Trying to ID an Air Force GO Uniform

[tsakers85]

I recently purchased this beautiful set of Captain Kangaroo's with the idea that I may be able to ID the officer but I am hitting some dead ends...

 

I know the general would have served from 1951 to 1969 and I believe resided in ME before his death. The basic navigator/observer badge is sort of puzzling.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

[patches]

If he was by 1969 a Major General, I,m thinking he would have been in way before 1951. Maybe he only flew during the Big One, WWII, and remained on filght status for awhile in the late 40s,50s and just upgraded to the new Air Force qualification, after which he basically became an a non flight status Techincal officer, maybe even an Administrative officer, some of those officers made General too.

[tsakers85]

I take it that if a GO was rated a Command Pilot he would wear that badge instead of any lesser rating?

[patches]

I take it that if a GO was rated a Command Pilot he would wear that badge instead of any lesser rating?

 

Do you know that this officer was a pilot ? thats the key, not all AF officers were pilots. like in WWII right, many were Bombadiers or were on the ground officers as all sorts of Techincans such as Meteorologists, to use one example, this would have carried over to the new Air Force. As all the bullion insignia appears to be done at the same time, that Navigator was this officers qualifcation when he was a younger officer.

[tsakers85]

Do you know that this officer was a pilot ? thats the key, not all AF officers were pilots. like in WWII right, many were Bombadiers or were on the ground officers as all sorts of Techincans such as Meteorologists, to use one example, this would have carried over to the new Air Force. As all the bullion insignia appears to be done at the same time, that Navigator was this officers qualifcation when he was a younger officer.

 

I agree with you on the basic qualification here and while not certain, I doubt this GO was a pilot.

 

I assembled a list of Major Generals during this time period, but only those from the "Principal Commanders and Staff Officers" lists from the Air Force Registers. I gather that is not a complete list of all MGs from this time period though.

[Hank]

could he have been a reserve officer?

[patches]

I agree with you on the basic qualification here and while not certain, I doubt this GO was a pilot.

 

I assembled a list of Major Generals during this time period, but only those from the "Principal Commanders and Staff Officers" lists from the Air Force Registers. I gather that is not a complete list of all MGs from this time period though.

 

Here I will have to beg forgivness in that I do not know much about these lists, do these lists, list the General officer's Awards and Qualifcation Badges they earned ? and as I gather you said there is no name or intials at all inside ?

[patches]

could he have been a reserve officer?

 

Correct Hank, good one, I forgot about that, he also could have been a Air National Guard General.

[tsakers85]

Here I will have to beg forgivness in that I do not know much about these lists, do these lists, list the General officer's Awards and Qualifcation Badges they earned ? and as I gather you said there is no name or intials at all inside ?

 

No name or initials to go off. With the list I assembled I can get each officer's bio from the Air Force's website, which would then generally give the qualifications/badges.

 

Of course, this very well could be a Reserve or ANG officer. An obituary search for the state of Maine didn't yield any viable candidates. Perhaps I should expand that to nationwide looking for Major Generals. I bet there haven't been too many of those in the recent years...

[patches]

No name or initials to go off. With the list I assembled I can get each officer's bio from the Air Force's website, which would then generally give the qualifications/badges.

 

Of course, this very well could be a Reserve or ANG officer. An obituary search for the state of Maine didn't yield any viable candidates. Perhaps I should expand that to nationwide looking for Major Generals. I bet there haven't been too many of those in the recent years...

 

Well Good luck my friend, here hoping you may find him.

[infinitig35]

If he was by 1969 a Major General, I,m thinking he would have been in way before 1951. Maybe he only flew during the Big One, WWII, and remained on filght status for awhile in the late 40s,50s and just upgraded to the new Air Force qualification, after which he basically became an a non flight status Techincal officer, maybe even an Administrative officer, some of those officers made General too.

Patches,

 

The thought occurred to me he may have been in the AFR or ANG. Not being rated a senior pilot I doubt his assignment was to a combat command but rather as you suggest some admin job in a technical command on active or reserve function. If he had a more senior status as a navigator it may indicate some longer term combat command experience. If he had his ribbons and other insignia it might indicate his service history. Two-stars are not inconsequential, making past COL is a big deal in any branch. In the USAF, are BGs indicative of combat commands as they are in the Army, as a brigade commander?

 

Tom