Odas Moon (February 11, 1892 – November 19, 1937) was an American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

pioneer who was among a team of

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

(USAAC) aviators to break endurance records by performing

aerial refueling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...

. Moon was a founding member of the

Order of Daedalians The Order of Daedalians is a fraternal and professional order of American military pilots. The namesake of the order is Daedalus who according to Greek mythology was the first person to achieve heavier-than-air flight. History The idea of a frate ...

. Through his teaching and leadership 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. ...

, Moon helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing, using

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

Early career

Born on February 11, 1892 in

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 ...

, Moon enlisted in the U.S. Army from

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 ...

on December 15, 1917. He served as a private first class in the Aviation Section,

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by ...

and was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 16, 1918. Moon transferred to 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 warf ...

on September 20, 1920. Along with many other Army Air Service fliers, Moon was assigned to fly patrols along the

Mexico – United States border Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

from May to September, 1919. As part of his duties, Moon ferried a Mexican colonel back to

Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua Puerto Palomas de Villa, also known simply as Palomas, is a small town of 4,6882010 census tables: INEGI

, Mexico. In January 1924, Moon was flying a delivery of mail to an American Army base in the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...
when he discovered an American invasion fleet lying in wait away from Panama. The fleet was made up of four battleships, a carrier and attendant vessels. Their plan was to surprise and "defeat" the defenders of Panama as part of annual winter maneuvers.Holley, I. B. Jr. (1975
"An Enduring Challenge: The Problem of Air Force Doctrine"
within ''The Harmon memorial lectures in military history, 1959-1987: a collection of the first thirty Harmon lectures given at the United States Air Force Academy'', edited by Harry R. Borowski. Diane Publishing, 1988, pp. 425–439. Moon was carrying a case of ripe tomatoes to give to his wife, and he proceeded to carry out a series of
dive bombing A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
attacks against the USS ''Langley'', delivering three direct hits from tomato "bombs". When he landed at the Panama base with the information that the fleet was coming, Moon was congratulated by his superiors. Soon, though, word was passed back regarding an unspoken goal of the surprise invasion fleet: they were there to prove that the Canal Zone needed a $10M purchase of 16-inch coastal defense guns. After the invasion fleet was discovered by an air unit while still 125 miles out, the need for coastal guns was no longer seen as urgent by Congress. However, air defense doctrine was not re-examined as a result. In 1924 or 1925, Moon taught bombardment to new airmen at
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. Among his students was
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
who, in 1970, wrote a letter to Senator
Ralph Yarborough Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate from 1957 to 1971 and was a leader of the progressive wing of his p ...
of Texas describing his memories of the foundational experience he was given by Moon.

Aerial refueling
As a trusted member of the 7th Bombardment Group, First Lieutenant Moon was selected to take part in the endurance demonstration flight of the ''Question Mark'', a modified Atlantic-Fokker C-2A. During January 1–7, 1929, Moon piloted one of two
aerial refueling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...
aircraft, a
Douglas C-1 The Douglas C-1 was a cargo/transport aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation for the United States Army Air Service starting in 1925. Design and development Douglas received an order for nine single-engined transport aircraft in 1 ...
based at
Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a branch of the Los Angeles city government, which also operates Los Angeles Internat ...
, and helped refuel the ''Question Mark'' as it flew for six days back and forth between
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
and
Van Nuys, California Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley ...
. Moon and his crew refueled the ''Question Mark'' sixteen times—two conducted at night. The ''Question Mark'' set a world record for endurance. The USAAC followed up the flight of the ''Question Mark'' with a mission to demonstrate the applicability of aerial refueling in combat. On May 21, 1929, during annual maneuvers, Moon took off from Fairfield Air Depot in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
in a Keystone LB-7 on a simulated mission to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
via
Washington, D.C. 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. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Plans were for the bomber to be refueled in flight several times, drop a flash bomb over New York harbor and a parachute flare over
Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...
,Maurer, Maurer. ''Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919–1939'', Part 301. United States Air Force, Office of Air Force History. Diane Publishing, 1987, pp. 244–245, 261–262. then return to Dayton non-stop, again by way of Washington. The C-1 tanker employed to refuel the LB-7 was forced by icing to land in
Uniontown, Pennsylvania Uniontown is the largest city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 9,984 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, southeast of Pittsburgh. History southeast of ...
, where it got stuck in mud. After flying over
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, Moon circled south to drop three flares in the harbor near the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
. Moon landed at
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 ...
. The next day, the tanker joined the bomber and both flew over New York where they made a public demonstration of air refueling and four dry runs.

Order of Daedalians
Moon was a charter member of the
Order of Daedalians The Order of Daedalians is a fraternal and professional order of American military pilots. The namesake of the order is Daedalus who according to Greek mythology was the first person to achieve heavier-than-air flight. History The idea of a frate ...
, a group of former
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 ...
-era military pilots who formed the organization on March 26, 1934. Under
Harold L. George Harold Lee George (July 19, 1893 – February 24, 1986) was an American aviation pioneer who helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing. An outspoken proponent of the industrial web theory, George taught at the Air Corps Ta ...
, Moon served as the first vice commander of the group.Order of Daedalians. About Us
"History of the Order of Daedalians".
Retrieved on November 2, 2009.

Bomber mafia
As a first lieutenant, Moon graduated from the class of 1930–1931 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. ...
(ACTS).Finney, Robert T. (1998) Air Force History and Museums Program
''History of the Air Corps Tactical School 1920–1940''.
Third imprint. Retrieved on November 3, 2009. From 1933 at the rank of captain until January 29, 1936, at the rank of major, Moon was assigned to teach at ACTS. Moon challenged his students to thoroughly examine the bombardment theories he presented so they could discover any flaws. There, Moon joined Harold L. George, Eugene L. Eubank, Haywood S. Hansell and Ralph A. Snavely in arguing for the primacy of an independent bomber arm. Moon was vocal in his rebuttal of the arguments used by a group of ACTS teachers who were promoting fighters as the all-around useful aircraft that the USAAC should invest in. The fighter enthusiasts—
Claire 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 "pursuit ...
, Hoyt S. Vandenberg and
Earle E. Partridge Earle Everard "Pat" Partridge (July 7, 1900 – September 7, 1990) was a four-star general in the United States Air Force and a Command Pilot. Biography Earl Partridge graduated Ashby High School, Ashby, Massachusetts in 1917. Partridge enlist ...
—argued that the fighter in large numbers was capable of doing more damage to ground targets than the number of bombers that could be bought for the same money. Moon and the so-called "
Bomber mafia The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war. The derogatory term "Bomber Mafia" was used before and after World War II by those in ...
" tore the fighter argument apart and established precision bombing as the war-winning strategy.

Death and legacy
Moon was relieved of duty at ACTS on January 29, 1936 and died at the age of 45 on November 19, 1937.''The New York Times'', November 21, 1937. Obituaries
"Captain Odas Moon; Army Air Corps Officer Was to Be Retired From Service on Dec. 31"
Retrieved on November 3, 2009. At the time of his death, Moon had been waiting in the Hotel Chamberlin,
Old Point Comfort Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the Independent city (United States), independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
to be retired from active service which was to have taken effect on December 31, 1937. He was interred at
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2014, had over 144,000 interments. The cemetery was list ...
a week later. Retired Air Force Major General Eugene L. Eubank said in a 1982 interview that Odas Moon, a very close friend of his, "drank himself to death".Eubank, Eugene L
U.S. Air Force Oral History Interview K239.0512-1345. Maj Gen Eugene L. Eubank.
June 30 – July 1, 1982. Retrieved on November 14, 2009. Eubank said that he and "Odie" Moon had served in the Air Corps together from 1919 on the Mexico–U.S. border flights and had been devoted friends ever since. Eubank served as Moon's copilot in May 1929 for the New York aerial refueling demonstration. During
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 ...
, all of Moon's staff mates and commanders at ACTS went on to become influential
general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
s, as did all four officers on board the ''Question Mark'' and two of the officers flying with him in the tankers.''Airlift Tanker: History of U.S. Airlift and Tanker Forces'', p. 53. Turner Publishing. 1995. All the crew members of the ''Question Mark'' were given Distinguished Flying Crosses, but none of the tanker crews were so honored. Instead, Moon and the others received letters of commendation. On May 26, 1976, the two surviving tanker crewmembers—retired brigadier generals Ross G. Hoyt and Joseph G. Hopkins—were awarded the DFC for their exceptional contributions to air-to-air refueling by
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The chief of staff of the Air Force ( acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is the service chief of the United States Air Force. They are the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to the Air Force. They are a m ...
General
David C. Jones David Charles Jones (July 9, 1921 – August 10, 2013) was a United States Air Force general and the ninth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, Jones served as the highest-ranking uniformed officer of the United States Armed ...
.

See also
*
Aviation history The history of aviation spans over two millennia, from the earliest innovations like kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight in powered, heavier-than-air jet aircraft. Kite flying in China, dating back severa ...

References
;Notes ;Bibliography *Smith, Richard K. (1998)
''Seventy-Five Years of Inflight Refueling: Highlights 1923–1998''
Air Force History and Museums, Air University, Maxwell AFB.

External links

1929 photograph of five aviators including Lieutenant Odas Moon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Odas 1892 births 1937 deaths Military personnel from Texas American aviators Aerial warfare pioneers Air Corps Tactical School alumni Air Corps Tactical School faculty United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots Place of birth unknown Alcohol-related deaths in Virginia Burials at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery Military personnel from Alabama Aviators from Alabama 20th-century people from Alabama 20th-century people from Texas