Frederick Kimble | |
|---|---|
 As a West Point cadet in 1918 | |
| Born | (1895-08-10)10 August 1895 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | 19 August 1978(1978-08-19) (aged 83) Annandale, Virginia, US |
| Buried | Episcopal Cemetery,Galveston, Texas, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service |
|
| Years of service | 1918–1953 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands |
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| Battles / wars |
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| Awards | |
Frederick von Harten Kimble (10 August 1895 – 19 August 1978) was aUnited States Air Forcebrigadier general. Kimble graduated from theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York, in June 1918 with the lowest grades in his class. He was commissioned in theInfantry Branch but transferred to theUnited States Army Air Corps in 1926. DuringWorld War II, he commanded the Air Corps Advanced Flying School where theTuskegee Airmen were trained, and theisland of Tinian, from which theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were launched.
Frederick von Harten Kimble was born inPortland, Oregon, on 10 August 1895, the son of Edwin Kimble and his wife Elvira von Harten Kimble.[1] He had an older brother, Edwin Richardson Kimble.[2] His father died in 1901 and the family moved toGalveston, Texas, where Elvira's sister, Agnes von Harten, lived.[1] He was educated at Rosenberg Elementary School andBall High School in Galveston, graduating in 1913.[3] Kimble entered theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York, on 15 June 1915, just three days after his older brother Edwin had graduated second in the class of 1915.[4]
DuringWorld War I, Edwin was attached to theBritish V Corps on theWestern Front, and he died ofsepsis after a surgical operation on 9 April 1918.[2] Due to the war, Kimble's class, which was to have been the class of 1919, graduated early, on 12 June 1918.[5] Kimble graduated as the last of his class, ranked 137th.[5]
Kimble was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in the36th Infantry, part of the12th Division. He was sent toFort Sill, Oklahoma, for a 10-week course at the Infantry School of Arms. After graduation, he became an infantry instructor intrench mortars,one-pounders,hand grenades,bayonets, field fortifications and physical training, first at Fort Sill, and then atCamp Benning, Georgia. He was promoted to the temporary rank offirst lieutenant on 1 October 1918.[6][5]
After the war ended, Kimble applied for a four-year secondment to theUnited States Army Air Corps, but his request was denied.[1] He was promoted to first lieutenant on 22 October 1919. From May to October 1922, he wasaide-de-camp toBrigadier GeneralGeorge Van Horn Moseley atFort Sheridan, Illinois.[4]
In October 1922, Kimble entered theUnited States Army Air Service Primary Flying School atBrooks Field, Texas. He graduated in June 1923, and then entered the Air Service Advanced Flying School atKelly Field, Texas, from whence he graduated in January 1924.[4] He was assigned to the26th Attack Squadron, which was based at Kelly Field as part of the3rd Attack Group, as an assistant engineering officer and an operations officer. In August 1924, he went toClark Field atCamp Stotsenburg in the Philippines, where he served with the3rd Pursuit Squadron.[4][6]
In September 1926, Kimble became the assistant department air officer at thePhilippine Department headquarters inManila. He was transferred to theAir Corps on 27 September 1926.[4][6] Kimble returned to the United States in March 1927, and was assigned to the1st Pursuit Group at Brooks Field. He was the commandant of the Flying Cadet Detachment and an instructor at the Air Corps Primary Flying School atMarch Field, California, from October 1927 to 12 May 1929.[4]
For his next assignment, Kimble went toWashington, D.C., as an aide to theAssistant Secretary of War.[4][6] He was an aide at theWhite House from May 1930 to September 1934 and was promoted tocaptain on 1 October 1933, after fifteen years as a lieutenant. He was a student at theAir Corps Tactical School atMaxwell Field, Alabama, until 15 September 1934, and then a student atUnited States Army Command and General Staff College atFort Leavenworth, Kansas, until 1 July 1936, after which he returned to the Air Corps Tactical School as an instructor in combat orders and naval operations.[7][6] Despite being the lowest-ranked member of his West Point class, he was the first to be promoted to major, when he was promoted to the temporary rank on 27 October 1936. His rank became substantive on 1 May 1940.[1][7]
Kimble returned to Washington, D.C., as the Assistant Chief of Staff in the Plans Division of the Office of the Chief of Air Corps. In May 1941, he became the chief of the Airport Section in the office's Building and Grounds Division.[6] He was promoted to the temporary rank oflieutenant colonel in the Air Corps on 15 March 1941 and the substantive rank in the wartimeArmy of the United States on 12 June 1941.[8]
Promotion to the temporary rank ofcolonel in the Air Corps followed on 5 January 1942, three days before his next assignment,[8] as commanding officer of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School atTuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama.[6] The base was responsible for training theAfrican-AmericanTuskegee Airmen.Racial segregation was well-established at the time, both on the base and in the neighboring town ofTuskegee, and Kimble enforced it. Black and white personnel lived in separate quarters, ate their meals in separate dining facilities, and used separate toilets. He discouraged fraternization between the white instructors and the black trainees and preferred that black personnel remain on the base rather than go into the town, out of concern that whites might cause trouble. While black personnel regarded his tenure negatively,[9] Kimble saw it in a positive light, later recalling:
My work at the Tuskegee Flying School has been one of the most interesting experiences of my entire career. I have enjoyed the work thoroughly and feel that I possibly have helped to some small degree advancement of the program at this station which is to train colored Americans to fly our fastest pursuit ships.[1]
In December 1942, Kimble became the Southwest Air Corps Training Center commander atCochran Field, Georgia. He was succeeded at Tuskegee by Lieutenant ColonelNoel F. Parrish. Kimble was promoted to brigadier general on 27 April 1943 and was awarded theLegion of Merit for commanding the Southwest Air Corps Training Center. He then assumed command of the27th Flying Training Wing at Cochran Field.[8][10]
Kimble became commander of the island ofTinian in the Philippine Sea on 28 November 1944.[11] Bombers based on Tinian participated in the campaign ofair raids on Japan, including thebombing of Tokyo on 10 March 1945,[12] and theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945.[13] He was awarded anoak leaf cluster for his service as island commander.[1]
After the war ended, Kimble returned to Washington, D.C., as the Deputy Air Inspector atUnited States Army Air Forces headquarters on 26 July 1946. He transferred to theUnited States Air Force (USAF) on 1 June 1947 and became deputy to the air inspector for field operations atLangley Field, Virginia. On 1 December 1947 he went to Alaska as the commanding general of the Aleutian Section of theAlaskan Air Command,[6][8] for which he was awarded aCommendation Ribbon.[1] He became a substantive brigadier general in the USAF on 19 February 1948. He returned to Washington, D.C., once more on 21 February 1949, as a member of the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council at Air Force headquarters, becoming its deputy director in July 1949.[6][8]
Kimble retired from the USAF with the rank of brigadier general in 1953. He lived in northern Virginia and was elected president of theArmy and Navy Club there. He never married, and for most of his career, he lived with his mother. In 1972 he moved into an aged care home inAnnandale, Virginia, where he died on 19 August 1978. He was buried in the family plot at the Episcopal Cemetery in Galveston.[1][3][14]
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Second Lieutenant | Infantry | 12 June 1918 | [5] |
 | First Lieutenant (temporary) | Infantry | 1 October 1918 | [5] |
| First Lieutenant | Infantry | 22 October 1919 | [4] |
| First Lieutenant | Air Corps | 27 September 1926 | [4] |
 | Captain | Air Corps | 1 October 1933 | [7] |
 | Major (temporary) | Air Corps | 26 October 1936 | [7] |
| Major | Air Corps | 1 May 1940 | [7] |
 | Lieutenant Colonel (temporary) | Air Corps | 15 March 1941 | [8] |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Army of the United States | 12 June 1941 | [8] |
 | Colonel (temporary) | Air Corps | 5 January 1942 | [8] |
| Colonel | Army of the United States | 1 February 1942 | [8] |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Air Corps | 4 September 1942 | [8] |
 | Brigadier General | Army of the United States | 27 April 1943 | [8] |
| Brigadier General | United States Air Force | 19 February 1948 | [8] |