{"product_id":"original-u-s-wwii-usaaf-general-ira-eaker-army-officer-visor-cap","title":"Original U.S. WWII USAAF General Ira Eaker Army Officer Visor Cap","description":"Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Recently acquired from a highly respected private collection, this WWII Officer Visor Cap is named to General Ira Clarence Eaker. Beyond originating from a respected collection which contained multiple named items with provenance, there is no provenance or paperwork offered with this hat. Based on the origin, quality, markings and other factors we believe this hat to be genuine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeneral Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and organize its bomber command. However while he struggled to build up airpower in England, the organization of the Army Air Forces kept evolving and he was named commander of the Eighth Air Force on December 1, 1942. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is an English made, interwar or early World War Two U.S. Army Officer Visor Hat in green fur felt that is named to General Ira Eaker offered in overall excellent condition. The interior has a maker name that reads:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWimbledon\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegulation \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eU.S. Army Officers \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComfort Caps\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGuaranteed\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenuine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFUR FELT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eThe most notable aspect of this hat is the name embossed in gold lettering into the sweatband that reads:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI.C. EAKER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eThe cap is of the highest quality and in very good condition. Of note is that the chinstrap is the style that goes fully around the head with a buckle in the rear which were very popular with Aviators, a deluxe addition, which was a clear sign of a top quality hat. The stiffener was removed which allows the hat to form the classic \"crush\" shape which was very popular with aviators during World War Two. Size is 7 1\/4.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough Eaker's background was in single-engine fighter aircraft, Eaker became the architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty groups of 60 heavy bombers each, supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1,500 aircraft, most of which was in place by the time he relinquished command at the start of 1944.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEaker then took overall command of four Allied air forces based in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and by the end of World War II had been named Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces. He worked in the aerospace industry following his retirement from the military, then became a newspaper columnist. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePromoted to brigadier general in January 1942, he was assigned to organize the VIII Bomber Command (which became the Eighth Air Force) in England and to understudy the British system of bomber operations. Then, in December 1942, he assumed command of the Eighth Air Force. In a speech he gave to the British that won him favorable publicity, he said, \"We won't do much talking until we've done more fighting. After we've gone, we hope you'll be glad we came.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMuch of Eaker's initial staff, including Captain Frederick W. Castle, Captain Beirne Lay, Jr., and Lieutenant Harris Hull, was composed of reserve rather than career military officers, and the group became known as \"Eaker's Amateurs.\" Eaker's position as commander of the Eighth Air Force led to his becoming the model for the fictional Major General Pat Pritchard in the 1949 movie Twelve O'Clock High.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout the war, Eaker was an advocate for daylight \"precision\" bombing of military and industrial targets in German-occupied territory and ultimately Germany—of striking at the enemy's ability to wage war while minimizing civilian casualties. The British considered daylight bombing too risky and wanted the Americans to join them in night raids that would target wider areas, but Eaker persuaded a skeptical Winston Churchill that the American and British approaches complemented each other in a one-page memo that concluded, \"If the RAF continues night bombing and we bomb by day, we shall bomb them round the clock and the devil shall get no rest.\" He personally participated in the first US B-17 Flying Fortress bomber strike against German occupation forces in France, bombing Rouen on August 17, 1942.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEaker was promoted to Major general in September 1943. However, as American bomber losses mounted from German defensive fighter aircraft attacks on deep penetration missions beyond the range of available fighter cover, Eaker may have lost some of the confidence of USAAF Commanding General Henry Arnold. To reduce losses to fighters, Eaker was a strong advocate of the Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress, a B-17 Flying Fortress which carried additional gun turrets and gunners instead of a bomb load and was intended to act as a long-range, \"gunship\" escort for conventional bombers. However the YB-40 was not a success in combat. Eaker also strongly advocated work on improving the range of conventional fighters using drop tanks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander in December 1943, he proposed to use his existing team of subordinate commanders, including Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle, in key positions. Doolittle was named Eighth Air Force Commander, and Arnold concurred with the change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEaker was reassigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, previous commander Tedder having been selected by Eisenhower to plan the air operations for the Normandy invasion. Eaker had under his command the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces and the British Desert and Balkan Air Forces. He did not approve of the plan to bomb Monte Cassino in February 1944, considering it a dubious military target, but ultimately signed off the mission and gave in to pressure from ground commanders. Historians of the era now generally believe Eaker's skepticism was correct and that the ancient abbey at Monte Cassino could have been preserved without jeopardizing the allied advance through Italy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn April 30, 1945, General Eaker was named deputy commander of the Army Air Forces and Chief of the Air Staff. He retired on August 31, 1947, and was promoted to lieutenant general in the newly established United States Air Force on the retired list June 29, 1948.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlmost 40 years after his retirement, Congress passed special legislation awarding four-star status in the U.S. Air Force to General Eaker, prompted by retired Air Force Reserve major general and Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) and endorsed by President Ronald Reagan. On April 26, 1985, Chief of Staff General Charles A. Gabriel and Ruth Eaker, the general's wife, pinned on his fourth star.","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":29444417814597,"sku":"ONSV3082","price":1495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/products\/ONSV3082A__1.jpg?v=1596529666","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-wwii-usaaf-general-ira-eaker-army-officer-visor-cap","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}