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 ...

Jarvis Jenness Offutt (October 26, 1894 – August 13, 1918) was an American aviator from

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, who died in

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 ...

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

is named in his honor.

Early life

Born and raised in Omaha, Offutt was the younger son of Bertha () and Charles Offutt. Charles (1856–1898) was an attorney and a former speaker of the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

, from He relocated to Omaha in 1888 and married four years later. The middle of three children, Jarvis had an older brother (Casper) and a younger sister (Virginia). He attended Central High School and graduated from the Lawrenceville Preparatory School in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1913. He went to college at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and graduated in 1917. Offutt was a member of Yale's Varsity Club,

Glee Club A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (; commonly known as Alpha Delt, AD, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP) is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, and was a track man, winning his honors in the high hurdles. He was also inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

society, an organization which recognizes high academic achievement.

Military career

While at Yale in 1916, Offutt served as a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

supply Supply or supplies may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as ...

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

for the Yale

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

on a summer deployment to Tobyhanna,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Later in 1916, he entered officer training at

Fort Snelling, Minnesota Fort Snelling is an unorganized territory of Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is named after historic Fort Snelling, which is located within its boundaries. The district also includes Coldwater Spring park, Fort Snelling ...

, but after a month he asked to be transferred to aviation. He was one of 300 candidates sent from the United States to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to be trained by the

Royal Flying Corps Canada The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917. Background As the war progressed, Great Britain found that it ...

. Offutt was then sent to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where he received his commission as a

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 the aviation section of the

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 ...

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

in November 1916. He afterwards assigned to the 22nd Aero Squadron and after more training boarded transport L501 (the S.S. ''Adriatic'') on 31 January 1918 with the squadron bound for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Upon its arrival the Squadron continued further training, after which he was assigned duties as a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

attached to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. In August 1918, he was transferred to the front line (most likely to No. 60 Squadron, of the newly-renamed

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, from which he was posted to No. 56 Squadron, RAF). As a ferry pilot, Offutt's duties were to deliver

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

fresh from the factories and from holding fields in England to bases at the front 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 ...

. In the course of these duties, he crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

almost daily.

Death and legacy

On 12 August 1918, 23-year-old Lieutenant Offutt was transferred to 56 Squadron. The next day, he died from injuries while flying at Valheureux, France. Offutt was killed in a crash while practicing an aggressive maneuver in an S.E.5 and became Omaha's first air casualty. Unfortunately, his journey home was extended, as he was mistakenly buried as Private Walter Heltman in

Connellsville, Pennsylvania Connellsville is a City (Pennsylvania), city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Th ...

. In December 1923, he was reinterred in the family plot at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Omaha. Six years after his death in 1924, the landing field at Fort Crook, south of Omaha at

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

, was renamed Offutt Field in his honor. The dedication ceremony on May 10, attended by Offutt's mother and brother Casper, featured an aerial salute from nineteen planes which circled the field;

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Charles Tinker commanded seven of the planes which flew from

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and dropped a dedicatory

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

to highlight the ceremony. In 1948, both the airfield and Fort Crook were renamed

on January 13; it became the headquarters for the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) that November, which was succeeded in 1992 by

Strategic Command The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear de ...

References

*Hansen, SSgt A.I. (ed.). OAFBP 210-2:The History of Fort Crook (1888)/Offutt Air Force Base (1976). Offutt AFB, NE: 3902 Air Base Wing, 1981.

External links

Nebraska State Historical Society
– Jarvis Offutt

– 1st Lieutenant Jarvis Jenness Offutt * {{DEFAULTSORT:Offutt, Jarvis 1894 births 1918 deaths American military personnel killed in World War I American aviators Aviators from Nebraska Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Military personnel from Omaha, Nebraska United States Army officers Yale University alumni Lawrenceville School alumni Omaha Central High School alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918