Charles T. Menoher

Major General Charles Thomas Menoher (March 10, 1862 - August 11, 1930) was a U.S. Army general, first Chief of the United States Army Air Service from 1918-1921, and commanded the U.S. Army Hawaiian Department from 1924-1925. The son of a Civil War veteran, Menoher was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1862 and graduated from the United States Military Academy at Westpoint, New York in 1886 with a commission as an artillery officer. He later graduated from the Army War College and was selected for the original General Staff Corps, where he served from 1903-1907. He was commander of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment from 1916-1917. After being promoted to brigadier general in August 1917, Menoher commanded the Rainbow Division in France during World War I, participating in the Champagne-Marne offensive and in the successful Allied offensives of Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. Menoher was succeeded by General Douglas MacArthur in this position. At war's end, Menoher commanded the VI Corps (United States) and received the Distinguished Service Medal, along with foreign awards from France, Belgium, and Italy.

Following World War I, Menoher became first Director and then Chief of Air Service, where he began a famous (and ultimately losing) conflict with his Assistant Chief, Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. He was promoted to major general in March 1921. Requesting an assignment with troops, Menoher then took command of the Hawaiian Division in 1922 before taking over the entire Hawaiian Department. After this, he commanded the IX Corps Area in San Francisco until his mandatory retirement on March 20, 1926. He died on August 11, 1930.

His three youngest sons all graduated from West Point, and served in the Army during World War II. Pearson (1892-1958), a classmate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, reached the rank of Major General during the Korean War.