Hometown
Lansdowne, Pennsylvania
Honored By
Friends of American Heroes
AN AVIATION PIONEER WHO INVENTED THE BIG TWIN-ROTOR HELICOPTER THAT HAS CARRIED SOLDIERS INTO BATTLE AND RESCUED THOUSANDS FROM DISASTER. IN 1943, HE BECAME THE SECOND AMERICAN TO BUILD AND FLY A HELICOPTER, AFTER IGOR SIKORSKY, WHO FLEW HIS FIRST IN 1941. THE HELICOPTERS HE DEVELOPED, THE ARMY'S CHINOOK AND THE NAVY'S SEA KNIGHT, ARE NOW BUILT BY THE BOEING COMPANY.