William Joseph Crumm (September 20, 1919 – July 6, 1967), was a

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 ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who was killed in July 1967, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. General Crumm commanded the

3d Air 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. ...

from 1965 until his death in a

B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

mid-air collision with another B-52 bomber over the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

. General Crumm was the first American

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

and the first of two Air Force general officers (pilots) who were killed during the Vietnam War.

Early life and career

General Crumm was born on September 20, 1919, in New York City. He entered the military in 1941, and was commissioned 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

United States 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 ...

and received his wings in 1942. General Crumm's first assignment was as a B-17 bomber pilot with the

91st Bombardment Group The 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. Classified as a heavy bombardment group, the 91st operated B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and was known unofficially as "The Ragg ...

, based in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

. Upon returning to the states, he lectured at thirty combat crew schools and every major aircraft factory as a member of the "Most Deserving Bomber Crew of the 8th Air Force". In May 1943, he was transferred to the 796th Bomb Squadron at Alexandria, Louisiana as Operations Officer, and later that year moved to the staff of Second Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He assumed command of the

61st Bombardment Squadron The 61st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 70th Bombardment Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, where it was inactivated on 25 June 1962. It was first organized as the 61s ...

Smoky Hill Army Air Field Salina Regional Airport , formerly Salina Municipal Airport, is three miles southwest of Salina, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the Salina Airport Authority. It is used for general aviation, with service by one passenger airline, ...

in Kansas, where he successfully moved the squadron to Guam. In 1946, he transferred to Headquarters,

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

(SAC) as assistant training officer in the Flying Training Division, and would in rapid succession hold positions as chief of the Bombardment Section and Training Section deputy and acting chief. He left SAC in August 1947 to attend the Air Command and Staff School,

Maxwell Air Force Base 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 ...

, Alabama. In July 1948, he assumed another squadron command—the 344th Bombardment Squadron, based at

Spokane Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force Military airbase, base, located in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States in Eastern Washington, eastern Washington (state), Washington, approximately southwest of Spo ...

in Washington. During January 1949, he assumed the duties as 98th Bombardment Group director of operations at Spokane AFB. He returned to SAC in 1950, as chief of the Special Projects Division, Director of Operations. In 1953 he moved to the Operational Plans Division within the Director of Operations at SAC. In October 1954, after attending the B-47 Advanced Flying School at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, he was assigned to

March Air Force Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's Fo ...

, California, first as deputy commander of the 22nd Bombardment Wing, then as

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 ...

director of operations. He moved to Greenland in September 1956, serving as a task force commander at

Thule Air Base Thule Air Base (pronounced or , kl, Qaanaaq Mitarfik, da, Thule Lufthavn), or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Space Force's northernmost base, and the northernmost installation of the U.S. Armed Forces, located north o ...

. April 22, 1957 saw his return to March as commander of the

320th Bombardment Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

. In October 1958, he transferred to Headquarters,

in Washington, D.C. as chief of the Strategic Division, reporting to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. In May 1960, he was assigned as chief of the Atomic Operations Division, J-3, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in August of that year returned to SAC as the senior Air Force member to the newly organized staff, director, strategic target planning. In June 1962, he became that group's chief of operations. He was assigned as commander,

3rd Air 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. ...

, at

Andersen Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...

, Guam, in July 1965.

Death

General Crumm was declared to be "missing and presumed dead" 18 days after a July 6, 1967 collision between the

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

on which he was flying, and another B-52 bomber, over the

. At the time of the mid-air collision, both aircraft were en route to a bombing mission over Vietnam. He was the first American and Air Force general officer killed in the Vietnam War. His remains were never recovered; 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 ...

is located at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Crumm, William J (at MG–222)
– ANC Explorer

Awards and decorations

Major General Crumm was rated as a command pilot. His military awards include two Legion of Merits, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, four Air Medals, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and two Army Commendation Medals.

References

:''This article incorporates text in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

from the United States Air Force.''

External links

* * for a

at the Alpine City Cemetery in

Alpine, Arizona Alpine is a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, Apache County, Arizona, United States, in Bush Valley in the east central part of the state. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, it had a population of 145. It is locat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crumm, William 1919 births 1967 deaths United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents United States Air Force generals Military personnel from New York City Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1967 Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

Early life and career

Death

Awards and decorations

See also

References

External links