St. Clair Streett
Encyclopedia
St. Clair Streett known as "Bill", was a United States Air Force
(USAF) major general and writer who first organized and led the Strategic Air Command
(SAC). Streett served as aide to air power advocate General Billy Mitchell, and was viewed by General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold
as his own personal "troubleshooter".
Earlier in his career, Streett served in France during the last stages of World War I
. In 1920, he was awarded the Mackay Trophy
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
for leading a squadron of U.S. airmen on a pioneering air voyage from New York City
to Nome, Alaska
and back. Streett wrote of his squadron's difficulties in an article for National Geographic. Streett assisted Mitchell during the famous bombing demonstration against battleship
s. After participating in several air races, he made an exploratory flight to extreme altitude during which he experienced frozen flight controls, and then wrote a story about the adventure for Popular Science
.
During World War II
, Streett commanded various training units in Hawaii
, Florida
and Colorado
, solving logistical, training, and personnel problems. In Washington, D.C. he led the Theater Group of the Operations Division in the Office of the Chief of Staff where he expressed grave misgivings about the role of General Douglas MacArthur
in the Pacific War
—some two years later Streett was sent to the South West Pacific Area to work under MacArthur commanding the Thirteenth Air Force
during its first offensive drive.
With victory certain, Streett returned to the States
to organize for Arnold the Continental Air Forces (CAF), and then to expand its operation across the country. Streett retained command when the CAF turned into the SAC, and continued to experience friction with MacArthur. After retiring from the United States Air Force
in 1952, Streett was named to the Sarnoff Commission, a presidential formation tasked with trimming unnecessary military spending.
the first child of Shadrach Watkins Streett and his wife, the former Lydia Ann Coggins. Streett was named for his grandfather, Dr. St. Clair Streett of Maryland. St. Clair is a family name originating from the mid-1700s when a Martha St. Clair married a John Streett in Maryland.
St. Clair Streett joined the United States Army
after high school. By 1916 he was a sergeant in the Signal Corps, Enlisted Reserve., This is after the start of the Great War in Europe 1914-1918 (World War One), and before America's entry into the war. In December 1916, Streett signed up as an aviation cadet and was trained at the Curtis School at Newport News, Virginia
and at Wright Field
in Ohio. America entered the world war in April 1917. On September 27, 1917, St. Clair Streett was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Signal Officers' Reserve Corps.
In December 1917 Streett was posted to Issoudun
, France, as an air training instructor. The majority of the United States Army troops and pilots would arrive later, in 1918. He was then assigned to the Fifth Pursuit Group operating out of Saint-Rémy
, France. Later after the Allied victory in November 1918, he served in Germany with the American occupation forces, and returned to the United States in August 1919. On July 1, 1920, Streett was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Regular Army Officers' Reserve Corps, Air Service.
, Streett served as the flight commander of the "Black Wolf Squadron" for an exploratory flight made by the Air Service between July 15 and October 20, 1920, in which four De Havilland DH-4B biplanes and eight men flew 9000 mile in 112 hours of flying time from New York City
to Nome, Alaska
. Afterward, Streett speculated, "Some day this trip may be made overnight—who knows?" For this pioneering effort demonstrating that Alaska could be linked by air to the United States, Streett was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
and the Mackay Trophy
, the later given to the "most meritorious flight of the year" made by a U.S. military airman.
, Streett was closely connected. Mitchell sent Streett to Air Corps headquarters to inform his superior Charles T. Menoher
that the battleships could not be sunk as planned, with the bombers flying at 10000 feet (3,048 m). Streett informed Menoher that Mitchell intended to break the rules and fly much lower to ensure a newsworthy sinking, but that the Navy should not know of this change. During the June and July bombing demonstrations, Streett flew in the back seat as navigator in Osprey, Mitchell's personal DH-4B heavy bomber as they bombed from heights of about 2000 foot. Mitchell also planned to sink the target ship with several very close near-miss explosions that would cause severe damage to the ship's hull below the waterline. The US Navy's rules for the bombing limited the actual number of direct hits allowed on the target ship. The US Navy had intended to inspect the damage to these ships after the bombings, and US Navy gunfire to learn as much as possible about the effects of shell & bomb hits on battleship armor and structure. The target ship, the former German World War One battleship Ostfriesland
was sunk with only a few direct hits, and several intentional very near-misses. The US Navy leadership was shocked and angry over the target's sinking. In late July after the battleship Ostfriesland
had been sunk, Mitchell carried out a 19-bomber mock raid against Manhattan
. About the stunt, Streett wrote an article entitled "14th Heavy Bombardment Squadron Attacks New York City" for the Army and Navy aviation magazine U.S. Air Service.
During this time, Streett wrote an article about the Alaskan venture entitled "The First Alaskan Air Expedition" for the National Geographic magazine, the issue appearing in May 1922. In July, he became commanding officer of the headquarters detachment at Bolling Field.
on Long Island
. On October 14, 1922, Streett participated in the third Pulitzer race flown out of Selfridge Field near Detroit but an oil line burst in his Verville-Sperry R-3
and forced him to abandon the race on the fifth and final lap.
In January 1924, Streett was named assistant chief of the Airways Section in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps. In this role he helped gather prevailing weather data, airfield locations, maps and reports of flying conditions for the Air Corps men undertaking the first aerial circumnavigation
during March–September 1924. He planned for and ordered caches of oil and fuel to be kept at likely locations during the multistage voyage. Streett's preparations were praised as "very complete and of greatest assistance" in carrying out the feat. In September 1925, he entered the Air Corps Tactical School
at Langley Field, Virginia, graduating the following June.
on October 10, 1928, Streett and Albert William Stevens
achieved an unofficial altitude record for aircraft carrying more than one person: 37854 feet (11,537.9 m); less than 1000 feet (304.8 m) short of the official single-person altitude record. At that height they measured a temperature of -78 F, cold enough to freeze the aircraft controls. With frozen controls, Streett was unable to reduce altitude or to turn off the engine until some twenty minutes later when it ran out of fuel, after which he piloted the fragile experimental biplane down in a gentle glide and made a deadstick landing
. An article about the feat appeared in Popular Science
in May 1929, entitled "Stranded—Seven Miles Up!" During July 1932, he was on special assignment as assistant in the preparation of data on performance tests of aircraft.
Streett spent the following three years at service schools. He entered the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth
, Kansas, In August 1932. After graduation In June 1934, he began a course at the Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, which he completed in August. He was then transferred to the Army War College, from which he graduated in June 1935.
Streett's next assignment was with the War Department
General Staff where he served as a member of the Miscellaneous and Operations Section of the War Plans Division. He became a student at the Naval War College
at Newport, Rhode Island
, in June 1939, and in July 1940 reported to Hickam Field, Hawaii, for duty as commanding officer of the 11th Bombardment Group, where the group operated B-18 Bolo
medium bombers. On December 1, the 11th was redesignated a heavy bombardment group, and Streett prepared them to receive B-17 Flying Fortress heavies, the first ones arriving in April 1941 with Lieutenant Colonel Albert Francis Hegenberger
to command them. Streett shifted to become plans and training officer for the Hawaiian Department at Fort Shafter
, and then was attached to the Army Air Forces division of the War Department as deputy chief of operations.
(USAAF) Chief of Staff Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
proposed to George Marshall
in October 1942 that an Army man be named supreme commander for the whole Allied effort in the Pacific, suggesting Douglas MacArthur
, Lesley McNair or airman Joseph T. McNarney
for the position, Marshall without comment passed the request to his staff for analysis. There, Albert Wedemeyer
and Streett examined the problem. Wedemeyer, an Army officer, thought the supreme commander should be an airman; either Arnold or McNarney. Streett, too, was in favor of one supreme commander but he recognized the political challenges—he projected that the president
would have to make the appointment, not a committee of military men prone to interservice rivalry. For supreme commander in the Pacific, Streett suggested McNarney or Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, depending on whether an air or a naval strategy was considered most important. About MacArthur, Streett wrote that "[a]t the risk of being considered naive and just plain country-boy dumb," he thought that MacArthur would have to be removed from the Pacific in order for there to be any sound cooperation in the theater. Streett suggested MacArthur be appointed ambassador to "Russia" or some similar position of high stature but low military influence. Of this analysis work, nothing was enacted; Marshall did not bring the problem and its suggested solutions to either the Navy or the president.
, a medium bomber
training unit based at Tampa, Florida
. The unit had seen enough B-26 Marauder
training accidents that grim-humored airmen coined the phrase "one a day in Tampa Bay." Streett implemented a tightening of training policy to reduce losses through human error, and he initiated research into solutions for the technical problems the bomber was having. Regardless, the oft-repeated line was decidedly not true: ignoring crashes into land, 13 Marauders ditched
in Tampa Bay in the 14 months between the first one on August 5, 1942 to the final one on October 8, 1943.
At the time, Tampa was rated the worst U.S. city for syphilis
infections among USAAF personnel, and the city with the most rampant prostitution
. USAAF Captain Robert Dyer, charged with protecting the country's airmen from venereal disease
(VD), had no success getting Tampa authorities to address the problem. When Streett arrived at his command and saw the extent of the VD crisis at MacDill Field
, he threatened to close certain areas of Tampa to all military personnel if the city's police were unable to curb prostitution. This action would have ruined a number of legitimate local businesses, and a campaign was initiated to arrest prostitutes and to bar unmarried couples from renting a room together. Police arrests, however, were limited to misdemeanor charges of vagrancy or loitering—there were no state or local laws specific to prostitution. In response to complaints from Streett and other military leaders, in January 1943 Florida's Department of Health mounted a statewide media blitz encouraging testing and treatment for VD. Later that year, the state passed a law giving police wide latitude to arrest prostitutes for hire and also unmarried persons participating in "licentious sexual intercourse without hire."
at Peterson Field
, Colorado Springs, Colorado
, training heavy bomber
crews to fly the B-24 Liberator
.
In January 1944, he was assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area and assumed command of the Thirteenth Air Force
when it was consolidated into an offensive stance in June. Streett served under George Kenney
, who was the USAAF theater commander subordinate to MacArthur. At the end of September and in early October, Streett mounted a series of 2500 miles (4,023.4 km) round trip air raids by heavy bombers flying from Hollandia
, New Guinea
to attack Balikpapan
, a major center of Japanese petroleum processing and storage. In U.S. media reports, the raids were compared to the Ploesti raids of 1943, with strong Japanese resistance on the second raid said to be responsible for downing seven B-24s—a loss of 70 aircrew. Streett guided the Thirteenth through their part of the initial phases of the Philippines Campaign, in concert with the Fifth Air Force
as part of United States Far East Air Forces.
(SAC) in March 1946, he retained his nominal position as deputy commander, and actually commanded the new organization until October when Kenney's prior obligations to the United Nations
came to an end and he could finally take the reins of the SAC as originally intended by General Carl Andrew Spaatz.
On October 22, 1946, Streett delivered a lecture entitled The Strategic Air Command to the Air War College
at Maxwell Air Force Base
in Alabama. He revealed to the students that the SAC was not yet very powerful—only two strike groups were fully operational and that three months in the future after a rush of preparation, there still would be only four B-29 Superfortress
groups and two long-range fighter aircraft
groups. This was in contrast to the then-current public relations statements by the SAC which proclaimed "quick retaliation will be our answer [to any future aggressor] in the form of an aerial knockout..." Streett described how General MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Far East Command, refused to release to SAC the control of one very heavy bombardment group and one very long-range reconnaissance group of the Twentieth Air Force
. Streett offered his opinion that the SAC should stage into the Far East and take operational control of those units.
In January 1947, Streett was assigned to the adjutant general's office as chief of the Military Personnel Procurement Service. He was appointed the air inspector in the newly-established Office of the Inspector General in January 1948, and two months later became deputy inspector general. Streett was named deputy commander of Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
, Ohio, in October 1949. In December 1951, he became special assistant to the commanding general of Air Materiel Command. Streett retired from the USAF in February 1952 with the rank of Major General, having flown numerous aircraft from early biplanes to the early jets.
In October 1952, Streett was named to the Citizens Advisory Commission on Manpower Utilization in the Armed Services, popularly known as the Sarnoff Commission for its chairman Brigadier General David Sarnoff
, the long-serving chairman of RCA
. Defense Secretary Robert A. Lovett
established the commission for the purpose of identifying and eliminating excess military spending without reducing combat effectiveness. Robert Wood Johnson II
, chairman of Johnson & Johnson
, resigned from the commission because of the strain it took on his health, but he noted that the USAF represented by Commissioner Streett was "cooperative and open to greater progress" with the commission, directly contrasting with the U.S. Navy
which he rated as "militantly resistant." The Sarnoff Commission's 85-page report was delivered to the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
and Charles Erwin Wilson
, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
's new defense secretary, on February 17, 1953. It called for a ten percent reduction in military spending, amounting to the elimination of 500,000 civilian and military personnel and the cutting of $5B from the military's annual budget. After studying the report, Wilson appointed a commission to heed its main points and streamline the Defense Department so that it could more efficiently wage a war. Instead of Streett, Wilson selected retired General Spaatz to represent the USAF.
at West Point with the Class of 1949 and took part in the infantry Battle of Old Baldy
during the Korean War
. General Streett's son, St. Clair Streett, Jr. married Edith Peake Boatner (youngest daughter of USAF Lt. Gen. Bryant L. Boatner) in 1954 and had four children: St. Clair "Dan" Streett III, born in California in 1955, who graduated from Virginia Military Institute
in 1977, USAF Colonel Bryant Boatner Streett (VMI 1978) born at Fort Belvoir
, Virginia in 1956, Monica Page Streett born in 1959 in Nurnberg, Germany, and Emily Williams Streett born in 1961 at West Point, NY. General Streett's son retired from the US Army after 21 years of service in the Infantry and the Engineers. Besides serving in combat in Korea, and in South Vietnam as an advisor, St. Clair Jr. had participated in the US Army Corps of Engineer construction projects for NASA (in the race to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade) at Cape Caniveral, Florida and Huntsville, Alabama. "Bill" Streett, Jr. married again in 1980 to Anitra Mae "Sue" Rustmeyer—the two had a daughter, Sarah Mae Streett, born the next year.
Major General Streett died on September 28, 1970 at Andrews Air Force Base
in Maryland
. His wife (at age 104 years) died on October 17, 1999 and was buried with him at Arlington National Cemetery
.
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...
(USAF) major general and writer who first organized and led the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC). Streett served as aide to air power advocate General Billy Mitchell, and was viewed by General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
as his own personal "troubleshooter".
Earlier in his career, Streett served in France during the last stages of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1920, he was awarded the Mackay Trophy
MacKay trophy
The Mackay Trophy was established on 27 January 1911 by Clarence Hungerford Mackay, who was then head of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company and the Commercial Cable Company. Originally, aviators could compete for the trophy annually under rules made each year or the War Department could award the...
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
for leading a squadron of U.S. airmen on a pioneering air voyage from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
and back. Streett wrote of his squadron's difficulties in an article for National Geographic. Streett assisted Mitchell during the famous bombing demonstration against battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s. After participating in several air races, he made an exploratory flight to extreme altitude during which he experienced frozen flight controls, and then wrote a story about the adventure for Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
.
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...
, Streett commanded various training units in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, solving logistical, training, and personnel problems. In Washington, D.C. he led the Theater Group of the Operations Division in the Office of the Chief of Staff where he expressed grave misgivings about the role of General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
—some two years later Streett was sent to the South West Pacific Area to work under MacArthur commanding the Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
during its first offensive drive.
With victory certain, Streett returned to the States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to organize for Arnold the Continental Air Forces (CAF), and then to expand its operation across the country. Streett retained command when the CAF turned into the SAC, and continued to experience friction with MacArthur. After retiring from the United States 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...
in 1952, Streett was named to the Sarnoff Commission, a presidential formation tasked with trimming unnecessary military spending.
Early career
St. Clair Streett was born 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....
the first child of Shadrach Watkins Streett and his wife, the former Lydia Ann Coggins. Streett was named for his grandfather, Dr. St. Clair Streett of Maryland. St. Clair is a family name originating from the mid-1700s when a Martha St. Clair married a John Streett in Maryland.
St. Clair Streett joined the 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...
after high school. By 1916 he was a sergeant in the Signal Corps, Enlisted Reserve., This is after the start of the Great War in Europe 1914-1918 (World War One), and before America's entry into the war. In December 1916, Streett signed up as an aviation cadet and was trained at the Curtis School at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
and at Wright Field
Wright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
in Ohio. America entered the world war in April 1917. On September 27, 1917, St. Clair Streett was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Signal Officers' Reserve Corps.
In December 1917 Streett was posted to Issoudun
Issoudun
Issoudun is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is also referred to as Issoundun, which is the ancient name.-History:...
, France, as an air training instructor. The majority of the United States Army troops and pilots would arrive later, in 1918. He was then assigned to the Fifth Pursuit Group operating out of Saint-Rémy
Saint-Rémy
Saint-Rémy or Saint-Remy is the name or part of the name of many communes in France:*Saint-Rémy, Ain, in the Ain département*Saint-Rémy, Aveyron, in the Aveyron département*Saint-Rémy, Calvados, in the Calvados département...
, France. Later after the Allied victory in November 1918, he served in Germany with the American occupation forces, and returned to the United States in August 1919. On July 1, 1920, Streett was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Regular Army Officers' Reserve Corps, Air Service.
Alaska
In early 1920, Streett made a five-week, 4000 miles (6,437.4 km) survey flight to assess field conditions in eleven states. Then, at the suggestion of General Billy Mitchell who wished to strengthen the American air presence in Alaska TerritoryAlaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
, Streett served as the flight commander of the "Black Wolf Squadron" for an exploratory flight made by the Air Service between July 15 and October 20, 1920, in which four De Havilland DH-4B biplanes and eight men flew 9000 mile in 112 hours of flying time from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
. Afterward, Streett speculated, "Some day this trip may be made overnight—who knows?" For this pioneering effort demonstrating that Alaska could be linked by air to the United States, Streett was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
and the Mackay Trophy
MacKay trophy
The Mackay Trophy was established on 27 January 1911 by Clarence Hungerford Mackay, who was then head of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company and the Commercial Cable Company. Originally, aviators could compete for the trophy annually under rules made each year or the War Department could award the...
, the later given to the "most meritorious flight of the year" made by a U.S. military airman.
General Billy Mitchell
Following this successful publicity flight, Streett was appointed assistant to General Billy Mitchell, the deputy chief of the Air Service. When Mitchell formed the 1st Provisional Air Brigade in May 1921 for the purpose of demonstrating that a bomber could sink a battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, Streett was closely connected. Mitchell sent Streett to Air Corps headquarters to inform his superior Charles T. Menoher
Charles T. Menoher
Major General Charles Thomas Menoher was a U.S. Army general, first Chief of the United States Army Air Service, and commanded the U.S. Army Hawaiian Department from 1924-1925...
that the battleships could not be sunk as planned, with the bombers flying at 10000 feet (3,048 m). Streett informed Menoher that Mitchell intended to break the rules and fly much lower to ensure a newsworthy sinking, but that the Navy should not know of this change. During the June and July bombing demonstrations, Streett flew in the back seat as navigator in Osprey, Mitchell's personal DH-4B heavy bomber as they bombed from heights of about 2000 foot. Mitchell also planned to sink the target ship with several very close near-miss explosions that would cause severe damage to the ship's hull below the waterline. The US Navy's rules for the bombing limited the actual number of direct hits allowed on the target ship. The US Navy had intended to inspect the damage to these ships after the bombings, and US Navy gunfire to learn as much as possible about the effects of shell & bomb hits on battleship armor and structure. The target ship, the former German World War One battleship Ostfriesland
SMS Ostfriesland
SMS Ostfriesland "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the second vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Named for the region of East Frisia, Ostfrieslands keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven...
was sunk with only a few direct hits, and several intentional very near-misses. The US Navy leadership was shocked and angry over the target's sinking. In late July after the battleship Ostfriesland
SMS Ostfriesland
SMS Ostfriesland "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the second vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Named for the region of East Frisia, Ostfrieslands keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven...
had been sunk, Mitchell carried out a 19-bomber mock raid against Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. About the stunt, Streett wrote an article entitled "14th Heavy Bombardment Squadron Attacks New York City" for the Army and Navy aviation magazine U.S. Air Service.
During this time, Streett wrote an article about the Alaskan venture entitled "The First Alaskan Air Expedition" for the National Geographic magazine, the issue appearing in May 1922. In July, he became commanding officer of the headquarters detachment at Bolling Field.
Air races
Flying an Army Orenco D on November 27, 1920, Streett finished in fourth place in the first Pulitzer Trophy Air Race, held at Mitchel FieldMitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. On October 14, 1922, Streett participated in the third Pulitzer race flown out of Selfridge Field near Detroit but an oil line burst in his Verville-Sperry R-3
Verville Racer Aircraft
-R-1 Racer:The Verville-Packard R-1 Racer was a military racing aircraft that was based on Alfred Verville's previous VCP-1 design. The R-1 is sometimes known also as the VCP-R or the Verville-Packard 600. The R-1 was the first racing aircraft built for the United States Army Air Corps...
and forced him to abandon the race on the fifth and final lap.
In January 1924, Streett was named assistant chief of the Airways Section in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps. In this role he helped gather prevailing weather data, airfield locations, maps and reports of flying conditions for the Air Corps men undertaking the first aerial circumnavigation
First aerial circumnavigation
The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was conducted in 1924 by a team of aviators of the United States Army Air Service, the precursor of the United States Air Force...
during March–September 1924. He planned for and ordered caches of oil and fuel to be kept at likely locations during the multistage voyage. Streett's preparations were praised as "very complete and of greatest assistance" in carrying out the feat. In September 1925, 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 Langley Field, Virginia, graduating the following June.
Altitude
Streett was transferred to Selfridge Field, Michigan, in August 1926, and appointed commanding officer of the First Pursuit Group Headquarters. He was assigned to Wright Field, Ohio in March 1928 as test pilot and chief of the Flying Branch. Flying the XCO-5Engineering Division TP-1
|-See also:-Bibliography:...
on October 10, 1928, Streett and Albert William Stevens
Albert William Stevens
Albert William Stevens was an officer in the United States Army Air Corps, balloonist and aerial photographer.-Biography:He was born on March 13, 1886 in Belfast, Maine....
achieved an unofficial altitude record for aircraft carrying more than one person: 37854 feet (11,537.9 m); less than 1000 feet (304.8 m) short of the official single-person altitude record. At that height they measured a temperature of -78 F, cold enough to freeze the aircraft controls. With frozen controls, Streett was unable to reduce altitude or to turn off the engine until some twenty minutes later when it ran out of fuel, after which he piloted the fragile experimental biplane down in a gentle glide and made a deadstick landing
Deadstick landing
A deadstick landing, also called a dead-stick landing is a type of forced landing when an aircraft loses all of its propulsive power and is forced to land. The term is often misunderstood, as the flight controls in the majority of aircraft are either fully or partially functional, even with no...
. An article about the feat appeared in Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
in May 1929, entitled "Stranded—Seven Miles Up!" During July 1932, he was on special assignment as assistant in the preparation of data on performance tests of aircraft.
Streett spent the following three years at service schools. He entered the Command and General Staff School 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, In August 1932. After graduation In June 1934, he began a course at the Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, which he completed in August. He was then transferred to the Army War College, from which he graduated in June 1935.
Streett's next assignment was with the War Department
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...
General Staff where he served as a member of the Miscellaneous and Operations Section of the War Plans Division. He became a student at the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, in June 1939, and in July 1940 reported to Hickam Field, Hawaii, for duty as commanding officer of the 11th Bombardment Group, where the group operated B-18 Bolo
B-18 Bolo
The Douglas B-18 Bolo was a United States Army Air Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force bomber of the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was built by Douglas Aircraft Company and based on its DC-2 and was developed to replace the Martin B-10....
medium bombers. On December 1, the 11th was redesignated a heavy bombardment group, and Streett prepared them to receive B-17 Flying Fortress heavies, the first ones arriving in April 1941 with Lieutenant Colonel Albert Francis Hegenberger
Albert Francis Hegenberger
Albert Francis Hegenberger was a Major General in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record in 1927.-Biography:He was born on September 30, 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts....
to command them. Streett shifted to become plans and training officer for the Hawaiian Department at Fort Shafter
Fort Shafter
Fort Shafter is in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, extending up the interfluve between Kalihi and Moanalua valleys, as well as onto the coastal plain at Māpunapuna. Fort Shafter is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific Command, the MACOM of U.S. Army forces in...
, and then was attached to the Army Air Forces division of the War Department as deputy chief of operations.
World War II
In March 1942, Streett became chief of the Theater Group of the Operations Division in the Office of the Chief of Staff. When United States Army Air ForcesUnited 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....
(USAAF) Chief of Staff Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
proposed to George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
in October 1942 that an Army man be named supreme commander for the whole Allied effort in the Pacific, suggesting Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, Lesley McNair or airman Joseph T. McNarney
Joseph T. McNarney
Joseph Taggart McNarney was a United States Army Air Forces general officer who served as Military Governor of occupied Germany.-Early years:...
for the position, Marshall without comment passed the request to his staff for analysis. There, Albert Wedemeyer
Albert Coady Wedemeyer
General Albert Coady Wedemeyer was a United States Army commander who served primarily in Asia during World War II. His most notable command was the China theater in the South-East Asia Theater. During the Cold War, Wedemeyer was a chief supporter of the Berlin Airlift.-Early Life and military...
and Streett examined the problem. Wedemeyer, an Army officer, thought the supreme commander should be an airman; either Arnold or McNarney. Streett, too, was in favor of one supreme commander but he recognized the political challenges—he projected that the president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
would have to make the appointment, not a committee of military men prone to interservice rivalry. For supreme commander in the Pacific, Streett suggested McNarney or Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, depending on whether an air or a naval strategy was considered most important. About MacArthur, Streett wrote that "[a]t the risk of being considered naive and just plain country-boy dumb," he thought that MacArthur would have to be removed from the Pacific in order for there to be any sound cooperation in the theater. Streett suggested MacArthur be appointed ambassador to "Russia" or some similar position of high stature but low military influence. Of this analysis work, nothing was enacted; Marshall did not bring the problem and its suggested solutions to either the Navy or the president.
Tampa
In November 1942, Arnold sent Streett to take over command of the Third Air ForceThird Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
, a medium bomber
Medium bomber
A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; the name serves to distinguish them from the larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers...
training unit based at Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. The unit had seen enough B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
training accidents that grim-humored airmen coined the phrase "one a day in Tampa Bay." Streett implemented a tightening of training policy to reduce losses through human error, and he initiated research into solutions for the technical problems the bomber was having. Regardless, the oft-repeated line was decidedly not true: ignoring crashes into land, 13 Marauders ditched
Water landing
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course....
in Tampa Bay in the 14 months between the first one on August 5, 1942 to the final one on October 8, 1943.
At the time, Tampa was rated the worst U.S. city for syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
infections among USAAF personnel, and the city with the most rampant prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. USAAF Captain Robert Dyer, charged with protecting the country's airmen from venereal disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
(VD), had no success getting Tampa authorities to address the problem. When Streett arrived at his command and saw the extent of the VD crisis at MacDill Field
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
, he threatened to close certain areas of Tampa to all military personnel if the city's police were unable to curb prostitution. This action would have ruined a number of legitimate local businesses, and a campaign was initiated to arrest prostitutes and to bar unmarried couples from renting a room together. Police arrests, however, were limited to misdemeanor charges of vagrancy or loitering—there were no state or local laws specific to prostitution. In response to complaints from Streett and other military leaders, in January 1943 Florida's Department of Health mounted a statewide media blitz encouraging testing and treatment for VD. Later that year, the state passed a law giving police wide latitude to arrest prostitutes for hire and also unmarried persons participating in "licentious sexual intercourse without hire."
Heavy bombers
In September 1943, Streett assumed command of the Second Air ForceSecond Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
at Peterson Field
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...
, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, training heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
crews to fly the B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
.
In January 1944, he was assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area and assumed command of the Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
when it was consolidated into an offensive stance in June. Streett served under George Kenney
George Kenney
George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...
, who was the USAAF theater commander subordinate to MacArthur. At the end of September and in early October, Streett mounted a series of 2500 miles (4,023.4 km) round trip air raids by heavy bombers flying from Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
to attack Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
, a major center of Japanese petroleum processing and storage. In U.S. media reports, the raids were compared to the Ploesti raids of 1943, with strong Japanese resistance on the second raid said to be responsible for downing seven B-24s—a loss of 70 aircrew. Streett guided the Thirteenth through their part of the initial phases of the Philippines Campaign, in concert with the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
as part of United States Far East Air Forces.
Postwar career
When Arnold needed to solve a thorny problem, he was known to demand "Where is Bill Streett?" In January 1945 as victory in the war appeared certain, Arnold was faced with postwar reorganization of the Army Air Forces. Arnold ordered Streett to return stateside to form for him the Continental Air Forces (CAF) at Bolling Field. Streett served under Arnold as deputy commander of the CAF, but Arnold held at that time two major commands: Air Staff and CAF, with Air Staff taking his full attention. In effect, Streett was left in charge of CAF. In November 1945, Streett proposed a reorganization of United States air power into separate commands: Eastern and Western air defense commands, a tactical air support command and a training command. His proposal placed strategic bombers in a task force under the commander of the Army Air Forces. When the Continental Air Forces became Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC) in March 1946, he retained his nominal position as deputy commander, and actually commanded the new organization until October when Kenney's prior obligations to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
came to an end and he could finally take the reins of the SAC as originally intended by General Carl Andrew Spaatz.
On October 22, 1946, Streett delivered a lecture entitled The Strategic Air Command to the Air War College
Air War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
at Maxwell Air Force Base
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...
in Alabama. He revealed to the students that the SAC was not yet very powerful—only two strike groups were fully operational and that three months in the future after a rush of preparation, there still would be only four B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
groups and two long-range fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
groups. This was in contrast to the then-current public relations statements by the SAC which proclaimed "quick retaliation will be our answer [to any future aggressor] in the form of an aerial knockout..." Streett described how General MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Far East Command, refused to release to SAC the control of one very heavy bombardment group and one very long-range reconnaissance group 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...
. Streett offered his opinion that the SAC should stage into the Far East and take operational control of those units.
In January 1947, Streett was assigned to the adjutant general's office as chief of the Military Personnel Procurement Service. He was appointed the air inspector in the newly-established Office of the Inspector General in January 1948, and two months later became deputy inspector general. Streett was named deputy commander of Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, Ohio, in October 1949. In December 1951, he became special assistant to the commanding general of Air Materiel Command. Streett retired from the USAF in February 1952 with the rank of Major General, having flown numerous aircraft from early biplanes to the early jets.
In October 1952, Streett was named to the Citizens Advisory Commission on Manpower Utilization in the Armed Services, popularly known as the Sarnoff Commission for its chairman Brigadier General David Sarnoff
David Sarnoff
David Sarnoff was an American businessman and pioneer of American commercial radio and television. He founded the National Broadcasting Company and throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his...
, the long-serving chairman of RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
. Defense Secretary Robert A. Lovett
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. Promoted to the position from deputy secretary of defense Domhoff described Lovett as a "Cold War...
established the commission for the purpose of identifying and eliminating excess military spending without reducing combat effectiveness. Robert Wood Johnson II
Robert Wood Johnson II
Robert Wood "General" Johnson II was an American businessman. He was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I . He turned the family business into one of the world's largest healthcare corporations.- Early life :Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey...
, chairman of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
, resigned from the commission because of the strain it took on his health, but he noted that the USAF represented by Commissioner Streett was "cooperative and open to greater progress" with the commission, directly contrasting with the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
which he rated as "militantly resistant." The Sarnoff Commission's 85-page report was delivered to the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
and Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson , American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he previously worked as CEO for General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.-Early...
, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
's new defense secretary, on February 17, 1953. It called for a ten percent reduction in military spending, amounting to the elimination of 500,000 civilian and military personnel and the cutting of $5B from the military's annual budget. After studying the report, Wilson appointed a commission to heed its main points and streamline the Defense Department so that it could more efficiently wage a war. Instead of Streett, Wilson selected retired General Spaatz to represent the USAF.
Personal life
In 1922, Streett married Mary Lois Williams (1895–1999), a personal friend of "Hap" Arnold and his wife "Bee". The Streetts had one child, a son in 1927, St. Clair Streett, Jr., also nicknamed "Bill", who graduated from the United States Military AcademyUnited 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 with the Class of 1949 and took part in the infantry Battle of Old Baldy
Battle of Old Baldy
The Battle of Old Baldy refers to a series of five engagements over a period of 10 months for Hill 266 in west-central Korea, though there was also vicious fighting both before and after these engagements.-Background:...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. General Streett's son, St. Clair Streett, Jr. married Edith Peake Boatner (youngest daughter of USAF Lt. Gen. Bryant L. Boatner) in 1954 and had four children: St. Clair "Dan" Streett III, born in California in 1955, who graduated from Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
in 1977, USAF Colonel Bryant Boatner Streett (VMI 1978) born at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
, Virginia in 1956, Monica Page Streett born in 1959 in Nurnberg, Germany, and Emily Williams Streett born in 1961 at West Point, NY. General Streett's son retired from the US Army after 21 years of service in the Infantry and the Engineers. Besides serving in combat in Korea, and in South Vietnam as an advisor, St. Clair Jr. had participated in the US Army Corps of Engineer construction projects for NASA (in the race to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade) at Cape Caniveral, Florida and Huntsville, Alabama. "Bill" Streett, Jr. married again in 1980 to Anitra Mae "Sue" Rustmeyer—the two had a daughter, Sarah Mae Streett, born the next year.
Major General Streett died on September 28, 1970 at Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
in 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...
. His wife (at age 104 years) died on October 17, 1999 and was buried with him at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.