Ernest Emery Harmon
Lesser known than many of the major figures of early flight, his significant contributions during the golden age of aviation (aka the interwar years) resulted, by an act of Congress (June 23, 1948), in the naming of Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in his honor.Original plans called for a second pilot, Lt. Lotha A. Smith, but due to an injury that resulted from a crash landing in Jay, New York, he was forced to abandon the high risk mission shortly after it began.The efforts of the R-T-R crew resulted in helping to establish, and improve landing strip markings and design, navigation and mapping standards, and basic aviation communication.[2] In the March 30, 1919 issue of the New York Sun newspaper Harmon wrote an extensive article that provided a detailed plan for how to successfully complete the first transatlantic flight in a "heavier than air machine".Included in his vision of the future are: On 22 May 1920, Harmon was the pilot for the first flight of the LWF model H Owl at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, a design intended for use as a mail plane.On February 19, 1919, Lieutenant Harmon set an air speed record flying a 400 hp LePere aeroplane from Washington, D.C. to New York City, achieving 165.1 miles per hour (265.7 km/h) and covering the distance in 85 minutes.Harmon met an untimely death in an aviation accident in 1933, he is credited with having recruited, and mentored the careers of many individuals who went on to become heroes, and leaders in the United States military.Lt. Gen Pete Quesada is widely recognized as having developed the strategy of proving the successful use of tactical "close air support" to ground troops during combat.In 1918, while an instructor at Gerstner Field, Louisiana, Harmon trained the controversial Lieutenant Edmund G. Chamberlain who was reported to have shot down five enemy aircraft in one day during the first World War.