sight of him. He was and is one of those rare men whose capacity knows no limit."[7] During his time in North Africa, future atomic strike commanderPaul Tibbets was briefly on his staff. In his autobiography, Tibbets claimed that he embarrassed Norstad in a strike planning meeting by being critical of his decision to bomb a target at low altitude, offering to lead it himself at 6000 feet if Norstad would fly with him as co-pilot, and Norstad was in the process of having him court-martialled before GeneralJimmy Doolittle got Tibbets transferred back to the US before Norstad could sink his career. Tibbets also claimed that Norstad was a "social climber" and political animal in the Air Force and that he aligned himself tightly withHoyt Vandenberg and followed him up the chain of command.[8]
In February 1943, he was promoted to brigadier general and assumed the additional duty of assistant chief of staff for operations of theNorthwest African Air Forces. In December 1943 he was appointed director of operations of theMediterranean Allied Air Forces at Algiers, moving with it toCaserta, Italy, two months later.
Norstad was transferred to Washington, D.C. in August 1944, where he was deputy chief of Air Staff at Army Air Force Headquarters with added duty as chief of staff of the20th Air Force. He was relieved of this additional duty May 8, 1945, and assumed additional duty as assistant chief of Air Staff for Plans at Army Air Force Headquarters. He was promoted to major general the following month.[9]Relieved of his assignment as chief of staff of the 20th Air Force in February 1946, he continued as assistant chief of air staff for plans until the following June, when he was appointed director of thePlans and Operations Division of theWar Department at Washington, DC.
On October 1, 1947, following the division of the War Department into the Departments of the Army and Air Force, Norstad transferred to the Air Force and was appointed deputy chief of staff for operations of the Air Force, and the following May assumed additional duty as acting vice chief of staff of the Air Force.[10]
Joining the U.S. Air Forces in Europe in October 1950 General Norstad was commander in chief,U.S. Air Forces in Europe, with headquarters atWiesbaden, Germany. On April 2, 1951 he assumed additional duty as commanding general of the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe under theSupreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe. He was designated air deputy to theSupreme Allied Commander Europe, on July 27, 1953.[11]
After serving as air deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) on November 20, 1956, Norstad was appointed asSupreme Allied Commander Europe, andcommander in chief ofU.S. European Command, the first Air Force officer to hold these posts. He served in the top post for European Command until November 1, 1962[12] and as SACEUR until December 31, 1962 when GeneralLyman Lemnitzer replaced him after his resignation over a disagreement with the withdrawal by President Kennedy of SACEUR's authority to decide on the use of tactical nuclear forces. Norstad initially encouraged France to develop its own nuclear capacity, but then abandoned the idea once he grew disillusioned with French PresidentCharles de Gaulle's interference withNATO.
General Norstad retired from the USAF on January 2, 1963. After his military retirement, he became the Chief Executive Officer and President ofOwens Corning from 1963 until 1972 and also served on the Board of Directors ofRand Corporation. Norstad was critical of theVietnam War, and in 1967 proposed a halt to the bombing ofNorth Vietnam, a unilateral ceasefire, and an end to American reinforcements sent toSouth Vietnam, followed by a summit to negotiate a treaty.[13] He died on September 12, 1988, and was buried atArlington National Cemetery, inArlington, Virginia.[14]
General Norstad's military awards included the following:
 | US Air Force Command Pilot Badge |
 | US Army Air Forces Combat Observer Badge |
 | US Army Air Forces Technical Observer Badge |
  | Army Distinguished Service Medal with two bronzeoak leaf clusters(one of the three medals was awarded by the Air Force) |
 | Silver Star |
 | Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster |
 | Air Medal |
  | American Defense Service Medal with one bronzeservice star |
 | American Campaign Medal |
 | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four service stars |
 | World War II Victory Medal |
 | Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp |
 | National Defense Service Medal |
_Ribbon.png) | Order of the British Empire (Great Britain) |
 | FrenchLegion of Honor, Grand Cross (awarded by GeneralCharles de Gaulle) |
 | Croix de Guerre with bronze palm (France), WWII[15] |
| Rank | Date[2] |
|---|---|
 Second Lieutenant | June 12, 1930 |
 First Lieutenant | March 12, 1935 |
 Captain | June 12, 1940 |
 Major | July 15, 1941 |
 Lieutenant Colonel | January 5, 1942 |
 Colonel | July 23, 1942 |
 Brigadier General | March 25, 1943 |
 Major General | June 4, 1945 |
.svg) Lieutenant General | October 1, 1947 |
.svg) General | July 5, 1952 |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Air Deputy to SACEUR 1953–1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Gen.Alfred Gruenther | Supreme Allied Commander Europe (NATO) 1956—1963 | Succeeded by Gen.Lyman Lemnitzer |
