Before diving into the heart of this week's post, I wanted to share some fascinating news that's been released by the PHMC (you know, the folks who put up these markers I chase). As part of the celebrations for America's 250th anniversary in 2026, they're going to be organizing some of the historical markers into "trails" according to certain themes. These include We the People, for "stories of identity, belonging, and community," and Unfinished Revolutions, for "ongoing struggles for justice, equity, and freedom." The trails will be announced quarterly, starting this fall, and will be a significant reminder of Pennsylvania's place in our country's history. Check out all the details here!
In other, arguably less exciting news, my longtime readers might remember that this is my birthday week. I am a lot older than I like to think and a lot younger than my body sometimes feels. I was hoping to finish the first marker book in time for the occasion, as a gift to myself, but I've still got a couple chapters to go so I probably won't quite make it. But we're celebrating by going to Knoebels and probably grabbing a few more markers along the way. I hope that you'll celebrate the occasion by doing something nice for yourself. (If you want to do something nice for me as well, consider going back and reading older posts to bump up my hit count for the month!)
As for this week's quest, we're heading to beautiful Berks County, where Boyertown was the birthplace of one of the country's foremost Air Force personnel. You might have heard of him; I'll admit that I never did until I found his marker.
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| The marker stands in a small park at the intersection of West Second Street and South Reading Avenue |
The second thing is that he was commonly known by a nickname. That's not so unusual. His nickname, however, was rather odd. He attended West Point Academy thanks to the influence of his father, who was a Pennsylvania state senator and newspaper printer. While he was there, Carl was given the nickname of "Tooey," which makes absolutely no sense outside of context. Apparently there was another West Point cadet who, like Carl, had red hair, and the two young men resembled one another. This other cadet's last name was Toohey, so Carl became known as "Tooey" because of their similar appearances. To be honest, the nickname doesn't make a whole lot of sense within context, either. Maybe you had to be there. I think I'm just going to stick with Carl.
Anyway, Carl finished up at West Point in 1914, graduating with a rank of second lieutenant of Infantry. He had a couple years before the United States got involved with World War I, so he spent some time serving in Hawaii, California, and Mexico. By the time we joined the war, he had worked his way up to the rank of captain and received training as a pilot. In the war itself, he served with the American Expeditionary Forces, becoming the Officer in Charge at the American Aviation School in France. He spent an entire three weeks taking part in war action, as a pilot with the 13th Aero Squadron; he shot down three enemy planes, for which he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross and the rank of major. Also during the war, in 1917, he married his sweetheart, Ruth Harrison; the couple had three daughters, Katherine, Rebecca, and Carla.
After the war ended, Carl continued his service. He joined the Air Corps, which was the forerunner to our modern Air Force, and set an aviation record by flying a plane called the Question Mark (no, really) for more than 150 hours. I presume these hours were not consecutive, since that would mean he was flying for more than six days straight, but I honestly don't know for sure. Maybe they were. Whatever the case, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the achievement.
Then along came World War II, and he happened to be present for the Battle of Britain in 1940; now a colonel, he was in England for several weeks as a special military observer, which - combined with that new second A in his last name - led some people to mistakenly think he might be a German spy. He reportedly took this in good humor. As the United States was drawn into war once again, Carl was named the commander of Air Force Combat Command, and given the rank of major general. He was given command of a number of other air forces throughout the course of the war, eventually landing in the position of commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe. This placed him directly under the command of Dwight Eisenhower, to whom he proposed a little something called the Oil Plan. This was a strategic aerial offensive which targeted facilities providing the Nazis with oil. Because of this, Eisenhower later described Carl as being one of the two American generals who contributed the most to the Allied victory in Europe. Carl was also the one who directed the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was present for the surrenders of the Germans and the Japanese.
Following the war, Carl wasn't quite ready to relax. He became Commanding General of the Army Air Forces in 1946, and when the Air Force was formally designated as an independent branch of the Armed Forces the following year, he was named the first Chief of Staff. The public domain image of Carl seen here, courtesy of WikiCommons, dates from around that time. He retired in June of 1948, with a final rank of four-star general and a list of awards that's roughly as long as my arm, but continued to serve on the Committee of Senior Advisors to the Air Force Chief of Staff until his death. He also worked as the military affairs editor of Newsweek magazine for several years, and was the first President of the Air Force Historical Foundation. He died of heart failure at Walter Reed Hospital on July 14, 1974, and was buried at the Air Force Academy cemetery in Colorado.
Carl has had a number of memorials dedicated to him in the years since his passing. These include Spaatz Island in Antarctica, the Civil Air Patrol's General Carl A. Spaatz Award, and the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Trophy for Outstanding Air Refueling Squadron in the Air Force. He's been inducted posthumously into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame and the Airlift/Tanker Association Hall of Fame. Perhaps most notably, his hometown established the General Carl Spaatz National USAAF Museum in 2021; this unique place, which of course is located on General Spaatz Avenue, is a "living museum concept" which "offers an enhanced, immersive experience" that lets visitors experience history in a personal way. It contains just ten exhibits, but six of these are interactive experiences, including the Mission Briefing Room, the Gear-Up Gallery, and escape rooms which take participants back to World War II. The museum is open every week, Thursday through Sunday, though the escape rooms are only open on Friday and Saturday and require reservations.
Carl A. Spaatz at the Historical Marker Database
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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