Adriel N . Williams Brigadier General Adriel Newton Williams ( August 11 , 1916 – July 8 , 2004 ) was a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General who was Director of Transportation , Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . Early life and education . Williams was born 1916 in Shelby County , Kentucky . He graduated from Shelbyville High School , 1933 and from Eastern Kentucky University in 1938 . After graduation , he entered the " West Point of the Air " Randolph Field , Texas , for pilot training and received his pilot wings in 1939 at Kelly Field , Texas . Military career . Williams was assigned as commanding officer of the First Transport Squadron in March 1942 , and in the next nine months commanded the squadron at Patterson Field , Ohio , General Mitchell Field , in Milwaukee , and Pope Field , Fort Bragg . Following this assignment he became commander of the 436th Troop Carrier Group and remained as such throughout the remainder of World War II . This group pioneered in the early assault glider operations , participating in all major airborne assault operations in the European Theater . These included the Normandy invasion ( D - Day ) , of southern France , the Nijmegen - Eindhoven , Holland operation , resupply to the beleaguered 101st in Bastogne , and the crossing of the Rhine . Following V - E Day , Williams returned to the United States with the 436th Troop Carrier Group , where the unit was to be reequipped with C - 46 s for duty in the Pacific theater . However , the war ended while the changes were being made and the 436th Troop Carrier Group was inactivated . Williams was then assigned as commander of the 434th Troop Carrier Group , located at George Army Air Field , Lawrenceville , Illinois , and later Greenville Air Base , South Carolina . He remained as commander until the 434th Group was inactivated in summer of 1947 . Williams attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk , Virginia , and upon graduation was assigned as commander of the 62nd Troop Carrier Group at McChord Air Force Base in Washington . He remained in command until July 1950 when he became assistant deputy chief of staff , operations , Tactical Air Command , Langley Air Force Base , Virginia . He remained in this assignment until receiving orders to the Air War College , Maxwell Air Force Base in 1952 . He graduated from the Air War College in June 1953 and was assigned commander of the Far East Air Forces , 315th Troop Carrier Wing , Brady Air Base , Kyushu , Japan . He was reassigned as commanding officer , 374th Troop Carrier Wing , Tachikawa Air Base , Japan , in March 1954 , in which during the period the unit saw operation in the French Indo - Chinese War . Upon his return from his duty in Japan , Williams was assigned to command the 314th Troop Carrier Wing , Sewart Air Force Base , Tennessee . In July 1957 , he was assigned as inspector general , Headquarters Tactical Air Command , Langley Air Force Base , Virginia . At this point in his career , with the exception of the three school assignments , General Williams had been either directly in command of a troop carrier organization or in staff work directly concerned with airborne operations . He worked closely with such units as the 11th , 82d , and 101st airborne divisions . In early 1940 he was copilot on the aircraft that dropped the first Army paratrooper at Fort Benning , Georgia . He graduated from the National War College in Washington , D . C . , in 1959 . Following graduation he was assigned to the Directorate of Plans , Deputy Chief of Staff , Plans and Programs , Headquarters U . S . Air Force , as assistant deputy director for policy . In August 1960 , he became the deputy director for policy and on April 22 , 1961 he was promoted to brigadier general He served in the Pentagon until he was assigned as the commander , Air Rescue Service in August 1963 . He served as vice commander , Eastern Transport Air Force ( Military Air Transport Service ) ( now Twenty - First Air Force , Military Airlift Command ) from March 1965 to July 1966 . General Williams assumed duties as director of Transportation , Headquarters U . S . Air Force in Washington , D . C . in August 1966 . His military decorations include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters , Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters , Air Medal , Presidential Unit Citation , French Croix de Guerre with Palm , and The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant , Thailand . Williams , a command pilot , retired at the rank of Brigadier General on August 1 , 1968 . Williams was married to Mary Daly and resided in Texas . He died in San Antonio , Texas in 2004 .