Major General Clayton Lawrence Bissell (July 29, 1896 – December 24, 1972) was an
air officer
An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth of Natio ...
in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...
and
United States 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 II ...
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
World War I service
Bissell graduated from
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus.
The university is known for its Luthe ...
, Indiana, in 1917 with a degree of doctor of laws.
He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Reserve, August 15, 1917, and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Aviation Section, Signal Reserve, January 12, 1918.
He began his aviation training at Mohawk, Canada, in September 1917, and was subsequently stationed at
Taliaferro Field
Camp Taliaferro was a World War I flight-training center run under the direction of the Air Service, United States Army in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. Camp Taliaferro had an administration center near what is now the Will Rogers Memorial C ...
, Texas, from November 1917 to January 1918.
He sailed for England with the
22nd Aero Squadron
The 22nd Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 2nd Pursuit Group, ...
, and received additional flying training at
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...
in England and aerial gunnery training in Scotland. He served in the Overseas Ferry Service before he was ordered to duty at the front with the
148th Aero Squadron
The 148th Aero Squadron was a unit of the United States Army United States Army Air Service, Air Service that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I.
As a day pursuit (fighter) squadron, its mission was to e ...
in July 1918. He served with that unit and with the
41st Aero Squadron
The 41st Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 5th Pursuit Group, ...
until the armistice.
He was credited officially with destroying five enemy planes and driving one down out of control; these six victories qualify him as an
ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
. He commanded the
638th Aero Squadron with the American Forces in Germany
until May 1919, when he returned to the United States.
The interwar years
His first assignment in the United States was
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 ...
, Texas, where he organized and commanded the
27th Aero Squadron. He was promoted to captain (temporary) March 11, 1919. In January 1920, he became education and recreation officer at Kelly Field, and commanded the Air Service Group.
He was ordered to Washington, D.C., in June 1920, for service as chief of the Tactical Operations Section in the office of Air Service. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Air Service, Regular Army, July 1, 1920. In December 1920, he went to
Langley Field Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885–1947), one ...
, Virginia, where he graduated from the
Air Service Field Officers School in June 1921. He then remained at Langley Field as flight commander of the
14th Bombardment Squadron
The 14th Bombardment Squadron was a squadron of the United States Army Air Forces. The squadron fought in the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42), much of its aircraft being destroyed in combat against the Japanese. The survivors of the gr ...
, and later became an instructor at the Air Service Field Officers School.
In November 1921, Bissell was ordered to Washington for duty in the office of the Chief of the Air Service, as assistant to Brigadier General
William Mitchell, serving in that capacity for four years.
On August 3–4, 1922, he completed an overnight 450-mile round trip between
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling:
English language, English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking".
German ...
, District of Columbia and
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Mitchell (surname), including lists of both people and fictional characters
*Mitchell (given name), lists of people and fictional characters
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Ca ...
, Long Island. Flying a
DH-4B biplane with a new navigational compass, Bissell left Bolling before 10 PM and landed on Long Island at 12:35 AM after using visual cues to navigate around a thunderstorm near
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
. Navigating a straight compass return course, he left Mitchel at 2:15 AM and landed in D.C. at 4:25 AM. During this tour of duty, Bissell was also one of the pilots involved in the controversial ''
Ostfriesland'' bombing that was the crux of Mitchell's
court-martial
A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
.
In January 1924, he was detailed as advanced agent for the round-the-world flight in British Columbia, Alaska, the Aleutians, Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland and the Maritime Provinces. On return to Washington, he was transferred to Langley Field in December 1924 to serve as secretary of the Air Service Board. Between October and December 1925, he served as assistant defense counsel for Mitchell during his court martial, under the direction of lead counsel Congressman
Frank R. Reid.
He was an instructor at 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. ...
at Langley Field, from September 1926 to August 1931, when he was assigned to 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
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
, Kansas, as a student. He graduated in June 1933, and two months later was assigned to the Army War College at Washington, D.C. He graduated in June 1934 and then entered the Chemical Warfare School at
Edgewood Arsenal
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at APG. There are 11 major commands among the tenant units, ...
, Maryland. In July 1934, completing the course there a month later.
In October 1934, he was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, as intelligence and operations officer of the 18th Pursuit Group, becoming commanding officer in October 1937. In July 1938, he went to the
Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...
at
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
, and graduated in 1939. In July 1939, he became a member of the War Plans Division of the War Department General Staff at Washington, remaining on this duty until the beginning of World War II.
World War II
In January 1942, he was assigned as principal aviation officer on Major General
Stilwell's staff in China; in August 1942 he was made commanding general of the
10th Air Force in India and Burma. He returned to the United States in August 1943.
A month later he became assistant chief of air staff for intelligence at Air Force Headquarters in Washington. In January 1944, he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence on the War Department General Staff, and served in that capacity during the last two years of World War II. He was the Army member of Joint Security Control and on the Joint Intelligence Committee and the U.S. Army member of the Combined Intelligence Committee. He also served as the Army head of psychological warfare and as head of the War Department historical program.
After the death of
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, Bissell briefed
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
on the existence and status of the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
From 1942 to 1946, the ...
.
[
]
Post World War II
In May 1946, he became military attaché to Great Britain, and in October 1948, returned to the United States, where he was assigned to the officers' pool at Bolling Air Force Base
Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB was a United States Air Force installation located in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its establishment, the base has s ...
, D.C.
The following month he was transferred to Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, with station at Wiesbaden, Germany, where he remained until he returned to the United States in April 1950, for an assignment to Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C. He retired on October 31, 1950 at the rank of Major General immediately after a hospital stay following a 72-day whirlwind European vacation.
Controversies
Bissell taught at the Air Tactical School at the same time as did Claire Lee Chennault
Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in World War II.
Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursui ...
, later of the Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
. Bissell once tried to intimidate the Flying Tigers into staying in service by claiming that if they left, as soon as they got back to the United States they'd be drafted into the US Army as privates. The two men became personal enemies when Bissell continued to claim that fighters could not stop bombers from performing their mission. When Chennault was offered an appointment in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a brigadier general, he asked that he be granted a date of rank one day earlier than Bissell's and that was promised, but in the end, Bissell got one day of rank over Chennault. Throughout Bissell's tenure in India, Chennault complained of broken promises about planes, flyers, spare parts and supplies. To resolve the personal animosity, Stilwell ultimately agreed to have Bissell removed from the China Burma India Theater
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...
.
In his role as General George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...
's assistant chief of staff for intelligence, he is known for having ordered the suppression of evidence that the Soviets were responsible for the Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...
of Polish officers. While a prisoner of the Germans, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel spent some time at the site of the Katyn massacre, and concluded from what he saw that the Soviets were responsible for the atrocity. On May 22, 1945, immediately upon his arrival in Washington, D.C., after being freed from captivity, Van Vliet filed a personal report with Bissell indicating what he had found. Bissell classified the report Top Secret in order to minimize its circulation, and later the report disappeared from archives.
Although Bissell claimed he had sent the report to the State Department, State said it never received it, and the Army had no receipt to show that it did. When called to account for his actions before a Congressional Committee investigating Katyn in February 1952, Bissell contended that he was merely carrying out the spirit of the Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...
.
In 1950, Van Vliet recreated his wartime report In 2014, a copy of Van Vliet's 1945 Paris disposition was discovered.
Decorations
Effective dates of promotions
Source:
Later life
After retirement, Bissell lived in Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge. "Signal Mountain" is used as a colloquial name for the part of Walden Ridge close to the town. The town po ...
. He died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...
on December 24, 1972. Bissell was interred at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
on January 4, 1973.
See also
* List of World War I flying aces from the United States
The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I.
Overview
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great B ...
* George Earle, author of another report on Katyn that was suppressed
References
Bibliography
* ''Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , .
* ''American Aces of World War I''. Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , .
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External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, Clayton
1896 births
1973 deaths
People from McKean County, Pennsylvania
Valparaiso University alumni
United States Army personnel of World War I
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I
Aviators from Pennsylvania
American World War I flying aces
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Silver Star
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
Air Corps Tactical School faculty
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
United States Army War College alumni
Naval War College alumni
United States Army generals of World War II
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
United States military attachés
Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire
United States Air Force generals
People from Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery