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Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg (January 24, 1899 – April 2, 1954) 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 Si ...
general 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.". O ...
. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
. 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 ...
, Vandenberg was the commanding general of the
Ninth 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 ...
, a tactical air force in England and in France, supporting the Army, from August 1944 until V-E Day.
Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from ...
on the central coast of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
is named after him. In 1946, he was briefly the U.S. Chief of Military Intelligence. He was the nephew of
Arthur H. Vandenberg Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg Sr. (March 22, 1884April 18, 1951) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1928 to 1951. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the creation of the United Nati ...
, a former U.S. Senator from Michigan.Jay Nordlinger
“Michigan Men”
(Review of ''Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century'', by Hendrik Meijer.) ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
''. November 27, 2017. ''(Retrieved 2018-06-22.)''


Early life

Vandenberg was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
, the son of Pearl Kane and William Collins Vandenbergh, both from Dutch ancestry. He grew up in
Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...
, spending his teenage years there. While there he was one of the first Eagle Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America's Lowell Council. He graduated from the
United States Military Academy 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 ...
on June 12, 1923, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the
United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...
.


Military career

Vandenberg graduated from the Air Service Flying School at Brooks Field, Texas, in February 1924, and from the Air Service Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, in September 1924. Vandenberg's first assignment was with the
90th Attack Squadron 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra a ...
, part of the
3d Attack Group The 3rd Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3rd Wing. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska, and is assigned to Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The group is a com ...
at Kelly Field. (In 1926 Lt. Van was also a stunt pilot for the silent film "
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
" which was filming in San Antonio. "Wings" won the first Academy Award for a motion picture.) Vandenberg was appointed commander of the 90th AS on January 1, 1926. In 1927, he became an instructor at the Air Corps Primary Flying School at
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Mar ...
, Calif. In 1928 he was promoted to first lieutenant. In May 1929 he went to
Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, to join the 6th Pursuit Squadron, and assumed command of it the following November. Returning in September 1931, Vandenberg was appointed a flying instructor at
Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...
, Texas, and became a flight commander and deputy stage commander there in March 1933. He entered the
Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...
at Maxwell Field, Alabama, in August 1934, and graduated the following June. Two months later he enrolled in the
Command and General Staff School 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 ...
at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
; he completed the course in June 1936 and was promoted to the rank of captain. He then became an instructor in the Pursuit Section of the Air Corps Tactical School, where he taught until September 1936, when he entered the Army War College, where he specialized in air defense planning for the Philippines. After graduating from the War College in June 1939, Vandenberg was assigned to the Plans Division in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps, selected personally by its head, Brigadier General
Carl Spaatz Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil produc ...
, whom he had met at the Command and General Staff College. In September 1939 and the autumn of 1940, Vandenberg developed two air plans for the
Philippine Department The Philippine Department (Filipino: ''Kagawaran ng Pilipinas/Hukbong Kagawaran ng Pilipinas'') was a regular United States Army organization whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On 9 April 1942, durin ...
, the second based on
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
interceptor operations in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, but neither was adopted by the War Department when the Roosevelt Administration reaffirmed its long-standing opposition to any plan that called for extensive reinforcement of the defenses in the Philippines. pp. 50–54. In 1940 Vandenberg was promoted to major and in 1941 to lieutenant colonel. A few months after the United States entered
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 ...
, Vandenberg was promoted to colonel and became operations and training officer of the Air Staff. For his services in these two positions he received 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 ...
. In June 1942, Vandenberg was assigned to the United Kingdom and assisted in the organization of the Air Forces in North Africa. While in Great Britain he was appointed the chief of staff of the
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...
, which he helped organize. In December 1942 Vandenberg earned the promotion to brigadier general. On February 18, 1943, Vandenberg became the chief of staff of the
Northwest African Strategic Air Force The Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Cas ...
(NASAF), which was under the command of Major General James Doolittle. NASAF was the strategic arm of the new
Northwest African Air Forces Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) was a component of the Allied Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) during February–December 1943. It was responsible primarily for air operations during the Tunisian Campaign and bombing of Italy. Its command ...
(NAAF) under Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz. With NASAF, Vandenberg flew on numerous missions over Tunisia, Pantelleria, Sardinia, Sicily, and Italy. He was awarded both the
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services during this time. For his organizational ability with the Twelfth Air Force and his work as chief of staff of the NASAF, he was awarded 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 ...
. In August 1943, Vandenberg was assigned to Air Force headquarters as Deputy Chief of Air Staff. In September 1943, he became head of an air mission to Russia, under Ambassador Harriman, and returned to the United States in January 1944. In March 1944, he earned the promotion to major general and then he was transferred to the European theater; in April 1944, he was designated the Deputy Air Commander in Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Commander of its American Air Component. In August 1944, Vandenberg assumed command of the
Ninth 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 ...
. On November 28, 1944, he received an
oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...
to his Distinguished Service Medal for his part in planning the Normandy invasion. He was promoted to lieutenant general in March 1945. Vandenberg was appointed the Assistant Chief of Air Staff at the
U.S. 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 ...
(USAAF) headquarters in July 1945. In January 1946, he became Director of Intelligence on the War Department general staff where he served until his appointment in June 1946, as
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
, a position he held until May 1947. Vandenberg returned to duty with the Air Force in April 1947, and on June 15 became the Deputy Commander in Chief of the Air Staff. Following the division of the
United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...
into the Departments of the Army and the Air Force, Vandenberg was designated the
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The vice chief of staff of the Air Force (VCSAF) is the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Air Force. If the chief of staff of the Air Force (CSAF) is absent or is unable to perform his duties, then the VCSAF assumes t ...
on October 1, 1947, and promoted to the rank of general. Even when Vandenberg was at the pinnacle of his military career, his boyish good looks and outgoing personality often made him the target of attacks on his credibility and experience. However, the attention that his appearance brought on was not all bad. He appeared on the covers of ''Time'' and ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
'' magazines. The ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' once described him as "the most impossibly handsome man on the entire Washington scene," and
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
once named Vandenberg, along with
Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
and
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
, as one of the three people with whom she would want to be stranded on a deserted island. On April 30, 1948, Vandenberg became the
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The chief of staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is a statutory office () held by a general in the United States Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to t ...
, succeeding General Carl Spaatz. He was renominated by President Harry S. Truman for a second term as Air Force Chief of Staff on March 6, 1952. The nomination was confirmed on April 28, with Vandenberg serving until June 30, 1953. A controversy arose while Vandenberg was the Air Force Chief of Staff, when he opposed the
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...
Charles Erwin Wilson Charles Erwin Wilson (July 18, 1890 – September 26, 1961) was an American engineer and businessman who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he was pre ...
on a proposed $5 billion budget reduction for the Air Force. Vandenberg maintained that the cut backed by Wilson would reduce military aviation to a "one-shot Air Force," inferior to that of the Soviet Union. He said it was another instance of "start-stop" planning of a kind that had impeded Air Force development in previous years. The cut in appropriations went into effect in July 1953, immediately after his retirement from the Air Force.


Later life

A scratch golfer, he spent much time on golf courses. He was also a lover of movies, Westerns, and scotch. Vandenberg retired from active duty on June 30, 1953, and he died nine months later, at the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...
of
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
at the age of 55. He is interred in Section 30 of
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 ...
. His wife, Gladys Merritt (Rose) Vandenberg (1898–1978), started the concept of the Arlington Ladies while he was Air Force Chief of Staff. The program provides that a military lady of the appropriate service represents the service chief at all military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. She was buried, alongside her husband, in Arlington National Cemetery upon her death on January 9, 1978. They are survived by their children, Gloria Vandenberg Miller and
Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Jr. Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg Jr. (born August 12, 1928) is a retired major general in the United States Air Force. Early life and education Vandenberg was born in Riverside, California, on August 12, 1928 to Dutch parents. His father was General Ho ...


Namesakes

On October 4, 1958, the missile and space base at Camp Cooke in Lompoc, California, was renamed
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...
(which was redesignated
Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from ...
in 2021). In July 1963, the instrument ship was renamed at
Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type = Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...
, Florida, for duty on the Eastern Space and Missile Range in the Atlantic. One of the two cadets' dormitories at the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...
, Vandenberg Hall, is also named in his honor. In addition, a popular enlisted "hangout" for technical school Airmen at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is named in his honor, as was the Vandenberg Esplanade, along the Merrimack River in Lowell, Massachusetts and part of the Lowell Heritage State Park.


Dates of rank

Sources:Official Army and Air Force Register, 1948, p. 1863.


Awards and decorations

  
Command Pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...
;Foreign awards The Manuscript Collection of Hoyt S. Vandenberg at the Library of Congress as of November 2005 is
Classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...
.


References


External links


Biography by the United States Air Force

National Aviation – Hoyt Vandenberg
*
General Vandenberg on the cover of ''Life'' magazine, December 5 1949
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenberg, Hoyt 1899 births 1954 deaths Air Corps Tactical School alumni American people of Dutch descent Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Deaths from prostate cancer Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Joint Chiefs of Staff Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Lowell, Massachusetts Military personnel from Milwaukee Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Aviz Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Tripod Recipients of the Silver Star United States Air Force generals United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Military Academy alumni Vice Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force Military personnel from Massachusetts