William Beehler Bunker Lieuteanant General, United States Army |
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| Brigadier
General (later Lieutenant General) William Beehler Bunker was commissioned
in the Cavalry upon graduation from West Point in 1934. Even though he
never received a rating as an Army Aviator, in 1950 his career became inextricably
involved with Army Aviation. He authored a report to the Chief of Transportation
that convinced the Army of the intrinsic value of the helicopter in logistical
roles.
This report resulted in the large scale procurement of cargo helicopters by the Army and earned General Bunker the appellation, "Father of the Helicopter," from his Army contemporaries. He accurately envisioned the very important logistical role of helicopters as complements to ground transport vehicles and established the philosophical basis for airmobile logistics within the U.S. Army. Later, as Assistant Chief of Transportation
[Army Aviation], General Bunker continued to work toward the perfection
of an airmobile logistical system and was largely responsible for the Army's
procurement of CV-2 Caribou aircraft. He was the force behind the transfer
of aviation maintenance proponency from the Ordnance Corps to the Transportation
Supply and Maintenance Command where he developed and established sophisticated
procurement and logistics systems for Army Aviation. In later assignments
as both Comptroller and DCG, Army Materiel Command, he continued to emphasize
his strong belief in the great importance of cargo helicopters to the success
of airmobile logistics. He died in 1969 while serving as the DCG, Army
Materiel Command.
BUNKER, WILLIAM B LTG USA DATE OF BIRTH: 09/30/1910 DATE OF DEATH: 06/05/1969 BURIED AT: SECTION 11 SITE 93 L.H. ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY Posted: 29 April 2006 |
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