Carl Andrew Spaatz Carl Andrew " Tooey " Spaatz ( June 28 , 1891 – July 14 , 1974 ) was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force . Early life . Born as Carl Andrew Spatz , he added the second " a " in 1937 at the request of his wife and daughters to clarify the pronunciation of the name , as many pronounced it " spats " . He added the second " a " to draw it out to sound like " ah " , like the " a " in " father " . ( The name is thus correctly pronounced " spots " . ) The result was intended to suggest a Dutch rather than a German origin . Spaatz received his nickname " Tooey " at West Point because of his resemblance to another red - headed cadet named F . J . Toohey . He graduated as a second lieutenant of Infantry 12 June 1914 , ranked 97th out of a class of 107 . He served with the 25th Infantry at Schofield Barracks , Hawaii , until his assignment to the Signal Corps Aviation School at San Diego , California , between 13 October 1915 and 15 May 1916 , for pilot training . He was detailed to the Aviation Section , U . S . Signal Corps in Mexico on 8 June 1916 after earning his Junior Military Aviator rating . Spaatz served in the First Aero Squadron which was attached to General John J . Pershing during the Punitive Expedition . Spaatz was promoted to First Lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and to Captain on 15 May 1917 . World War I . Following America ' s entry into World War I , Spaatz was sent with the American Expeditionary Force s ( AEF ) in command of the 31st Aero Squadron . Spaatz was appointed Officer in Charge , American Aviation School at Issoudun , France but after receiving orders to return to the United States , he saw three weeks of action during the final months of the war with the 13th Aero Squadron as a supernumerary pilot . In this brief period , Spaatz shot down three enemy planes and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross ( DSC ) ; during the time he was promoted to the temporary rank of major on 17 June 1918 . Inter - war years . In 1919 he served in California and Texas and became assistant department air service officer for the Western Department in July 1919 . Spaatz experienced the chaotic ups and downs in rank common to Regular officers in 1920 , when the National Defense Act of 1920 reorganized the military . He first reverted to his permanent rank of captain of Infantry 27 February 1920 . On 1 July 1920 , when the Air Service became a combatant arm of the line , he transferred to the Air Service as a captain , then was promoted to major on the same date by virtue of a provision in the National Defense Act that allowed officers who earned their rank in service with the AEF to retain it . This made him senior to a number of officers , including Henry H . Arnold ( his superior at the time ) , with greater longevity of service . On 18 December 1922 he was discharged when Congress set a new ceiling on the number of majors authorized the Air Service , and reappointed as a captain , then promoted again to major on 1 February 1923 . As a major , he commanded Kelly Field , Texas , from October 5 , 1920 , to February 1921 , served at Fort Sam Houston as air officer of the Eighth Corps Area until November 1921 , and was commanding officer of the 1st Pursuit Group , first at Ellington Field , Texas , and later at Selfridge Field , Michigan , until September 24 , 1924 . He graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School , Langley Field , Virginia , in June 1925 , and then served in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps at Washington , D . C . From January 1 to January 7 , 1929 , Spaatz along with fellow Air Corps officers , Captain Ira Eaker and Lieutenant Elwood Quesada , both of whom would later become senior United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) generals , established an aviation record by keeping the airplane " Question Mark " in the air over the Los Angeles vicinity for over 150 hours . From May 8 , 1929 , to October 29 , 1931 , Spaatz commanded the 7th Bombardment Group at Rockwell Field , California , and the 1st Bombardment Wing at March Field , California , until June 10 , 1933 . He then served in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps and became chief of the Training and Operations Division . In August 1935 , he enrolled in the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , and while there was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 16 September . He graduated in June 1936 , and then served at Langley Field on the staff of Maj . Gen . Frank M . Andrews , commander of General Headquarters Air Force , until January 1939 , when he returned to the Office of the Chief of Air Corps at Washington as assistant executive officer . On 7 November 1939 , Spaatz received a temporary promotion to colonel , and during the Battle of Britain in 1940 , spent several weeks in England as a special military observer . In August 1940 , he was assigned in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps , and two months later was appointed assistant to the chief of Air Corps , General Arnold , with the temporary rank of brigadier general . He became chief of the Plans Division of the Air Corps in November 1940 , and the following July was named chief of the air staff at Army Air Forces Headquarters . World War II . Army Chief of Staff George Marshall named Spaatz commander of Air Forces Combat Command in January 1942 and promoted him to the temporary rank of major general . In May 1942 Spaatz became commander of the Eighth Air Force and transferred its headquarters to England in July . Spaatz was placed in overall command of the USAAF in the European Theater of Operations , while retaining his Eighth Air Force command . He was promoted to the permanent rank of Colonel in September 1942 and subsequently assigned command of the Twelfth Air Force in North Africa in March 1943 . He was named commander the Allied Northwest African Air Force in February 1943 , the Fifteenth Air Force and Royal Air Forces in Italy in November 1943 , and the U . S . Strategic Air Forces in Europe in January 1944 . Spaatz received a temporary promotion to lieutenant general in March 1943 . As commander of Strategic Air Forces , Spaatz directed the United States portion of the strategic bombing campaign against Germany , directing the Eighth Air Force , which was now commanded by Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle , based in England , and the Fifteenth Air Force , which was now commanded by Lieutenant General Nathan Twining , based in Italy . As the commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe , Spaatz was under the direct command of Gen . Dwight Eisenhower . In March 1944 , Spaatz proposed the Oil Plan for bombing , and in June 1944 during the Operation Crossbow priority bombing of V - 1 sites aimed at the UK , Spaatz advocated , and received authorization from Eisenhower for , bombing of those targets at a lower priority . Spaatz also identified that " " … the chimera of one air operation that will end the war … does not exist " " , and advocated Tedder ' s plan " " which retained the oil system in first position , but more clearly placed Germany ' s rail system in second priority " " , which encouraged Eisenhower to overrule Air Ministry fears that the " " thrust against the oil industry " " might be weakened . Spaatz ' s Oil Plan became the highest bombing priority in September 1944 . After the war , Eisenhower said that Spaatz , along with General Omar Bradley , was one of the two American general officers who had contributed the most to the victory in Europe . Spaatz received a temporary promotion to the rank of general on March 11 , 1945 . After VE day he was transferred to the Pacific and assumed command of the U . S . Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific as part of the Pacific Theatre of Operations , with headquarters on Guam , in July 1945 . From this command , Spaatz directed the strategic bombing of Japan , including the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Spaatz had been present at Reims when the Germans surrendered to the Americans on May 7 , 1945 ; at Berlin when they surrendered to the Russia ns on May 9 ; and aboard the battleship " Missouri " in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered on September 2 . He was the only man of General rank or equivalent present at all three of these acts of surrender . Later life . In July 1945 , President Truman nominated Spaatz for promotion to the permanent rank of major general . Spaatz was appointed Commanding General of the Army Air Forces in February 1946 following Arnold ' s retirement . After the creation of the independent Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947 and Truman ' s Executive Order No . 9877 , Spaatz was appointed as the first Chief of Staff of the new United States Air Force in September 1947 . Spaatz retired from the military at the rank of general on June 30 , 1948 and worked for " Newsweek " magazine as military affairs editor until 1961 . He also served on the Committee of Senior Advisors to the Air Force Chief of Staff , from 1952 until his death . From 1948 until 1959 , he served as Civil Air Patrol ' s National Commander . In 1954 , Spaatz was appointed to the congressional advisory board set up to determine the site for the new United States Air Force Academy . Spaatz died on July 14 , 1974 and is buried at the Academy ' s cemetery in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Awards and decorations . Command pilot < br > World War II Victory Medal < br > Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire < br > Order of the Crown with palms ( Belgium ) < br > Belgian Croix de Guerre , with palm < br > Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor ( France ) < br > Croix de Guerre with Palm ( France ) < br > Commander ' s Cross with Star ( " Krzyż Komandorski z Gwiazdą " ) , Order of Polonia Restituta ( Poland ) < br > Grand Officer , Order of Orange - Nassau ( Netherlands ) < br > Grand Cross of the Order of St . Olaf ( Norway ) < br > Order of Suvorov 2d Class ( Soviet Union ) < br > Combat Observer Spaatz also received the Collier Trophy for 1944 for " demonstrating the air power concept through employment of American aviation in the war against Germany . " The President of the United States of America , authorized by Act of Congress , July 9 , 1918 , takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major ( Air Service ) Carl Andrew Spatz ( ASN : 0 - 3706 ) , United States Army Air Service , for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 13th Aero Squadron , U . S . Army Air Service , A . E . F . , during the St . Mihiel offensive , 26 September 1918 . Although he had received orders to go to the United States , Major Spatz begged for and received permission to serve with a pursuit squadron at the front . Subordinating himself to men of lower rank , he was attached to a squadron as a pilot and saw continuous and arduous service through the offensive . As a result of his efficient work he was promoted to the position of night commander . Knowing that another attack was to take place in the vicinity of Verdun , he remained on duty in order to take part . On the day of the attack west of the Meuse , while with his patrol over enemy lines , a number of enemy aircraft were encountered . In the combat that followed he succeeded in bringing down three enemy planes . In his ardor and enthusiasm he became separated from his patrol while following another enemy far beyond the lines . His gasoline giving out , he was forced to land and managed to land within friendly territory . Through these acts he became an inspiration and example to all men with whom he was associated . References . Combat Observer