Carl "Tooey" Spaatz

Born: June 28, 1891, Boyertown, Pennsylvania
Died: July 14, 1974 (age 83), Washington, D.C.

Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz was an American general in World War II, and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.

1. He attended West Point, where he received his nickname because of his resemblance to another red headed cadet named F.J. Toohey, and graduated in 1914.

• True or False?

2. He served briefly in the infantry. When was he assigned to the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps?

• October 1914
• October 1915
• October 1916

3. Spaatz served in the First Aero Squadron which was attached to during his expedition to Mexico in 1916. Who commanded the expedition?

• General Theodore Roosevelt
• General Maxwell Smart
• General John J. Pershing

4. Following America's entry into World War I, Spaatz was sent with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in command of the 31st Aero Squadron. He spent most of the war commanding the American Aviation School at Issoudun, France but he saw three weeks of action during the final months of the war. In this brief period, Spaatz shot down three enemy planes and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC); during the time he was with the 13th Aero Squadron.

• True or False?

5. In September 1942, what permanent rank was he promoted to?

• Major
• Colonel
• Major General

6. 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, until subsequently assigned command of the Twelfth Air Force in North Africa in December 1942.

• True or False?

7. As the commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe, Spaatz was under the command of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and the supervision of Gen. Hap Arnold, the USAAF Chief of Staff. When assigned to the Pacific who was his commander?

• Gen. Douglas MacArthur
• Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
• Gen. Hap Arnold

8. But after the war, Eisenhower said that Spaatz was one of the two American general officers who had contributed the most to the victory in Europe. Who was the other general

• Gen. Mark Clark
• Gen. George Patton
• Gen Omar Bradley

9. 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. What was the date?

• February 1947
• September 1947
• December 1947

10. Where is "Tooey" Spaatz buried?

• United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Orange, California
• Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

"Tooey" Spaatz Answers

1. True
2. October 1915
3. General John J. Pershing
4. True
5. Colonel
6. True
7. Gen. Hap Arnold
8. Gen Omar Bradley
9. September 1947
10. United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado
    Plot: 3d78

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