Gerrity, Thomas P. (Thomas Patrick), 1913-1968

Thomas Patrick Gerrity (1913-1968) was born in Harlowton, Montana, and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Tilden Tech and the Armour Institute, the predecessor to the Illinois Institute of Technology. He entered military service in August, 1939 as an aviation cadet. He graduated from flight school in May, 1940, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps Reserve. He served at several air fields with the 15th Bombardment Squadron and the 17th Bombardment Squadron prior to the outbreak of World War II. In October, 1941, he was accompanied the 17th to the Air Ground Support Section of the Luzon Forces, Philippine Islands. In February, 1942, he joined the 21st Pursuit Squadron at Bataan, and later served with the 13th Bombardment Squadron in Australia and assumed command of the 90th Bombardment Squadron in New Guinea. He flew 49 combat missions in the Pacific Theater during this period. Gerrity returned to the U.S. in November, 1942, and was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces Materiel Command at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he was a project officer working on various bomber aircraft for use in the war effort. He attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and later assumed command of the Bomber Branch in the Aircraft and Missile Section at Wright Field. During this period, he attended the advanced management course at Harvard University. Gerrity served numerous assignments around the U.S. and at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force throughout the 1950s, primarily relating to Bomber aircraft and weapons development. In July, 1960, he was appointed Commander of the Ballistic Missile Center of the Air Materiel Command at Los Angeles, California. During this period, he oversaw the development and deployment of the Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. He later became the first Commander of the Ballistic Systems Division in Inglewood, California. In 1962, he returned to Headquarters, U.S. Air Force as Deputy Chief of Staff for Systems and Logistics. He also served as senior Air Force member, Military Staff Committee, United Nations. In August, 1967, he returned to Wright-Patterson AFB as Commander of the Air Force Logistics Command. Gerrity's career decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Silver Star, Air Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart. He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He died on February 24, 1968, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

From the description of Gerrity, Thomas P. (Thomas Patrick), 1913-1968 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10613733