LeMay, General Curtis (1906–1990)

Abstract

Abstract Curtis Emerson LeMay has been called by those who knew him the best air commander of the twentieth century. He became the youngest four‐star general in the history of the US Air Force at age 44 in 1951. He was the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force from 1961 to 1965 and the vice presidential running mate of George Wallace in 1968. His skills as a leader and his influence on the concept of strategic bombing left a legacy that remained well into the twenty‐first century. Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1906 to impoverished subsistence farmers, LeMay had few natural prospects for success. After seeing his first airplane at age 5, LeMay yearned to fly. He received a commission from the Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) program at Ohio State University in 1928. Soon after, he found himself learning to fly in the Army Air Corps.