Eugene Hoy Barksdale

Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale (November 5, 1896 – August 11, 1926) was a noted aviator and was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Service and Army Air Corps. The new Barksdale Field (now Barksdale Air Force Base) in Bossier City/Shreveport, Louisiana, was named for him on February 2, 1933.[1]

Eugene Hoy Barksdale
Nickname(s)Hoy
BornNovember 5, 1896 (1896-11-05)
Goshen Springs, Mississippi, US
DiedAugust 11, 1926 (1926-08-12) (aged 29)
Dayton, Ohio, US
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Army Air Service
Years of service1918–1926
RankFirst lieutenant
Unit41st Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
25th Aero Squadron
WarsWorld War I

Early years

Born in Goshen Springs, Mississippi, Barksdale had one brother and five sisters. He attended Mississippi State College in Starkville for three years before leaving to enter officers training camp at Fort Logan H. Roots in Little Rock, Arkansas. He volunteered for the aviation section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a Private First Class.

Life and career

Barksdale completed aviation ground school in Austin, Texas. In September 1917, he embarked to England and received flight training with the Royal Flying Corps and was assigned to the 41st Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, in 1918.[1] He later became a founding member of the U.S. Army's 25th Aero Squadron. In 1919, Barksdale was assigned to Mitchel Field, New York, where he married Lura Lee Dunn in 1921. On 8 March 1924 then Lt Barksdale and his navigator, Lt Bradley Jones, flew a DH-4B, powered by a 400-horsepower Liberty engine from McCook Field, OH to Mitchel Field using instruments only.[2]

  • 25th AS, Lt Barksdale pictured (bottom row, 2nd from left)
    25th AS, Lt Barksdale pictured (bottom row, 2nd from left)
  • 25th AS, Lt Barksdale pictured (forth from right, back row)
    25th AS, Lt Barksdale pictured (forth from right, back row)
  • Lt Barksdale, date unknown
    Lt Barksdale, date unknown
  • Lt Barksdale, date unknown
    Lt Barksdale, date unknown

Death

Barksdale was testing a Douglas O-2 observation airplane for spin characteristics over McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, and did not recover from a flat spin. While parachuting out of the plane, his parachute caught in the wing's brace wires, and he went down with the plane.[3][4] He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.[1][5]

  • Douglas O-2 crash that killed Lt Barksdale.
    Douglas O-2 crash that killed Lt Barksdale.

See also

References
  1. "Barksdale: This life, this death". Air Force: 112. October 2017.
  2. "Army Flyers Test Out New Devices". The Gridley Herald. Gridley, CA. April 12, 1924. p. 4. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  3. "Ace is killed in parachute leap". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. August 12, 1926. p. 1.
  4. Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, ISBN 0-912799-53-6, p. 15.
  5. "Burial Detail: Barksdale, Eugene H. (Section 3, Grave 4184)". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website).
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