Captain Field Eugene Kindley (13 March 1896 – 2 February 1920) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with twelve confirmed aerial victories.

Early life

Field Eugene Kindley was born at Pea Ridge in northwestern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Kindley's mother died when he was two years old and his father took a position in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, leaving Kindley to be raised by his grandmother in

Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adja ...

until the age of seven. Kindley joined his father in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, where he lived until 1908, when he moved to

Gravette, Arkansas Gravette is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The population is 3,547 according to the 2020 census. The population was 2,325 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region. Geography Gravette is located in north ...

to live with his uncle. After completing his education he moved to

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's Southeast Kansas, southeastern region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

where he became a partner in a motion picture theater.

Military service

During his stay in Coffeyville, Kindley enlisted in the

Kansas Army National Guard The Kansas Army National Guard is a component of the Army National Guard and the Kansas National Guard. Kansas Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and Nation ...

. Kindley volunteered for a transfer into the aviation branch of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Signal Corps. He attended the School of Military Aeronautics at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Kindley established himself as an unlucky and somewhat untalented flier, with a series of accidents, mechanical failures, and landing mishaps. He became part of the first group of American pilots to be transferred to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for combat training in 1917. In the spring of 1918, he completed training and commissioned as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

. On his first flight, he was assigned to ferry a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

from England to the western front, but crashed on the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...

. Kindley was sent to hospital to recover. After his release, Kindley was assigned to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

's No. 65 Squadron, and scored his first aerial victory on 26 June 1918 over

Albert, France Albert () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is located about halfway between Amiens and Bapaume. History Albert was founded as a Roman outpost, in about 54 BC. After being known by various ...

shooting down the Pfalz D.III of Lt. Wilhelm Lehmann, commander of Jagdstaffel 5. In July 1918, the

formed the 148th Aero Squadron and assigned Kindley to the unit. Kindley shot down a German Albatros D.V near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

and earned the unit its first kill. Kindley was the appointed commanding officer of the 148th and promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. While with the 148th he scored 11 confirmed kills. His fourth kill on 13 August 1918 was the Jasta 11 Fokker D.VII of

Lothar von Richthofen Lothar Siegfried Freiherr von Richthofen (27 September 1894 – 4 July 1922) was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 40 victories. He was a younger brother of top-scoring ace Manfred von Richthofen (the ''Red Baron'') and a di ...

, brother of "

The Red Baron Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of t ...

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

. Lothar von Richthofen, one of Germany's finest fliers with 40 confirmed air-to-air victories, was seriously wounded and never flew in combat again. Kindley scored four more victories in early September. Then, during missions in late September 1918, Kindley earned the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

(DSC),

with

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

and the British Distinguished Flying Cross. On 24 September, he led a flight of Camels in a successful attack on seven Fokkers near

Bourlon Wood The Bourlon Wood Memorial, near Bourlon, France, is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred D ...

, France. Three days later, Kindley earned the Oak Leaf Cluster to the DSC by dropping bombs on and strafing German infantry, destroying a German observation balloon, taking out a German machine gun nest, shooting down an enemy airplane, and scaring two Fokker biplanes away from fellow fliers even after his ammunition had been exhausted.General Orders No. 7, W.D., 1919 111-SC-24284 - NARA - 55208175-cropped

Postwar military career and death

In 1919, Kindley was offered a contract by a New York-based motion picture company to re-enact his war service. The company offered him $60 per day for two weeks which was an extremely high wage. Kindley refused the job because he thought it might interfere with his army career. In early 1920, Kindley was the commanding officer of the

94th Aero Squadron The 94th Aero Squadron was the United States Army Air Service designation for the current 94th Fighter Squadron that fought on the Western Front during World War I.. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of th ...

.Editors, "Capt. Donaldson Commanding 94th Squadron", Naval and Military Aeronautics, ''Aerial Age Weekly'', Aerial Age Company, Inc., New York City, 15 March 1920, Volume XI, Number 1, page 23. Kindley died in a crash at

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 ...

near

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas during a demonstration flight for General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

. A control cable snapped on the

S.E.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the ...

Kindley was flying. It stalled and fell from an altitude of . Kindley is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in

. With his death, command of the 94th Aero Squadron was taken over by Captain J. O. Donaldson.

Honors

A city park in Gravette is named for Kindley, as is the high school in

Kindley Air Force Base Kindley Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base in Bermuda from 1948–1970, having been operated from 1943 to 1948 by the United States Army Air Forces as ''Kindley Field''. History World War II Prior to American entry into th ...

, also known as Kindley Field, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

airfield in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, was named in his honor, as was Kindley Field in the Philippines, a small auxiliary airstrip on

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

. The Kindley home has been acquired by the Gravette City Museum. Kindley's personal effects are on display at the

Arkansas Air Museum The Arkansas Air & Military Museum is an aviation and military museum located at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the largest aviation museum in Arkansas. History The museum was originally established in 1986 as the Arkansas Air Museu ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

. A

F.1 said to be Kindley's and claimed to be the only surviving Camel in the United States, was used during the filming of ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot is a ...

,'' released in 1966, and had been on loan to the Aerospace Education Center in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. Aerospace Education Center permanently closed 1 Jan. 2011. Arkansas Aviation Historical Society inducted Kindley into the

Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from ...

in 1982.

References

Bibliography

* ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindley, Field E. 1896 births 1920 deaths Accidental deaths in Texas American World War I flying aces Aviators from Arkansas Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States People from Coffeyville, Kansas People from Gravette, Arkansas People from Prairie Grove, Arkansas Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of World War I United States Army officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1920 Military personnel from Arkansas Royal Air Force officers United States Army Signal Corps personnel