Earle Everard "Pat" Partridge (July 7, 1900 – September 7, 1990) was a four-star general in the United States Air Force and a Command Pilot.

Biography

Earl Partridge graduated Ashby High School, Ashby, Massachusetts in 1917. Partridge enlisted in the United States Army in July 1918 at

Fort Slocum, New York Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comman ...

, and was assigned to the 5th Engineer Training Regiment. He went to France in August 1918 to join the 79th Division, participating in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Earle Everard Partridge (1900–1990) at West Point in 1924

Earle Everard Partridge (1900–1990) at West Point in 1924

Partridge graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1924. He received flight training at Brooks Field and

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

, and was a stunt pilot in the 1927 silent film '' Wings''. He taught mathematics at West Point, then went to the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

with the

6th Composite Group Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec Tre ...

. He was adjutant and assistant operations officer of the

1st Pursuit Group First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

at Selfridge Field, and commanding officer of the 94th Pursuit Squadron. In 1943, Partridge became chief of staff of the

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

, and was named deputy commander of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

in 1944. That June, he became commander of the

3rd Bomb Division The 3rd Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 April 1992. ...

, and assisted in its reorganization and movement to Okinawa. Partridge returned to Headquarters Army Air Forces in January 1946 as assistant chief of staff for operations. He went to Japan in October 1948 as commanding general of the Fifth Air Force, serving through the first year of the Korean War. On his return to the United States in June 1951, he commanded the newly formed Air Research and Development Command at

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. In April 1954, he became commander of the Far East Air Forces at Tokyo. He then became acting Commander of the Air Defense Command from July 20, 1955 to September 17, 1956; he was later named commander in chief of the North American Air Defense Command and the

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

, at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs. He gave an introduction to the 1957 Korean War film '' Battle Hymn'' starring Rock Hudson. He retired from active duty on July 31, 1959. He died in Jupiter, Florida on September 7, 1990. Partridge's awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross,

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Bronze Star, four Air Medals, World War I Victory Medal, American Defense Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Korea Medal, Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm; Companion, British Order of the Bath;

French Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first aw ...

with two Palms; Knight, French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

; Commander's Cross with Star, Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, and the Korean Order of Military Merit.

References

External links

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General Earle Everard Partridge Honoree Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, Earle 1900 births 1990 deaths People from Winchendon, Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Air Force generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Legion of Honour Honorary Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Korea) Air Corps Tactical School alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania