Gen. Carl Spaatz dies

Today in History, July 14, 1974:

General Carl Spaatz dies.

Spaatz was a fighter pilot in his youth during WW1.

He remained in the Army Air Corps, and when WW2 began went to England.

As German bombs fell and everyone else ran for the shelters, Spaatz sat on rooftops to gain knowledge of German tactics.

When America entered the war, he became the commander of the Eighth Air Force as it began daylight bombing raids over Germany.

After the war, the Army Air Corps was separated from the US Army and became its own military branch, the US Air Force. Spaatz was it’s first Chief of Staff.