Keith K. Compton
| Keith K. Compton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 9, 1915 St. Joseph, Missouri |
| Died | June 15, 2004 (aged 88) San Antonio, Texas |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1938–1969 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Vice Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command |
| Battles/wars | Operation Tidal Wave |
| Awards | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, the Air Force and the Army Commendation medals |
Keith Karl Compton (December 9, 1915 – June 15, 2004) was a U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who was vice commander in chief, Strategic Air Command, with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where he fulfilled the responsibility of the commander in chief, Strategic Air Command, in his absence and acted as his principal assistant and advisor in the formulation of SAC policies, plans and directives.
Compton was born in 1915 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and graduated from Central High School there in 1933. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri, in 1937. He entered military service in February 1938 as an aviation cadet at Randolph Field, Texas, and received his pilot's wings a year later.
Compton spent the next two and a half years at Langley Field, Virginia, with the 2nd Bomb Wing, the first unit equipped with the B-17 Flying Fortress. In April 1942 he became commander of the 409th Bomb Squadron and later, at Fort Myers, Fla., operations officer for the 93rd Bomb Group.
In February 1943, Compton became commander of the 376th Bomb Group in Africa and, on August 1, 1943, led the disastrous air attack on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania.
He was reassigned as assistant to the air chief of staff for operations, Fifteenth Air Force, in North Africa in March 1944 and returned to the United States in July that year as assistant deputy chief of staff for operations and training, Second Air Force, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Following several command assignments and graduation from the Air University, Compton was assigned in June 1948 to the Air Proving Ground Command, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, as deputy for operations, a position he held until February 1953. It was during this tour of duty that Compton, flying an F-86 Sabrejet, won the National Air Races Bendix Trophy for 1951, setting a new national speed record for the route.
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