Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces.
One of the unsung trailblazers of flight, Major General John Bernard Brooks initially served in the U.S. Cavalry (the kind with horses) along the Mexican border hunting banditos way back in 1915. He went off to pilot training, then returned to the border in 1916 with the Punitive Expedition chasing Pancho Villa & co.
He went on to serve in Hawaii, where he was among the first aviators in the islands, as well as the commander of Luke Field on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. He also spent time in the Philippines and Alaska. In fact, “Johnny” Brooks wore just about every title one could back in the early years of American military aviation. His is a story worth studying.
The Jive Bomber 