Uzal Girard Ent
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 3, 1900 – March 5, 1948) was an American
Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
officer who served as the commander of the Second Air Force during
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 ...
.
Biography
![Uzal Girard Ent (1900–1948) at West Point in 1924](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Uzal_Girard_Ent_%281900%E2%80%931948%29_at_West_Point_in_1924.png)
Ent was born on March 3, 1900, in
Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Northumberland is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,804 at the 2010 census.
History
A brewer named Reuben Haines, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded the town of Northumberland in ...
. He served in the infantry from 1917 to 1919, and was commissioned into the
US Air Service from
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
in 1924.
In 1927, he married Eleanor Marwitz with whom he would have a son named Girard.
On May 30, 1928 he was the co-pilot of a balloon in the
National Balloon Race starting at
Bettis Field Bettis Field was an airstrip in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, established in 1924. It was named for U.S. Army Air Corps Lieutenant Cyrus Bettis following his fatal accident on Jack's Mountain near Bellefonte, Pe ...
in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. During the race, Ent's balloon was struck by lightning over
Youngstown, Pennsylvania
Youngstown is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Youngstown was incorporated on April 2, 1831. The population was 326 at the 2010 census. The borough has its own post office, with zip code 15696, established on April ...
. The lightning strike killed the pilot and set the balloon's
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
filled envelope on fire. Ent could have parachuted to safety but, instead, chose to stay with the balloon, attempted to rescue the pilot and successfully piloted the balloon to the ground. For this act of heroism, Ent was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross later that year.
After graduating from the
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
in 1938 he served as a
military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
at the American Embassy,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
from July 1939 until October 1942, acting as the senior neutral military observer on the Peruvian side after their
boundary war with
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
.
He was
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
to the
U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East from October 1942 until February 1943. He then served as Commanding General,
9th Bomber Command
The 19th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1988.
During World War II, the unit was designated ...
,
9th Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
from February to December 1943, and led 178
B-24s in "
Operation Tidal Wave
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
" – the bombing raid on the oil fields at
Ploieşti, Romania, on August 1, 1943 – before being appointed Chief of Staff and then Commanding General,
2nd Air Force, based at
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, Colorado.
In September 1944, it was General Ent who selected Lieutenant Colonel
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the aircraft captain who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the '' Enola Gay'' (named after his mot ...
to put together an organisation and train them to drop atomic weapons from B-29 bombers. Given Tibbets and two other names by
General Arnold
Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...
, General Ent replied without hesitation, "Paul Tibbets is the man to do it."
In October 1944, Ent was seriously injured in the crash of a
B-25
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...
on takeoff at the
Fort Worth Army Airfield
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, Texas.
Paralyzed from the waist down he learned to walk again using
brace
Brace(s) or bracing may refer to:
Medical
* Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement
** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine
*** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...
s.
He retired for "disability in line of duty" in 1946, with the rank of major general. After his retirement from military service, he studied to have a future career in law and experimented materials to develop lightweight braces for paraplegics. He was author of the book ''What’s My Score?'', which provided aid to victims of paralysis. He also volunteered for several experimental surgeries in order for surgeons to learn on how to better treat spinal injuries.
He died at
Fitzsimons General Hospital
Fitzsimons Army Hospital, also known as Fitzsimons General Hospital and renamed Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC) in 1974, was a U.S. Army facility located on in Aurora, Colorado. The facility opened in 1918 and closed in 1999. The grounds w ...
in
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...
, on March 5, 1948, due to complications from the injuries he sustained in the plane crash. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Riverview Cemetery in his hometown of Northumberland, where a
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
honoring him is also located.
Awards and honors
United States
*
Cheney Award
The Cheney Award is an aviation award presented by the United States Air Force in memory of 1st Lt. William H. Cheney, who was killed in an air collision over Foggia, Italy on January 20, 1918. It was established in 1927, and is awarded to an airm ...
Foreign
Other honors
In 1951, an Air Force base opened near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was named in the general's honor.
Ent Air Force Base
Ent Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A tent city, established in 1943 during construction of the base, was initially commanded by Major General Uzal Girard ...
was the initial home to the
North American Air Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
(NORAD) from 1957 until 1963 when the command center moved to a highly secure facility within Cheyenne Mountain. Ent AFB then became the Ent Annex to the
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities of ...
in 1975, and the facility was subsequently closed in 1976.
The
Ent Credit Union was named in his honor.
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...
(VFW) Post 8298 in Ent's hometown of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, is named "Major General Uzal G. Ent" to honor his memory.
References
External links
Ent Credit UnionEnt Credit Union – HistoryOfficial USAF biography of Maj Gen EntUzal Girard Ent (Find A Grave)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ent, Uzal Girard
1900 births
1948 deaths
United States Army Air Forces generals
Air Corps Tactical School alumni
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
People from Northumberland, Pennsylvania
United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
United States Military Academy alumni
Aviators from Pennsylvania
United States air attachés
American expatriates in Peru
Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents