Newly-found photographs and advanced research shed light on the Tennessee farm boy’s initial foray into the world of aviation
Editor’s note: I received an email from longtime contributor Edward Phillips excitedly sharing that he’d tracked down rare photographs of Walter H. Beech during World War I. Ed’s hope is that the photographs paired with his thorough research will help correct misinformation about how Walter’s career began, including inaccurate reports that Walter was a flight instructor during the war.
Of the two sons born to Cornelius and Tommie Ann Beech on their farm near Pulaski, Tennessee, the youngest, Walter Herschel, grew tired of working in the fields. In 1911, when he turned 20 years of age, Walter bid farewell to the farmer’s life and, with his parents’ blessing, sought new opportunities in the big city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He quickly gained employment with the White Motor Company located on Minneapolis’ 10th Street South, working initially as a journeyman automobile mechanic. Thanks in part to his familiarity with farm equipment, his technical prowess soon became evident to his supervisors.
Walter, however, was also trained as a professional automobile chauffeur. Mr. C.M. Havilland, manager of the garage, praised Walter for being “sober and industrious” as well as having evolved into a “first-class mechanic and an excellent driver.” As part of his duties at the company, Walter served as a chauffeur and mechanic for the Union Investment Company of Minneapolis, with primary responsibility for maintaining the expensive Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac and Packard limousines used daily to transport senior management. During his years of service, Walter was hailed by the president of Union Investment as “one of the best mechanics and chauffeurs I have ever had.”
It was during these years in Minneapolis that Walter became interested in “flying machines.” His attraction to “aviating” was apparently so strong that he obtained an old biplane powered by an inline engine and taught himself how to fly the machine. By 1914 the local press reported he had made flights over the city.
In the wake of war in Europe, one source claims Walter was sent to France, possibly in 1915, as a technical representative of the White Motor Company to oversee the operation, maintenance and repair of a fleet of U.S. Army trucks. That episode in Walter’s life, however, has never been substantiated and remains a mystery. By 1917 he did return to America and continued his employment with the garage.
When America entered World War I in April 1917, the nation ranked well below its European counterparts in terms of overall military strength and capabilities. The federal government quickly mobilized America’s vast industrial resources to help meet its allies’ desperate need for the weapons of war.
In addition to a massive construction program aimed at building thousands of airplanes and aero engines, there was an equally desperate need for pilots. In less than one year the U.S. Army built a series of airfields to train fledgling cadets before they were sent overseas to fight alongside the British, French and forces against the Germans and their allies.
In 1917 a young Walter Herschel Beech contemplated whether he should join the Army and “be of some service to his country.” In August of that year, he chose to resign his position with the White Motor Company and enlist in the Army Signal Corps. After completing basic and technical training he was given the rank of sergeant on Nov. 9, 1917, and assigned to the 328th Aero Squadron based at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas.
Early in 1918, he was transferred to the Signal Corps Aviation School at Rich Field, Waco, Texas. During the next two years he was given increasing responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the aero engine repair and overhaul workshops at the Army base. He exhibited “splendid initiative, untiring zeal and exceptional worth and ability both in executive and administrative capacities” according to Maj. John G. Whitesides, commanding officer of the 328th Aero Squadron.
With Walter’s extensive technical experience and expertise in dealing with automobile and truck engines, coupled with his specific military training in the maintenance and overhaul of aero engines, Whitesides was quick to recognize the 27-year-old sergeant’s overall abilities and considered him to be “an airplane motor expert.”
As a result of the major’s assessment, Walter was assigned to Capt. Charles R. Forrest, who oversaw all airplane maintenance at Rich Field. He gave Walter responsibility for the maintenance, overhaul and ground testing of Curtiss OX-5, Wright Hispano-Suiza and Liberty engines. The OX-5 and Hispano-Suiza powered the Curtiss JN-4D and JN-6H, respectively, and the Liberty was installed in the de Havilland DH-4 biplanes that were operated in small numbers by the flying school at Rich Field.
When the war came to an end in November 1918, Walter remained in the Army Signal Corps although he was informed that his previous position with the White Motor Company was still available to him. In recognition of his achievements in wartime service, Walter was promoted to sergeant first class on Dec. 19, 1918. He continued his duties at Rich Field and, with recommendations from squadron officers including Whitesides and Forrest, Walter was eventually selected for training as an enlisted aviator.
On June 18, 1919, Walter climbed into the aft cockpit of a JN-4D and received his first hour of dual instruction. Progressing steadily, Walter soloed a Jenny on July 9 after completing 12 hours of instruction under the tutelage of Lt. Wick Chamlee and Lt. William F. Cottrell, and in October he flew a JN-4D to Dallas, Texas, on his first cross-country flight. After completing the Army’s flying course in 52.5 hours, Sgt. Beech was officially designated an Army enlisted aviator on Oct. 27, 1919. Walter was one of 13 pilots who ferried 134 airplanes from Rich Field to Love Field in Dallas during a 50-day period spanning October and November 1919. By May he had logged more than 163 hours in the air.
Walter realized that there was little chance for promotion in the post-war Signal Corps. He was honorably discharged in June 1920 with a letter of reference from Whitesides that described Walter as “a most capable and efficient non-commissioned officer” whose departure from the service “leaves a vacancy which by no means will be easy to fill.” In addition, the major predicted that Walter “will make a success of any enterprise he may see fit to undertake.”
His prophecy would prove to be accurate.
See below for rare photos of Walter’s military career.
PHOTO COURTESY: THE MUSEUM OF NORTH TEXAS HISTORY
