Charles deForest Chandler military portrait

Colonel Charles deForest Chandler (December 24, 1878 – May 18, 1939) was an American military

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps that later became 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 Si ...

. He was one of earliest aviators to show that a machine gun could be fired from an airplane.

Biography

He was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, December 24, 1878. He was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in the Signal Corps during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He was discharged in 1899 but was re-commissioned in 1901. While in the rank of captain, he served as of the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps from August 1, 1907, to May 13, 1908, and also from June 20, 1911, to April 1, 1913. With the United States entering World War I in April 1917, he quickly rose from captain to temporary colonel in a period of only seven months. He commanded the balloon section of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

during

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, ...

. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

for his services during the war. Chandler reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel in April 1920 and retired from the army for disability in the line of duty in October of the same year. He was promoted to colonel on the retired list in June 1930. He died on May 18, 1939, and was buried 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 ...

Publications

Balloon and airship gases
(1926) with

Walter Stuart Diehl Walter Stuart Diehl (3 December 1893 – 21 November 1976) was an American naval officer and aeronautical engineer. Early life Diehl was born in Jonesborough, Tennessee, on 3 December 1893, as the oldest child of Wiliam P. and Lydia Showalte ...

Awards

Spanish War Service Medal The Spanish War Service Medal was a United States military medal of the U.S. Army which was established by an act of the U.S. Congress on 9 July 1918 (40 Stat. 873). The medal recognizes those members of the Army and of the U.S. Volunteers who per ...

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 an ...

* World War I Victory Medal

Dates of rank

Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1939. pg. 891.

References

External links

Charles deForest Chandler
at

Early Aviators Gallery The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and accepted a membership of 598 pioneering aviators. Membership was limited to ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Charles Deforest 1878 births 1939 deaths American aviators Aerial warfare pioneers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army colonels United States Air Force officers United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I