Hewitt T. Wheless

Hewitt Terrell Wheless was a United States Air Force officer known for his heroism on a bombing mission against Japanese ships in the Philippines on December 14, 1941, a week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and mentioned by name in Franklin Roosevelts Fireside Chat on April 28, 1942. In 1947, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command and was named SAC chief of staff in 1962. He was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force in 1963 and retired in June 1968 as Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Hewitt Wheless was born in Menard County, Texas, in 1913. He graduated from Gulf Coast Military Academy at Gulfport, Mississippi, in May 1932, and attended the University of Texas from 1933 until 1936, graduating with a degree in civil engineering.

Source: Wikipedia