Uzal Girard Ent

Uzal Girard Ent CBE (March 3, 1900 – March 5, 1948) was an American Army Air Forces officer who served as the commander of the Second Air Force during World War II.

Early life and education

Ent was born on March 3, 1900, in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. After attending grade school and high school in his hometown, he enrolled at Susquehanna University. During World War I, Ent left to enlist as a private in the infantry in 1917. He transferred to the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps and was promoted to sergeant in the 59th Balloon Company in March 1919. Ent received an appointment to West Point and was commissioned into the Army Air Service in June 1924.

Career On May 30, 1928, he was the co-pilot of a balloon in the National Balloon Race, starting at Bettis Field in Pittsburgh. During the race, Ent's balloon was struck by lightning over Youngstown, Pennsylvania. The lightning strike killed the pilot and set the balloon's hydrogen-filled envelope on fire. Ent could have parachuted to safety but chose to stay with the balloon, attempted to rescue the pilot, and successfully piloted the balloon to the ground. For this act of heroism, Ent was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross later that year.

After graduating from the Air Corps Tactical School in June 1937 and the Command and General Staff School in June 1938, he served as a military attaché at the American Embassy in Lima, Peru from July 1939 until October 1942, acting as the senior neutral military observer on the Peruvian side after their boundary war with Ecuador.

In October 1944, Ent was seriously injured in the crash of a B-25 on takeoff at the Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas. He retired for "disability in line of duty" in 1946, with the rank of major general. After his retirement from military service, he studied to have a career in law; he also experimented with materials to develop lightweight braces for paraplegics. He wrote a book, What's My Score?, to help victims of paralysis. He also volunteered for several experimental surgeries so surgeons could learn to better treat spinal injuries.

Death He died at Fitzsimons General Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, on March 5, 1948, due to complications from the injuries he sustained in the plane crash. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Riverview Cemetery in his hometown of Northumberland. A cenotaph honoring him now stands there.

Awards and honors

United States

Cheney Award

Foreign Order of the Condor of the Andes, degree unknown (Bolivia)Peruvian Aviation Cross, 1st class (Peru)Military Order of Ayacucho (Peru)Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)

Other honors In 1951, a new Air Force base near Colorado Springs, Colorado, was named in the general's honor. Ent Air Force Base was the initial home to the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) from 1957 until 1963 when the command center moved to a highly secure facility within Cheyenne Mountain. Ent AFB became the Ent Annex to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in 1975, and the facility was closed the following year.

The Ent Credit Union was named in his honor. Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8298 in Ent's hometown of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, is named "Major General Uzal G. Ent" to honor his memory.