Frederick Leroy Martin | |
|---|---|
&sq=Albert Einstein&lang=en&file=File:General_Martin_Official_Photo.jpg) Martin as Brigadier general | |
| Born | November 22, 1882 Liberty, Indiana, US |
| Died | February 23, 1954 (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1908–1944 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | 3rd Wing, Barksdale Field, LA Hawaiian Air Force, Hickam Field, HI Second Air Force, Fort George Wright, WA Central Technical Training Command, St. Louis, MO |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit |
Frederick Leroy Martin (November 22, 1882 – February 23, 1954) was an American airman best known as the first commander of the US Army Air Service's first aerial circumnavigation of the world in 1924 and as the commander of US Army Air Forces during the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Martin, a major at the time, commanded the circumnavigation and piloted the Douglas World Cruiser Seattle, until he crashed in a remote portion of the Alaskan Aleutian Peninsula, after which he relinquished command to Lt Lowell Smith.[1] Martin received the Distinguished Service Medal for his part in the circumnavigation.[2] By the beginning of World War II, Martin had been promoted to major general and assigned to command the Hawaiian Air Force of two Wings (18th Bombardment Wing at Hickam Field and 14th Pursuit Wing at Wheeler Field) and outlying airfields at Bellows Field and Haleiwa Fighter Strip.[3] Martin was temporarily relieved of command after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but was exonerated by the presidential Roberts Commission and given a new command.[4][5]
- ^ Major Martin to General Patrick, 3 June 1924, as quoted in “Lieut. Smith New Chief of World Fliers,” Brooklyn Daily Times, June 4, 1924.
- ^ Carroll V. Glines, Around the World in 175 Days: The First Round-the-World Flight (Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001), 157–58, 164.
- ^ Leatrice R. Arakaki and John R. Kuborn, 7 December 1941: The Air Force Story (Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii : Pacific Air Forces, Office of History ; U.S. G.P.O, 1991), 7.
- ^ “General Harmon New Chief of Air Staff of Army,” Spokane Chronicle, 29 January 1942.
- ^ "Valor awards for Frederick L. Martin". valor.militarytimes.com. Militarytimes Websites. Retrieved 17 June 2017.