| Birth: | Mar. 6, 1886
Illinois, USA | | Death: | Oct. 5, 1919
Bustleton
Philadelphia County
Pennsylvania, USA | 
Townsend Foster Dodd was one of this country's first combat aviators trained by the War Department during World War One. Initially appointed in 1909 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps, he reached the rank of Colonel prior to his death in 1919 and was the first U.S. aviator to receive the Distinguished Service Medal. Townsend served proudly with Eddie Rickenbacker and General John J. Pershing as a member of the historical American Expeditionary Forces. In 1914, he was awarded the Mackay Trophy, which was given by the War Department for the most meritorious flight of the year.
Born and raised in Illinois, he graduated from the University of Illinois in 1907 with a degree in Engineering. Townsend not only served bravely during the war, but later became instrumental in pioneering U.S. aviation through his participation in experimental work and aircraft design. While serving as Commander of Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia, in 1919, he was tragically killed in a plane crash.
An Army airfield at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas,was ordered in 1928 by War Department General Order Number 5 to be renamed as Dodd Army Airfield in honor of the aviator.
Family links:
Parents:
Zachary Taylor Dodd (1854 - 1912)
Ruth Anna McLean Dodd (1859 - 1930)
Spouse:
St Clair Dodd (1890 - 1957)*
*Calculated relationship
Note: COLONEL AIR SERVICE USA | | | Burial:
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington
Arlington County
Virginia, USA
Plot: Section 3, Site Lot 4062 |
Maintained by: Steve Bear
Originally Created by: Anne Cady
Record added: Aug 17, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 57195229 |
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