Gearhard, A. F. (Augustus F.), 1893-1975

Augustus F. Gearhard (b. 1893, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-d. March 31, 1975), Chaplain and Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force, was ordained a diocesan priest from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1917 and received a commission in 1918, assigned as a chaplain with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. He left active service in 1919, serving in the Army Reserve for 17 years before reentering on active duty in January 1942. He was then assigned as chaplain of the 4th Air Force, and later of the 5th Fighter Command, moving with the 5th to Australia. Later he was chaplain of the Far East Air Forces, serving in New Guinea and the Philippine Islands. Following the War, he was appointed chaplain of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, stationed in Germany, then deputy chief of Air Force Chaplains at Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C.

From the description of Gearhard, A. F. (Augustus F.), 1893-1975 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10598498