Nathan Twining

General Nathan Farragut Twining
General Nathan F. Twining, USAF, (Ret.)
Born	(1897-10-11)October 11, 1897 Monroe, Wisconsin
Died	March 29, 1982(1982-03-29) (aged 84) Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Air Forces  United States Air Force
Years of service	1915–1960
Rank	General
Commands held	Twentieth Air Force Chief of Staff of the Air Force Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Battles/wars	Mexican Border (1916) World War II
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Medal Air Medal (2) Army Commendation Medal Mexican Border Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Army of Occupation of Germany Medal American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (9) European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (6) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal National Defense Service Medal Order of the British Empire French Legion of Honour, Commandeur Medal French National Order of Merit, Commandeur Medal French Croix de Guerre with bronze palm French Legion of Honour, Chevalier Medal Greek Order of the Phoenix Yugoslavian Order of the Partisan Star with Golden Wreath (I rank) Polish Gold Cross of Merit with Swords Military Order of Italy, Knight Grand Cross Order of the White Elephant, Knight Grand Cordon South Korean Order of National Security Merit, Gugseon Medal South Korean Order of Military Merit, Taegeuk Cordon Aviation Cross (First Class), Republic of Peru Medal of Merit, Republic of Egypt
Relations	Merrill B. Twining, U.S. Marine Corps General; brother Nathan C. Twining, U.S. Navy Admiral; uncle

Nathan Farragut Twining (/ˈtwaɪnɪŋ/ TWY-ning; October 11, 1897 – March 29, 1982) was a United States Air Force General, born in Monroe, Wisconsin. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1953 until 1957. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1957 to 1960 he was the first member of the Air Force to serve in that role.

Nathan Twining came from a military background; his forebears had served in the United States Army and Navy since the French and Indian War. His step-mother was Frances Staver Twining, author of Bird-Watching in the West.

In 1913, Twining moved with his family from Monroe, Wisconsin, to Oswego, Oregon. He served in the Oregon National Guard from 1915 to 1917. In 1917, he received an appointment to West Point. Because the program was shortened so as to produce more officers for combat, he spent only two years at the academy and graduated just a few days too late for service in World War I.

After graduating in 1918 and serving in the infantry for three years, arriving in Europe in July 1919, he transferred to the Air Service. Over the next 15 years he flew fighter aircraft in Texas, Louisiana, and Hawaii, while also attending the Air Corps Tactical School and the Command and General Staff College. When World War II broke out in Europe he was assigned to the operations division on the Air Staff; then in 1942 he was sent to the South Pacific where he became chief of staff of the Allied air forces in that area.