TACAMO remembers Maj. Gen. Clarence Tinker

Published June 20, 2011
By Petty Officer 2nd Class
Strategic Communications Wing ONE Public Affairs

Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. --       The Navy's Take Charge and Move Out units gathered June 9 to pay tribute and remember Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, an Oklahoma Osage native, who lost his life in a combat mission in the Pacific during World War II.
     On June 7, 1942, during the Battle of Midway, General Tinker personally led a force of early model B-24s against the retreating Japanese naval forces. Near Midway Island, his plane was observed out of control and plunged into the sea, likely due to enemy fire. General Tinker and eight crewmen perished and his body was never recovered. In a ceremony on October 14, 1942, the Oklahoma City Air Depot installation was designated Tinker Field.
     "Major General Clarence L. Tinker represents all that is great about America, Oklahoma and this base named after him," said Capt. Tim Pedersen, Strategic Communications Wing ONE commander. "To say that he was born in Oklahoma and died during a combat mission in the Pacific during the Battle of Midway, while accurate, doesn't begin to describe what he did during his career and life."
     Shortly after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, General Tinker was appointed commander of the Army Air Corps in Hawaii to reorganize the air defenses on the island. General Tinker said about his new command "...the Army Air Corps will be the controlling factor in all wars, including this one."
     General Tinker became the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps with Native-American ancestry when he pinned on his second star in January 1942.
     The Battle of Midway changed the course of the war in the Pacific theater during World War II and world history within just a few short days. U.S. Navy carrier strike forces, augmented by shore-based bombers and torpedo planes, decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese navy carrier task force June 4-7, 1942.
     "From a historical standpoint, General Tinker's forward thinking, leadership and bravery paved the way for the United States to begin its steam rolling of the enemy," said Captain Pedersen. "The Battle of Midway is a sterling example of jointness. The teamwork of the United States Navy and the Army Air Corps during this portion of our history paid huge dividends to what is a stronger, more powerful military. It is only fitting that we find our home here in the heartland, on an Air Force base named after this remarkable man, conducting a Navy mission."
     At the event, TACAMO also recognized two Oklahoman Native-American Vietnam veterans. John Henry Mashunkashey, commandant of the Marine Corps League's Osage Detachment No. 669, and Hollis Stabler, with the Harold Bigheart Smalley American Legion Post 198.
     "He was not only the first general killed in World War II, but he was the first and only Native American general killed in action," said Mr. Mashunkashev. "It was a great honor for the Native Americans to have a general serve our country in the U.S. military. General Tinker was a great leader both in the military and as a Native American."
     The Osage Nation has paid tribute to General Tinker since 1942.
     "After the United States notified the Osage Nation that General Tinker was lost at sea and declared dead, the Osage Nation immediately stopped what they were doing and started their ceremonial dance which was dedicated to General Tinker," Mr. Mashunkashev said. "The Osage Nation composed a song for Major General Tinker which they have been singing every year on the last Sunday of June since 1942."
     Captain Pedersen praised General Tinker for his life growing up as an Osage Indian and becoming an important part of the history of the Battle of Midway.
     "He knew his life as an Oklahoma Osage and the lessons he was taught at an early age made him the young man and later the warrior we pay tribute to today," said Captain Pedersen. "We are proud to be a part of Tinker Air Force Base, and while we sometimes call our portion of the base Naval Air Station Tinker, we do so with humility and a great deal of pride of our Air Force brothers and sisters."

TACAMO Remembers