Ralph Francis Stearley was a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 officer. He is best known as a general in the United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Stearly was born at Brazil, Indiana

Brazil, Indiana

Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, in 1898. He graduated from the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry on November 1, 1918. He transferred to the Air Service in 1925 and commanded the IX Tactical Air Command during World War II, supporting the United States First Army during combat operations in Europe.

Education

After graduation he remained at the academy until the following July, when he made a tour of battlefields in Europe. Upon his return to the United States in October 1919, he entered the Cavalry School at Fort Riley

Fort Riley

Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, from which he graduated the following July. He then joined the 4th Cavalry at Fort Brown

Fort Brown

Fort Brown was a military post of the United States Army in Texas during the later half of 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.-Early years:...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

He entered Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 in New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

, in August 1921 and after completing the communications engineering course in June 1922 was assigned to the 4th Cavalry at Fort McIntosh

Fort McIntosh (Texas)

Fort McIntosh was a military base in Laredo, Webb County, Texas, that existed from 1849 to 1946.Fort McIntosh was established in 1849 to guard the Texas frontier at the site of a strategicriver crossing...

, Texas. In March 1923 he joined the 1st Signal Troop of the 1st Cavalry at Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...

, Texas.

Early career

In March 1925 he was transferred to the Air Service

United States Army Air Service

The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...

 and went to Brooks Field

Brooks City-Base

Brooks City-Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio.In 2002 Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Development Authority as part of a unique project between local, state,...

, Texas, for training at the Primary Flying School. In September of that year he was transferred to Kelly Field

Kelly Air Force Base

Kelly Field Annex and is a former United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, the runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of it was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio...

, Texas, where he attended the Advanced Flying School. Upon graduation in March 1926, earning his rating of Airplane Pilot

U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Ratings

U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", The standard by which flight status has been defined in law, executive orders, and regulations...

, he remained at Kelly Field for duty with the 3rd Attack Group.

3d Operations Group

The 3d Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3d Wing. It is stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and is assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force....

He was ordered to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 in July 1928 for duty with the 4th Composite Group at Nichols Field

Nichols Field

Nichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay City and Parañaque City, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. During the World War II era, it was the location of the Far East Air Force's U.S. 20th Air Base Group. Also, based here was Troop F of the U.S. 26th Cavalry...

. Upon returning to the United States in July 1930, he was again assigned to the 3rd Attack Group, now at Fort Crockett

Fort Crockett

Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlookingthe Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay,...

, Texas, where he commanded the 13th Attack Squadron. In February 1934 he went to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, for duty with the Army Air Corps Mail Operations

Air Mail Scandal

The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a congressional investigation of a 1930 meeting , between Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown and the executives of the top airlines, and to the disastrous...

, and in August of that year he entered the Air Corps Tactical School

Air Corps Tactical School

The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...

 at Maxwell Field

Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. In September 1935 he entered the Command and General Staff School

Command and General Staff College

The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...

 at Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...

, Kansas. He graduated the following June, at which time he returned to Maxwell Field for a two-year tour as an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School. In July and August 1938 he attended the Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal

Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, after which he returned to Maxwell Field.

In May 1940 he became assistant executive officer in the Training and Operations Division of the Office of the Chief of Air Corps in Washington, which later became the Flying Training Command.

World War II

During April 1942 he served on the Canadian-American Military Board and in June of that year was appointed chief of the Air Group of the Military Intelligence Service of the War Department General Staff

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He became director of Air Support at Army Air Forces headquarters in January 1943 and the following May assumed command of the I Air Support Command

III Reconnaissance Command

The III Reconnaissance Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...

 at Morris Field, N.C., which was soon redesignated the I Tactical Air Division.

In April 1944 he joined the Ninth Air Force

Ninth Air Force

The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....

 in the European theater

European Theater of Operations

The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

 as A-3 (chief of operations). The following August he became assistant chief of staff for G-3 of the newly-organized First Allied Airborne Army

First Allied Airborne Army

The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western...

, and in April 1945 was appointed commanding general of the IX Tactical Air Command

IX Tactical Air Command

The IX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Camp Shanks, New York...

 of the Ninth Air Force, which operated in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Northern Germany

Northern Germany

- Geography :The key terrain features of North Germany are the marshes along the coastline of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the ground moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs, and Luch...

. The following September he became commander of the Air Section, Fifteenth Army Theater General Board, in the European theater.

Post-war

He returned to Air Force headquarters in January 1946 for duty as deputy chief of the Legislative and Liaison Division of the War Department General Staff. Two years later, he was appointed director of the Legislative and Liaison Division of the Directorate of Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

United States Secretary of the Air Force

The Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...

.

He was named commanding general of the Fourteenth Air Force

Fourteenth Air Force

The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....

 at Orlando Air Force Base, Fla., in July 1948 and retained that position when the 14th Air Force was moved to Robins Air Force Base

Robins Air Force Base

Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, SSE of Macon, Georgia, and about SSE of Atlanta, Georgia...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, in October 1949.

In July 1950 he was appointed commanding general of the Twentieth Air Force

Twentieth Air Force

The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...

 at Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base

, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...

, Okinawa.

Awards and commendations

General Stearley was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and the Commendation Ribbon. His foreign decorations include the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur and Croix de Guerre avec Palme, the Order of Leopold (Belgium), Croix de Guerre avec Palme, and the Netherlands Order of Orange Nassau, Degree of Commander.

He was rated a command pilot, combat observer and aircraft observer.