Book SummaryControversial and colorful General Billy Mitchell (1879-1936) was among the first American officers to recognize that future wars would be fought in the air, and during his career he consistently argued for a strong, independent American air force. A talented leader, Mitchell was respected by many of those who served under him during and after the First World War. However, he consistently angered superior officers and civilian leaders with his brash statements and disregard for higher military authority. This behavior would eventually force Mitchell to resign from the U.S. Army after a 1925 court-martial that became national news. Mitchell died before most of his ideas about air power could be validated. However, his belief in airplanes as offensive, strategic weapons would continue to inform military leaders during and after the Second World War. As a result, the general is known today as the "father of the U.S. Air Force."
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Book Information
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-59556-025-4
152 Pages
50+ color maps, photos, illustrations, chronology, glossary, further reading, internet resources & index
Author Bio
Roger G. Miller, Ph.D., and his wife, Chris Vidas, Esq., live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have two children, Travis Alexander and Sophia Marie. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Miller earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in history at North Texas State University, Denton, Texas, and his doctorate in history at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Miller joined the Air Force History Program in 1980, and has been a historian at Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado; Randolph AFB, Universal City, Texas; Sembach AB, Federal Republic of Germany; and on the Air Staff in the Pentagon. He joined the book writing program at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C., in 1993. Dr. Miller is now a Senior Historian and Director of the Contract History Program. He was the U.S. Air Force representative on the History and Education Committee, National Centennial of Flight Commission from 1999 to 2003, and serves on the editorial board for H-War, an online professional discussion net sponsored by Michigan State University.
A specialist in early military aviation history, air logistical history, and the history of air transport, Dr. Miller writes, lectures, teaches, presents papers, and appears on radio and television. His writings have been published in the Journal of American History, Military Affairs, Air Power History, Journal of Air Force Logistics, ITEA Journal of Test and Evaluation, Indiana Magazine of History, Prologue, and Camaraderie.
Dr. Miller's books include To Save a City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 published by Texas A&M University Press, and Seeing Off the Bear: Anglo-American Air power Cooperation During the Cold War, by the Office of Air Force History. Among his historical studies for the Air Force History Program are A Prelude to War: The 1st Aero Squadron and the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916, Billy Mitchell: Stormy Petrel of the Air, and Like a Thunderbolt: The Lafayette Escadrille and the Advent of American Pursuit in World War I.