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.
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.
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