General John K. Cannon USAF

General John K. “Uncle Joe” Cannon, USAF, was a World War II Mediterranean combat commander, two-time chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and former commander of Tactical Air Command. He was one of the pioneers of today’s modern U.S. Air Force and an early disciple and advocate of tactical air doctrine. Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico is named in his honor.

Career milestones include:

1921-22: Pilot training at Kelly Field, Texas.

1922-25: Director of Flying, Kelly Field. One of his flight students during this time was a promising young pilot named Charles Lindbergh.

1930: The Air Force lent him to Curtiss-Wright, and he and Jimmy Doolittle travelled to 21 European countries on a highly publicized trip selling Curtis-Wright aircraft.

1931: Director of Training, Randolph Field, TX. His list of students included future USAF leaders Hoyt Vandenberg, Nathan Twining, Lauris Norstad, Curtis LeMay and others.

1938: First Chief of the new U.S. Military Air Mission, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1942-1943: Commanding General, 12th Air Support Command, then 12th Bomber Command, then the Northwest African Tactical Air Force.

1943: Deputy Commanding General of the Allied Tactical Air Force for the Sicilian campaign and the invasion of Italy. He was a primary architect of Operation Strangle, an important milestone in the development of U.S. military interdiction doctrine. The operation's mission was to interdict German supply routes in Italy north of Rome from March 1943 until the fall of Rome in spring 1944.

1944: Commanding General of the 12th Air Force and the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force. He was responsible for all air operations for the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon, August 1944), which was considered a model of tactical air superiority.

1945: Air Commander-in-Chief of all Allied Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater.

May 1945: Commanding General of US Air Forces in Europe.

1946-48: Commanding General, USAF Air Training Command.

1948-51: Commanding General then Commander-in-Chief, US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), during the Berlin Airlift.

1951-54: Commander-in-Chief, USAF Tactical Air Command.

At the time of his retirement, in March 1954, he was the USAF senior officer in point-of-service, holding serial number 3A, and was the first airman to receive permanent four-star rank.