The 6th Annual Maj. Gen. John F. Curry Salute and Awards Ceremony

[Smithsonia]

      The 6th Annual Maj. Gen. John F. Curry Salute and Awards Ceremony
      Date: Saturday Dec 7, 2013
      Time: Sign in at 0:930 hrs and Ceremony Begins - 10:00 hrs
      Place: Ft. Logan National Cemetery - Denver, CO. - Shelter A - see directions below

CURRY CADET PRESENTATION AND MAJ. GEN. CURRY GRAVESIDE TRIBUTE: CAPs First National Commander, Maj. Gen. John F. Curry is buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in Denver. CAP was first organized Dec. 1, 1941 . The CO/WG and Group One will conduct a Graveside Ceremony in honor of CAP Day and our first National Commander. This ceremony will be held on DECEMBER 7th 2013 at Ft. Logan. SEE DIRECTIONS BELOW.
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: At 10:00 hrs. on Dec. 7th 2013, CO/WG and Group One will conduct a ceremony at the graveside of Maj. Gen. John Curry. This will be a one hour ceremony consisting of presentation of honored guests, Gen. Curry's biography, and a gravesite salute by cadets. We will dismiss no later than 11:30 hrs.
                   
LOCATION: Ft. Logan National Cemetery. Directions here: http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/ftlogan.asp
Follow Interstate 25 to exit, Hampden Avenue (Highway 285). Turn (west) heading toward the mountains to Sheridan Boulevard. Turn left (south) on Sheridan Boulevard. Cemetery is located two blocks south of Hampden Avenue on the left (east) side of Sheridan Boulevard. At the main West Entrance we will have officer or cadet with instructions to Pavilion A. Parking is limited. Please be on time. We don't want to leave people in the weather any longer than is necessary. We will meet at Shelter - A.             
UNIFORM: Senior Members: Air Force Dress or appropriate corporate equivalent. Cadets: BDU/Utility Uniform and dress appropriately for the weather. All Uniforms and boots should be clean and presentable. Plan on being in the weather for up to 90 minutes. Plan on cold and possible snowy conditions. Boots, over-shoes, overcoats, mufflers, gloves - acceptable. Squadron Officers will conduct a uniform inspection of their own cadets before the ceremony. This inspection should be informal and one-on-one. This inspection is to ensure CAP compliance regarding picture posts. Please inform project officer of 39-1 non-compliant members before ceremony.
                     
ALWAYS DRESS FOR THE WEATHER. IN-CLIMATE WEATHER AND PRECIPITATION MEANS AN UNANNOUNCED CHANGE TO BOOTS, BDUS, COATS, HATS, GLOVES, and SCARVES IS ACCEPTABLE.
Signed:
CAP CO. Wing Commander Col. Earl Sherwin
CAP Project Officer Maj. Ed O'Brien
email: ed@e-obrien.com
If you'd like to view a You Tube Video of a Curry ceremony, click here:
                      Civil Air Patrol cadets participate in unique promotion ceremony

[Cindi]

John Francis Curry (1886-1973):


Captain John Curry in command of 6th Aero Squadron in 1917:


John F. Curry (center) with Orville Wright (left) and Charles Lindbergh (right):


John Francis Curry gravestone:


Birth:    Apr. 22, 1886
Death:    Mar. 4, 1973

US Army Major General. He is remembered as the first national commander of the Civil Air Patrol, US Air Force Auxiliary. Born in New York City, New York, he received an appointment to attend the US Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated in 1908 with Bachelor of Science Degree and a commission as a second lieutenant. From 1910 to 1914 he served as an instructor at West Point. In 1916 he learned to fly at the Signal Corps Aviation School in North Island, California, in time to accompany General John J. Pershing's 1916 expedition to Mexico, in pursuit of the infamous bandit Pancho Villa. During World War I he served as Chief of Staff of the Air Service of the 2nd Army in France. He saw action and destroyed a German observation balloon, but was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and managed to escape capture. From 1920 to 1923 he performed duty as a Department Air Officer, Hawaiian Department. In 1924 he graduated from the Air Corps Engineering School at McCook Field, Ohio, remaining there until 1927 as Chief, Air Service Engineering Division. In 1928 he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at Langley Field, Virginia and the following year he graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. From 1931 to 1935 he served as Commandant, Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, Alabama. In 1936 he attended the Army War College at Fort McNair in Washington DC, followed by an assignment to War Department General Staff, Washington, DC until 1938, and then became the Commanding Officer of Hamilton Field, California from 1938 to 1940. From December 1940 until August 1941 he was the Commanding General, Northwest Air District and 2nd Air Force at Spokane, Washington, followed by a short tour as the Commanding General, Rocky Mountain Technical Training Command, Denver, Colorado until December 1941. He then became the First National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol, Washington, DC until March 1942, becoming the only acting general in command of a civilian army. In April 1942 he was assigned as the Commanding General, Western Technical Training Command, Denver, Colorado until June 1944. He then served as the Chief, Air Force Evaluation Board, Mediterranean Theater of Operations until 1945. He achieved the rank of major general in October 1940 and retired from active duty in 1945 with 41 years of continued military service, 30 of which were in aviation. His aeronautical ratings include pilot expert aviator, combat observer and combat pilot. Among his military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Mexican Service Medal, the World War I Victory Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal, (with one service star), the World War II Victory Medal, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (France), and Ordre de I'Etoile Noire (France). After his military retirement he served in numerous civic capacities in the Denver, Colorado area. He died in Denver at the age of 86. The first Civil Air Patrol cadet achievement, the General J.F. Curry Achievement, is named in his honor.

[Smithsonia]

Thank you Cindi;
Over the Years I've written 10s of thousands of words about the General:
http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=5582.0
For instance all of the pictures in Cindi's report were taken by, modified by, or placed on the
web by me. It is good to see this follow up on this noble man permeating through the web.
The Major General deserves all of our collective gratitude.

"Jack" JF Curry  was a very decent man, much beloved by his family and fellow name brand Army Air Corps
Generals such as Hap Arnold, Carl Spaatz, and Ira Eakers. Curry was the star maker of Jimmy Doolittle,
Charles Lindbergh, and the P-51. You can't find a better narrative character as witness and god father
of American Air Power than Gen. Curry. A remarkable man of a remarkable time, serving in capacities and
at levels that can never be duplicated. To me his obscurity in history is inexplicable. Study his career and be proud
of the Patrol.