Harold Arthur Bartron (September 17, 1896 – June 1, 1975) was a

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in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Biography

Enlisting as a private in the

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in the fall of 1912, he was discharged four years later in that grade.. United States Air Force. Retrieved April 9, 2011. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out Bartron was admitted to the first officers training camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, early in April 1917, and was transferred shortly thereafter to

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, where he was a member of the third ground school class in preliminary training for an aviation career. Upon graduation he was sent to the overseas detachment in New York, having been discharged as a candidate, and enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps for flying training. Going to England in September 1917, Bartron received additional ground instruction at Oxford prior to flying training. His flying training in France consisted of primary training at Tours and advanced training at Issodoun before he graduated in the first class of the American gunnery school at St. Johns De Monte, France. Joining the 13th Squadron of the Second Pursuit Group after completing his training, he remained with it until the cessation of hostilities, returned to the United States, and was honorably discharged as a

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in February 1919. Appointed a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Air Service, Regular Army, in July 1920, after a short tour of duty at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

, Oklahoma, Bartron was ordered to

Patterson Field Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wri ...

, Ohio, moving to

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 ...

, Texas, in 1929, and then

Randolph Field, Texas Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas, Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States A ...

. From there he was sent to the Air Corps Tactical School at

Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

, Ala., graduating in 1939, and then served at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

, Calif., and the Panama Air Depot in 1939. Two years later Bartron was transferred to Waller Field, Trinidad, and six months later he went to Losey Field,

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. In October 1942 he joined the invasion force on the West Coast of

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, landing in November 1942, and assumed command of the First Area Northwest African Air Service Command. He was transferred to Constantine in April 1943, and later moved to Tunis. That June he was appointed to command the Air Service Command, Northwest African Theater. With the invasion of southern Italy he moved to Bari, Italy, and later Naples, remaining there until August 1944 when he returned to the United States. Assuming command of the Fairfield Air Technical Service Command, in November 1945 he became commanding general of San Bernardino Air Technical Service Command. In August 1947 he was assigned to

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

headquarters,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. His decorations include the

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 ...

, and he was rated a command pilot and combat observer.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartron, Harold 1896 births 1975 deaths United States Army Signal Corps personnel United States Air Force generals Air Corps Tactical School alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Frankfort, Indiana Military personnel from Indiana United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II 20th-century American military personnel United States Marines