Jarvis Offutt

First Lieutenant Jarvis Jennes Offutt (October 26, 1894 – August 13, 1918) was an aviator from Omaha, Nebraska who died in World War I. Offutt Air Force Base is named in his honor.

Offutt was born in Omaha, Nebraska on October 26, 1894. He attended Omaha Central High School and graduated from the Lawrenceville Preparatory School in 1913. He graduated from Yale University in 1917; while at Yale, he was a member of the Varsity Club, Glee Club, Alpha Delta Phi [1] fraternity, and was a Y track man, winning his honors in the high hurdles. He was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, an organization which recognizes high academic achievement.

In 1916, while still at Yale, Offutt served as a company supply sergeant for the Yale Field Artillery on a summer deployment to Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. Later in 1916, he entered officer training at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, but after a month he asked to be transferred to aviation. He was one of 300 candidates sent from the United States to Canada to be trained by the Royal Flying Corps Canada. He then went to Fort Worth, Texas, where he received his commission as a First Lieutenant in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps in November 1916.