Billy Mitchell

UXL Newsmakers, (2005)

Billy Mitchell

Considered an aviation pioneer by many, Billy Mitchell (1879-1936) recognized the potential of air power as an integral part of national defense. His strong beliefs led to a court-martial for insubordination in the 1920s. The key role played by air defense during the Second World War II vindicated him.

In his website article "Billy Mitchell—Air Power Visionary," C.V. Glines stated, "The name Billy Mitchell brings different images to mind. To most, he was a hero, without whose dire warning the United States might never have been able to field the world's largest air force in time to fight World War II. To others, he was an ambitious egoist and zealot, who ran roughshod over anyone who opposed his views on air power." Glines concluded, "It was his voice that first loudly proclaimed the need for strong air defenses."

Early Life

William ("Billy") Mitchell was born in Nice, France, on December 28, 1879. He was the eldest of ten children born to John Lendrum Mitchell, who came from a politically active Wisconsin family, and Harriet Mitchell. When Mitchell was three years old, the family returned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Mitchell spoke French just as fluently as English. He and his siblings also learned German, Spanish, and Italian. In The Billy Mitchell Affair, biographer Burke Davis noted that Mitchell was "small, wiry, and utterly fearless." His nanny spent a good deal of her time trying to control him. When he was told not to climb the family greenhouse, Mitchell attempted to scale it on an almost daily basis. He also enjoyed guns and horses.

Mitchell's father was elected to Congress in 1891 and to the Senate in 1893. Important guests were often invited to the Mitchell home and, as Davis noted, "There was an air of freedom in the household which encouraged the young Mitchells to grow up in their own way." The children were encouraged to interact and converse with their parents' guests. Davis added that Mitchell "was allowed at the dinner table with important guests, and always found a way to intrude into the conversation."

Began Military Career

In 1898, Mitchell enlisted in the Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. He dropped out of Columbian University (later George Washington University) to enter the service. (He eventually completed his degree after World War I in 1919.) Mitchell served in Cuba and the Philippines, and quickly became a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps of the U.S. Army. He advanced to first lieutenant in 1901 and captain by 1904. His personal life changed as well. In 1903, he married Caroline Stoddard. They eventually had three children—Harriet, Elizabeth, and John Lendrum III.

Mitchell studied at the army's School of the Line and Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1907 until 1909. In 1909, he began another tour of the Far East, returning to the Philippines, and proceeding to Japan and China. In 1913, he received a prestigious appointment to the U.S. Army General Staff, which introduced him to aeronautics, an emerging segment of the Signal Corps.

Becoming restless and seeking a more active role, Mitchell left the General Staff in 1916 to direct army aviation until the commander could take charge. Internal fighting and the outbreak of World War I provided new opportunities in aeronautics for officers like Mitchell. He was promoted to major and, once the commander arrived, assumed the position of deputy.

Told by the army that he was too old to fly, Mitchell spent his personal time and money taking lessons at a civilian flying school. He became a rapid advocate of military air power. Mitchell did not have a good relationship with his commander and decided to go to France as an observer in 1917. He reached Paris four days after the U.S. entered the war.

A Leader During World War I

Once in France, Mitchell tried unsuccessfully to take charge of American aeronautical planning in Europe. Not easily deterred, he became qualified as a U.S. Army pilot and studied the use of aviation on the western front. Davis noted that he also "bombarded the War Department with suggestions he gleaned from his French friends."

Mitchell continued to learn as much as he could. Biographer Davis wrote of Mitchell's flight with a French pilot in order to gain a different perspective. Mitchell commented, "One flight over the lines gave me a much clearer impression of how the armies were laid out than any amount of traveling on the ground." Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Mitchell was named air officer of the AEF (American Expeditionary Force).

In July 1918, the Germans launched their last great attack. Davis relayed that "it was Mitchell who discovered the strength and direction of the offensive." In September, he commanded the largest concentration of aircraft at that time—almost 1,500 warplanes. Victory was imminent. When the war ended a short time later, Mitchell was a decorated war hero and a brigadier general, as well as the senior American air combat officer. As Davis wrote, Henry "Hap" Arnold, a future general of the U.S. Army Air Forces stated, "Billy was clearly the Prince of the Air." Mitchell enjoyed his great popularity. In his website article, Glines stated, "his flamboyance, ability to gain the attention of the press, and willingness to proceed unhampered by precedent, made him the best-known American in Europe."