Thomas Cassady
| Thomas Gantz Cassady | |
|---|---|
Thomas Gantz Cassady, 1918
|
|
| Born | January 5, 1896 Freedom, Indiana, USA |
| Died | July 9, 1972 (aged 76) Lake Forest, Illinois, USA |
| Buried | Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Plot: Section 24, lot 263, grave 1 |
| Allegiance |
 France United States
|
| Service/ |
Aéronautique Militaire (France) Air Service, United States Army |
| Years of service | 1916 - ca 1919 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Aéronautique Militaire
|
| Battles/wars |
  World War I World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, French Legion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre. |
Aéronautique Militaire
Air Service, United States Army
Captain Thomas Gantz Cassady was an American fighter pilot who served in two World Wars, and was successful in business during peacetime.
Cassady graduated from Chicago University and went to France in the Ambulance Corps during Christmas break, 1916. Once there, on 3 February 1917, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and transferred to aviation. By July 1917, he was receiving flight training; on 6 October 1917, Sergent Cassady was brevetted a pilot. On 26 December 1917, he was assigned to Escadrille 157, which was a Spad unit. He passed on to the United States Army Air Service in February 1918 to serve in the 103rd Aero Squadron. From there, he was once again posted to another French Spad unit, Escadrille 163. While serving here, he scored a run of five confirmed and three unconfirmed aerial victories, between 28 May and 15 August 1918, sharing them with William Ponder and James Connelly, among others. He then transferred to the 28th Aero Squadron as a Flight Commander, and scored four more times between 14 September and 27 October 1918 using a Spad XIII, and sharing the honors with Martinus Stenseth and George W. Furlow among others.
Cassady ran an investment business in Chicago.
Cassady served with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, making four spying trips into Vichy France. He was subsequently captured by the Germans in 1942, and freed. He then worked with the OSS in Algiers on the invasion of southern France. The liberation of Paris brought Cassady the opportunity to be in charge of all intelligence activities there.
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Wikipedia