Retired Maj. Gen. Carl McNair, a longtime member of the Association of the U.S. Army and a giant in the Army aviation community, died May 2. He was 88.
McNair, who was AUSA’s 2nd Region president from 1996 to 1998, served in the Army for 32 years after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1955.
Commissioned as an infantry lieutenant, McNair completed flight training and airborne school before serving with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to the West Point Association of Graduates.
He served as an aviation adviser to the Second Field Army of the Republic of China in the Military Assistance Advisory Group Taiwan before earning a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, according to the West Point association.
McNair next served in Korea and at the Pentagon before going to Vietnam in 1967.
In all, he would serve six campaigns in Vietnam, flying more than 1,500 combat hours, according to the Army Aviation Museum. He also commanded the 121st Assault Helicopter Company and the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion in Vietnam, according to the West Point association.
McNair returned to the U.S. in 1969, where he served in a variety of assignments from West Point to Fort Hood, Texas, to Fort Rucker, Alabama, and the Pentagon.
As commander of the Army Aviation Center from 1980 to 1983, McNair was instrumental in developing what was then a fledgling branch, and he “helped shape the future of Army Aviation and mentored an entire generation of Army aviators,” according to the West Point Association of Graduates.
McNair retired in 1987 as a major general after serving as deputy chief of staff for combat developments and chief of staff at the Army Training and Doctrine Command.
He was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004. AUSA’s George Washington chapter in Virginia, of which McNair was a longtime member, named a scholarship after him, describing him as “the father of modern Army Aviation and our longstanding chapter board member, former president, and stalwart … supporter for 40-plus years.”
Air Cav:
History of the
1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam
1965-1969
Paperback – Illustrated, May 16, 2011
by J.D. Coleman (Editor)
Air Cav: History of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam 1965-1969 is the story of the small, close world of fighting men in action. This volume can be many things to many people a book of memories, a souvenir, a pictorial essay on airmobility, or simply a story of gallant men at war. It can be many things, but one thing it is not, nor does it pretend to be a complete history of the 1st Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam.
The task and burden of history must lie with the objectivity of future generations, far removed from current pressures and restraints. It is true, of course, that much research for this book has been done from available official records, the ultimate source of written history. But even more has been drawn from the vivid recollections of the Cavalrymen who fought, tasted the brassy bile of fear, shared the fierce exultation of victory, or were drenched in the dark despair of death.
This volume contains the memoirs of a fighting team the FIRST TEAM. It is a memory””
On A Personal Note
The first time that I met Major General McNair was at Fort Myer in Comny Hall after a general officer retirement ceremony … shortly after “Images of America -Fort Myer” was published. He was the key speaker during the ceremony. I was curious whether he was related to General Lesley J. McNair since I was planning to write the book about the post named after General that became “Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair” … he said, “Unfortunately No … but I would be honored if I was.”
Rest Well General McNair, we have the watch…
BUY THE BOOK
Images of America – Fort Myer is a pictorial chronicle of the first one hundred years of history containing over two hundred photographs, maps, and images. Beginning in the 1860s and carrying through the 1960s it provides a view of what was over time. An autographed copy of the book can be purchased at BUY THE BOOK.
OMAHA STEAKS
