Aubrey Thomas Hornsby I (January 8, 1895 – May 23, 1981) was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

officer and pioneer aviator who reached the rank of Brigadier General. He began his Army career during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as an

artillery observer An artillery observer, artillery spotter, or forward observer (FO) is a soldier responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto a target. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that ...

, seeing service in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, then continued to serve as an aviator and administrator through

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, after which he was elected to the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

Biography

He was born in 1895 in Eclectic, Alabama, to Judson Anne Nichols (1869–1953) and Jackson Lee Hornsby (1868–1954). His father was a merchant. Hornsby graduated from Elmore County High School in 1915, then attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

and

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for two years until he volunteered in the Army as a Private in May 1917. Less than six months after his enlistment, he had earned his commission and was appointed Second Lieutenant in November 1917, in the Field Artillery Reserve. In May 1918, he transferred to the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

as an Aerial Observer serving in France,

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, and Germany for one year. He returned to the United States in 1918, married Nancy (Nannie) Mae Thomas of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on August 15, 1918, and they had three children: Aubrey Thomas Hornsby II (1922–1983) who was born in Virginia; William Lee Hornsby (1926–2005); and Jack Hornsby (1927–1978). William and Jack were both born in Alabama. Aubrey was then stationed at

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, on

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until July 1920. Along with his transfer to

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-use airport, 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 ...

in Texas, he was promoted to

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. In 1921 Hornsby graduated from both the Air Service Pilots' School and the Air Service Bombardment School. He participated in the 1922 experimental bombing of surrendered German

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s as a contemporary of

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

, and he won the second place award in the 1926 Liberty Engine Builders' Trophy race. This was an air-race held among fifteen top military pilots at the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in

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to celebrate the nation's 150th birthday. In 1930 the family was living in

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. As a captain he commanded Clark Field in the

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. Gunter Field in Alabama was built in 1940 under his leadership and he was the first base commander. This was an important training center built prior to, but in expectation of, US involvement in World War II. Originally it was known as Army Air Corps Basic Flying School, later as Gunter Field, and now as part of Maxwell Air Force Base. Hornsby assumed that position on August 27, 1940, and was replaced 28 months later by Colonel Raymond L. Winn on December 28, 1942, one year after Pearl Harbor. It was at Gunter Field that the assembly line system of maintaining planes, whose time-saving efficiency had attracted wide attention, was pioneered, based on Hornsby's experience in aircraft maintenance. As a Brigadier General, Hornsby commanded the 308th Bombardment Wing of the United States Air Force for part of 1946, while it was stationed in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

as part of the occupation force and involved in weather research. In 1946 he was awarded

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

"for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility."Militarytimes.com
/ref> Aubrey Hornsby died in 1981 in

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Postings

* 1917-18: American Expeditionary Force (Europe) * 1918-20:

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* 1920-22: Kelly Field, Texas * 1922-24: Langley Field,

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* 1924-27: Maxwell Field, Alabama * 1927-30:

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* 1930-32: Clark Field,

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

* 1932-33: Maxwell Field, Alabama * 1933-37: Bolling Field,

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

* 1937-40: Maxwell Field, Alabama * 1940-42: Gunter Field,

* 1946-46: 308th Bomber Group - Korea (various)

References

* Gunter History, AU/HO Office, Pg. 47, (Circa) 1943

Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields is a website detailing information and first hand memories about airports in the United States which are no longer in operation, or are rarely used. The website was started by Paul Freeman in 1999 as he had d ...

: by Paul Freeman. * R. Manning Ancell; The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers;

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

; Greenwood Press, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hornsby, Aubrey 1895 births 1981 deaths People from Elmore County, Alabama Air Corps Tactical School alumni United States Army Air Forces generals