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Francis Patrick Mulcahy
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(March 9, 1894 – December 11, 1973) was a general and commander in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Mulcahy commanded the
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the ...
, the
Cactus Air Force Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. The term ...
, and the Tactical Air Force, Tenth Army.


Military career

Mulcahy, a native of Rochester, New York, graduated from
Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
in 1914. In 1917, he was commissioned and attended naval flight school, becoming a naval aviator. Like Roy S. Geiger, Mulcahy flew bombing missions in France during World War I. He became one of the Marine Corps pioneers of
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
to ground operations during the inter-war years of expeditionary campaigns in the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
and
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. C ...
. At the time of the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
, Mulcahy was serving as an observer with the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
Western Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...
in North Africa. He deployed to the Pacific in command of the
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the ...
. In the closing months of the
Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
, Mulcahy served in command of Allied Air Forces in the Solomon Islands, also known as the
Cactus Air Force Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. The term ...
. In August 1943, Mulcahy moved from Guadalcanal to
New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most o ...
to command air units operating out of the newly captured airfield at Munda Point. In September 1944, Mulcahy succeeded Major General
Ross E. Rowell Ross Erastus Rowell (22 September 1884 – 6 September 1947) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps aviator who achieved the rank of lieutenant general by the end of his 40 years of service. He served as the Marine Corps' Director of A ...
, USMC, as the commanding general of Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force. He was also commanding general of the Marine Fleet Air, West Coast. Mulcahy volunteered to lead the Tactical Air Force, Tenth Army during the
Invasion of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
. He was deployed ashore early to the freshly captured air fields at Yontan and Kadena, and worked to coordinate the combat deployment of his joint-service aviators against the
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...
threat to the fleet and in support of the Tenth Army in its protracted inland campaign. On June 11, 1945, he was relieved by Louis E. Woods because of poor health. Upon his retirement he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. He died on December 11, 1973.


Awards

Mulcahy was the recipient of the following awards:


See also

* List of Historically Important U.S. Marines


Notes


References

: ;Web * * * * * ;Print *


External links


Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulcahy, Francis P. 1894 births 1973 deaths Military personnel from Rochester, New York United States Marine Corps generals United States Naval Aviators University of Notre Dame alumni Air Corps Tactical School alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Naval War College alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps World War II generals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from New York (state)