Reginald C. Harmon (February 5, 1900 – October 23, 1992) was a

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 ...

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 Si ...

and served as its first Judge Advocate General. At the age of 29, he was elected as the mayor of

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

Background

Reginald C. Harmon was born on February 5, 1900, near

Olney, Illinois Olney ( ) is the county seat in Richland County, Illinois. The population was 9,115 at the time of the 2010 census. History Settlement of the Richland County area began around 1815 when Thaddeus Morehouse, a native of Vermont, arrived by wa ...

. After graduating from high school, he worked as a teacher in a rural school. He studied law at the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J. ...

receiving his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree in 1927. During his time at the University of Illinois, Maj Gen Harmon joined the

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

legal fraternity. Maj Gen Harmon's military career also began during his undergraduate years at the university's

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in a ...

(ROTC). At the age of 29, Maj Gen Harmon was elected as mayor of Urbana, Illinois. He held the office from 1929 to 1933. As mayor during the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Maj Gen Harmon declared the nation's first business moratorium to prevent a run on the banks.

Military career

After completing the ROTC program at the University of Illinois, Reginald Harmon was commissioned as 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 unt ...

in the Field Artillery Reserve. In October 1940, Mr. Harmon was called to active duty at

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, as a

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in the Officers' Reserve Corp of the Army. Mr. Harmon represented the U.S. Government in an industrial expansion program to meet the growing needs of the Army Air Corps 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

from 1940 to 1945. For his work in opening new supply sources for the production of aircraft, Mr. Harmon received 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 u ...

. Between 1945 and 1948, he served as the

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

of the Air Material Command where he provided legal representation for the Air Force in a billion dollar procurement program. During this period, Mr. Harmon left the Reserve Corp for the regular component of the military. On September 8, 1948, Mr. Harmon became the first Judge Advocate General of the United States Air Force and was promoted to the rank of Major General. He was reappointed as the Judge Advocate General in 1952 and 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Reginald C. United States Air Force generals Judge Advocates General of the United States Air Force Illinois lawyers Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit University of Illinois College of Law alumni People from Olney, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois