Arthur William Gebaur Jr. (February 22, 1919–

Missing in Action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, e ...

and presumed dead in

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

on August 29, 1952) was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for action in the war. The Air Force renamed Grandview Air Force Base Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base partly in his honor.

Biography

Gebaur was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from Northeast High School in 1936. He was an active member of the ROTC reaching the rank of Cadet 2nd Lieutenant. He was called Arthur by his teachers, but Jr. by his friends. Upon graduation from high school, Gebaur was offered enlistment in the Army Reserve as a sergeant. Instead, he obtained a job as a clerk with the

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at their Kansas City office. Five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Gebaur enlisted in the Army at

Fort Leavenworth 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 perman ...

, Kansas. He was designated an aviation cadet and sent for flight training in California and Arizona. In June 1942, Gebaur completed his training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces. He spent the remainder of the war as a flight instructor training B-25 bomber pilots. Gebaur was promoted to first lieutenant in February 1943 and captain in May 1944. He was also awarded the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

for his service. In early 1946, Gebaur was sent to the Far East to help train Chinese pilots. In June 1947, he returned to the United States after seventeen months overseas. In August 1947, Gebaur was promoted to major. In October 1947, he became an officer in the newly formed

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 S ...

. In May 1949, Gebaur became a student at the Air Tactical School at

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (32 ...

, Florida. He graduated in August 1949. In October 1951, Gebaur was sent to Korea as an F-84 jet fighter pilot in the 7th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force. While there, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and four additional Air Medals. In July 1952, Gebaur was promoted to lieutenant colonel. On August 29, 1952, he served as group leader on three missions in one day. Gebaur became missing in action during the third mission, a raid on the North Korean capital

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for the second mission of that day and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

after his status was changed to presumed killed in action.

References

External links

Korean War profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebaur, Arthur William Jr. 1919 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Kansas City, Missouri United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Military personnel missing in action American military personnel killed in the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)