John Wilson Carpenter III John Wilson Carpenter III ( August 11 , 1916 – November 8 , 1996 ) was a 1939 graduate of the U . S . Military Academy who served with distinction in the U . S . Air Force as a pilot and commander , including significant combat service . Education . Carpenter studied engineering at Oklahoma A & M and Mississippi State College before entering the U . S . Military Academy at West Point , New York , in 1935 , where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in military science in 1939 . After graduation , he attended the U . S . Army Air Corps flying schools at Tulsa , Oklahoma , Randolph Field , Texas and Kelly Field , Texas , receiving his pilot wings in June 1940 . Military career . Carpenter ' s first flying assignment was with the 19th Bombardment Group at March Air Force Base , California , where he served as a heavy bombardment pilot , navigator and bombardier . In May 1941 he participated in the first mass flight of B - 17 s from Hamilton Field , California , to Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii . In October 1941 he flew with the 19th Bombardment Group as navigator on a B - 17 from Albuquerque , New Mexico , to Clark Field , the Philippine Islands , where he was assigned as squadron intelligence officer and combat crew commander . Combat 1941 - 1942 . When the Japanese attacked Clark Field on December 8 , 1941 , then - Lieutenant Carpenter was airborne on a reconnaissance mission . His aircraft survived several passes made by 5 - 10 Japanese fighter aircraft and he then maneuvered to avoid contact until the attack on the field ended . His aircraft was one of the first to land at Clark Field after the attack . The following day he flew the first reconnaissance mission to Formosa ( now Taiwan ) , in place of the B - 17 destroyed in the previous day ' s attack while by while being prepared for the same mission . He was forced to abort the mission due to generator problems . After flying several missions against the Japanese forces , he was ordered to Bataan where he commanded the ground echelon of the 19th Bombardment Group . After serving with the Infantry for two months he was evacuated to Java by submarine and rejoined his unit . He continued to fly combat missions until the 19th Bombardment Group returned to the United States in December 1942 . Post - combat 1943 - 1944 . After returning to the continental U . S . , Carpenter served on tours of duty at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida ; Headquarters Army Air Forces Bombardment Training Division , Washington , D . C . ; and Headquarters Twentieth Air Force in Washington and the Mariana Islands . B - 29s . The new B - 29 Superfortress had serious teething problems and General Arnold became alarmed at the situation and directed that his assistant , Major General B . E . Meyer , personally take charge of the entire modification program . The resulting burst of activity that took place between 10 March and 15 April 1944 came to be known as the " Battle of Kansas . " Carpenter , with many others , played an important part in getting the B - 29s ready for combat duties . Twentieth Air Force . The Twentieth Air Force was brought into existence on 4 April 1944 specifically to perform strategic bombardment missions against Japan . This was done at the insistence of General Henry H . ( Hap ) Arnold , commander of the USAAF , mainly to avoid having the new B - 29 Superfortress being diverted to tactical missions under pressure from the China Burma India Theater commanders . Twentieth Air Force was to be commanded by General Arnold himself at Joint Chiefs of Staff level . Carpenter had been involved in the training division for the B - 29s then assigned to the Headquarters of the Twentieth Air Force in Washington . The Twentieth Air Force was completely autonomous and its B - 29s were to be completely independent of other command structures and would be dedicated exclusively against strategic targets in Japan . In addition Twentieth Air Force was chosen ( secretly ) to be the operational component of the Manhattan Project in 1944 , and performed the atomic attack s on Japan in August 1945 . In 1944 , one of Carpenter ' s duties was to help oversee the personnel selected for the 509th Composite Group and to support the independence of this unit . Initially under the command of General Hap Arnold , and later under operational command of General Curtis LeMay and General Nathan Twining . In August 1945 the Twentieth Air Force was placed under the U . S . Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific which was commanded by General Carl Spaatz . Operation Matterhorn . Operation Matterhorn was the name for the Twentieth Air Force B - 29 Superfortress offensive against the Empire of Japan from airfields in China . On 10 April 1944 , the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS ) informally approved Operation Matterhorn . The operational vehicle was to be the 58th Bombardment Wing ( Very Heavy ) of the XX Bomber Command . By late 1944 , it was becoming apparent that B - 29 operations against Japan staged out of bases in China and India were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped . In December 1944 , the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that Operation Matterhorn would be phased out , and the 58th Bombardment Wing ' s B - 29s would be moved to newly - captured bases in the Marianas in the central Pacific . Carpenter moved there to help expedite the Twentieth Air Force mission and to help prepare for the movement of the 509th there . The Marianas chain of islands , consisting primarily of Saipan , Tinian , and Guam , were considered as being ideal bases from which to launch B - 29 operations against Japan . The islands were about 1500 miles from Tokyo , a range which the B - 29s could just about manage . Most important of all , they could be put on a direct supply line from the United States by ship . Post war . Later tours included Air Command and Staff College as a student and then instructor , a tour in the Philippine Islands , first as commander , 5th Reconnaissance Group , and later as vice commander , Thirteenth Air Force . In 1951 he was transferred to headquarters of Air Research and Development Command ( now Air Force Systems Command ) , Baltimore , Maryland . After completing Air War College in July 1954 , he became vice commander of Arnold Engineering Development Center at Arnold Air Force Base ( Station , at the time ) , Tullahoma , Tennessee . He returned to Air Research and Development Command headquarters in March 1955 and later became chief of plans and programs . In March 1959 he assumed command of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base , California . In July 1961 he was assigned to Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . . In August 1965 he was appointed commander of Air University , where he served until July 1968 when he returned to Headquarters U . S . Air Force as Deputy Chief of Staff , Personnel . In August 1969 he was appointed assistant Vice Chief of Staff , U . S . Air Force , with additional duty as senior Air Force member , Military Staff Committee , United Nations , in which positions he completed his active duty military service . Retirement from Active Duty . Carpenter retired in the rank of Lieutenant General on August 1 , 1970 . In retirement , he served as the eighth superintendent of Culver Military Academy from 1970 to 1974 . Decorations . Carpenter ' s military decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster , the Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters , the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters , Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster . He was also awarded World War II service medals .