Howard G. Bunker

Howard Graham Bunker (26 April 1905 – 24 February 1994) was a major general in the United States Air Force. During World War II he served with the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe. After the war he was involved with nuclear weapons, commanding the 428th Army Air Forces Base Unit and later the Special Weapons Command at Kirtland Air Force Base, after which he served as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations for Atomic Energy, and was one of the two Air Force members of the Military Liaison Committee of the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1951 to 1954. Later in his career he served in the office of the Inspector General of the Air Force.

Early life Howard Graham Bunker was born in South Bend, Indiana, in on 26 April 1905,

Between the wars Bunker graduated on 6 June 1928, ranked 128th in his class, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant Coast Artillery Corps. He was detailed to the Air Corps for flight training on 8 September 1928. He underwent primary flight training at Brooks Field, Texas, from 9 September to 28 June 1929, and then advanced training at Kelly Field, Texas, from 1 July to 12 October 1929. Upon the successful completion of his training, he was transferred to the Air Corps on 21 November 1929. During the graduation ceremony, he and his classmate LaVerne G. Saunders conducted a fly past in a Martin NBS-1 bomber. His duties included being an advisor on aviation to the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, John G. Winant, and liaison between ETOUSA and the Eighth Air Force. He was involved in the administration of Lend-Lease aircraft to the UK, and worked with the British Air Ministry. He was also involved in technical intelligence operations, and he retrieved a V-1 Flying Bomb for study from a mushroom cave in the Oise region of France.

Awards Bunker received include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the French Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 with palm. He was also an honorary member of the Order of the British Empire.

Dates of rank