Ralph Pittman Cousins (1 December 1891 – 15 March 1964) was a

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 ...

major general Born in

Mexia, Texas Mexia ( or ) is a city in Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,893 at the 2020 census. The city's motto, based on the fact that outsiders tend to mispronounce the name as (), is "A great place to live, no matter how ...

, he graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1915. He served in the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

before transferring to the

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 ...

. He served in a variety of command positions in the newly created air service of the United States Army and was instrumental in designing the model for what would become the

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

system. Schools under his command trained many of the aircrews who served in all theaters of

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 ...

. After retiring from the army, he became a businessman. Cousins died in 1964 and he was memorialized as an air pioneer who helped bring American air power from it beginnings to its power in World War II.

Early life and education

Cousins was born on 1 December 1891, in

, to Robert Bartow and Dora M. (Kelly) Cousins. On 14 June 1911, he began his studies at the United States Military Academy at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. He graduated on 12 June 1915, as a member of

the class the stars fell on "The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 gradu ...

; his rank in the class was 129 of 164 and his Cullum number is 5441.

Career

Pre-war

Cousins was commissioned as a second lieutenant of

on 12 June 1915. He was assigned to the

12th Cavalry The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Lancers Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of ...

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

, in September 1915 and performed border patrol activities, including actions against Mexican bandits, until February 1916, when he was transferred to the 6th Cavalry. Cousins participated in the

Punitive Expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

into Mexico. He was promoted to the

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 ...

of Cavalry on 1 July 1916 and was transferred to the Big Bend District, Texas later that month. In August 1916, Cousins was assigned to the Signal Corps Aviation School in

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 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He graduated in May 1917 and was assigned to the

1st Aero Squadron First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

as a pilot. From 16 May to 12 September 1917, he organized the School of Military Aeronautics in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and became its commandant. While assigned to the school, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 25 July 1917. From 12 September to 8 December 1917, he was assigned to the Office of the Chief Signal Officer,

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 ...

Cousins was then assigned as the aviation representative at the Army War College until 1 February 1918.

World War I

Cousins was assigned to the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

in France as a liaison officer to French and British aviation units, including the British

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Fighting Squadron. He performed duties at the front. He returned to the United States on approximately 21 May 1918 and was assigned as a member of the Air Service Control Board in the Office of the Director of Military Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. until 25 September 1918. On 30 June 1918, he received a temporary promotion to

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 ...

of Cavalry. He was assigned as commander of

Roosevelt Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located in the East Garden City section of Uniondale, on Long Island, New York, United States. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aero ...

, Group B, 1st Provisional Wing until 4 January 1919.

Inter-war years

Cousins was assigned as the commanding officer of

Payne Field Payne Field is a former World War I military airfield, located north-northeast of West Point, Mississippi. It operated as a training field for the United States Army Air Service between 1918 until 1920. The airfield was one of thirty-two Ai ...

West Point, Mississippi West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, Clay County, Mississippi, United States, in the Golden Triangle (Mississippi), Golden Triangle region of the state. The population was 10,105 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

from 4 January 1919 to 1 June 1919 and as the commanding officer of the 1st Bombardment Group at

Kelly Field, Texas Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a 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 was piloting. I ...

from 15 June 1919 until September 1920. During this period, he was returned to the rank of captain of Cavalry on 27 February 1920, transferred to the Air Service on 1 July 1920 and received a temporary promotion to major of the Air Service on 18 July 1920. Cousins was a member of the advisory board, Chief Air Service in Washington, D.C., from September 1920 to August 1921. From August 1921 to June 1922, Cousins was assigned as a student officer 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 ...

, where he was graduated with a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree. Following his graduation, he was assigned as a student officer at

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, New York from June 1922 through January 1923. While at Schenectady he was returned to the rank of captain of the Air Service on 4 November 1922. During 1923, he supervised Air Corps communications and the installation of radios for the Air Corps Model Airway, which operated between four United States cities; this model was the core of what became the commercial aviation system. He served as a commanding officer at

Chanute Field Chanute may refer to: *Chanute, Kansas, United States **Chanute High School *Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832 – November 23, 1910) was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He advised and publicized many aviat ...

, Illinois from November 1923 to September 1924. He returned to Washington, D.C. for duty in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps from January 1925 through May 1928. During this time he was promoted again to major of the Air Service on 21 June 1925. Cousins was assigned to foreign service as a commanding officer at

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, from June 1928 through June 1930. After returning from overseas, Cousins was assigned as a student officer 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. ...

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 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 ...

, until 1931; he was rated as an Airplane Observer in September 1939. He attended the Army

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, graduating on 22 May 1933; while a student he wrote "Tannenberg: a failure to command," a paper analyzing the failure of the command of the Russian Second Army before and during the

battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

. After graduating from the Command and General Staff School, Cousins returned to Washington, D.C. for duty in charge of

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

aviation units with the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...

until late in 1936; during this assignment, he received a temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel in the Air Corps on 16 June 1936 and a permanent promotion to that rank on 22 December. In 1937, he attended and graduated from the Army War College. He moved to an assignment with the Assistant Chief of Staff, G1 at

General Headquarters Air Force 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 ...

, where he performed a variety of staff duties until 18 January 1942; on 1 April 1939, Cousins was rated as both a command pilot and combat observer. Cousins was promoted to colonel in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States was one of the four major service components of the United States Army. Today, the Army consists of the Regular Army, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard while in the service of the ...

on 26 June 1941 and to brigadier general on 10 July 1941.

World War II

On 7 December 1941 ( Pearl Harbor Day), Army Air Force

Western Flying Training Command The Army Air Forces Western Flying Training Command (WFTC) was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 No ...

was operating six army flying schools and nine civilian contract flying schools. Cousins assumed command on 1 February 1942. At the end of the first full year of the war, Cousins' command included twenty-two army schools and twenty-one civilian contract schools in a multi-state operation from his headquarters in Santa Ana,

. Cousins was promoted to major general in the Army of the United States on 16 February 1942. He was permanently promoted to colonel in the Air Corps on 21 April 1944. During 1944, Cousins visited

Mather Field Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Pe ...

for an inspection. He observed that African-American officers were dining in the same mess as white Americans. He ordered that the mess facilities be segregated. African American officers stopped using the mess entirely. Cousins commanded the unit until 15 August 1945. Cousins retired from the army with a disability on 31 March 1946.

Later life and death

Cousins married Diana Wilson Fitzmaurice in 1945. He helped organize the Founders' Insurance Company in Los Angeles; he served as its vice president and its secretary, and as a member of the board of directors until the company was sold in 1950. Cousins was appointed to the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners in 1950. In 1955, he predicted that large gains in passenger traffic and freight shipments at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

would lead to "utter chaos" by 1960 unless improvements were made. In October 1956, Cousins, who had become president of the board of commissioners, announced that the design of the new airport had been approved by the board following a $159 million bond issue. In January 1950, Cousins was serving as chairman of the Southern California

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

. On 15 March 1964, Cousins was stricken while on his ranch near

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately east of Los Angeles, east of Palm Springs, ...

. He was transported to Casitas Hospital in Indio where he died later that day. Funeral services for Cousins were conducted at All Saints Episcopal Church,

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, California and he was buried with full military honors, including a flyover, at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

, Los Angeles. He was memorialized by the West Point Association of Graduates as an air pioneer who helped bring American air power from it beginnings to its power in World War II

Awards

Each of the nine grades of the Order of the Cloud and Banner features a unique ribbon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins Ralph P. 1891 births United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Yale University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Air Force generals American business executives Los Angeles International Airport 1964 deaths People from Indio, California People from Mexia, Texas Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1915 Military personnel from California Military personnel from Texas