HEZEKIAH "Hez" McCLELLAN

 

Hez McClellan, Date Unknown (Airforce)

 

Hez McClellan was born May 1, 1894 in Hall, IN. The 1900 U.S. Census placed him living in Gregg, IN at age 6 with his parents and an older sister. They lived in the home of his maternal grandmother. His father was a dry goods merchant.

1917 Studebaker SF Series 18 Touring Car (Source: Web)

 

By the 1910 Census, his family had moved to 312 Fourth Street, Columbus, IN. His name was coded "Hezzie" in the Census. That address today is a parking garage with shops facing the street. His father was a land agent. Another sister had been added to the family just before the Census. A brother would be added in 1911..

McClellan registered for the draft in the midst of WWI. His draft registration is below, dated May 5, 1917. He gave his occupation as a mechanic, foreman and inspector working for the Studebaker Corporation in St. Louis, MO. A 1917 Studebaker SF Series 18 Touring car, like the ones he worked with, is at right.

Hez McClellan Draft Registration, May 5, 1917 (Source: ancestry.com)

If you look carefully at the diagonal printing at the lower left of this card, the text says, "If person is of African descent, tear off this corner." Some things change; some things remain the same.

He entered the service in January 1918. The Army registry for 1926 showed his evolution as a career military officer, below. According to an online source, he held the rank of captain from 1918-1926. This disagrees with the data below. The source further states that he held the rank of major from 1926-1936.

U.S. Army Registry, 1926 (Source: ancestry.com)

 

Participants in the 1934 Air Corps Alaskan Expedition (Source: Link)

 

An immigration record documented a sea voyage on the Army Transport U.S Grant from Manila, P.I., arriving after a one-month journey at San Francisco, CA November 22,1928. Madalyn accompanied him. The purpose of their voyage was unstated, but it was probably for his assignment in the Philippines.

McClellan signed the Parks Airport Register on Sunday,March 16, 1930 at 10:00AM. He flew solo in 30-812, an Army deHavilland DH4MP. He identified his homebase as Garden City, NY, Mitchell Field. He wrote "Home" in the destination field of th Register. He was flying east this day. He left no clues as to his business in the west.

The 1930 Census coded on April 6-7, 1930, was completed about three weeks after his visit to East St. Louis. He was living in officer's quarters at Mitchel Field with his wife Madeline (also spelled Madalyn) M. McClellan. He was 36 years old in 1930, and the Census recorded that he was 26 at the time he was married, making his marriage date to Madeline about 1920.They had no children living with them in 1930.

Four years later, McClellan was part of an army aerial expedition to Alaska. The expedition was led by Register pilot H.H "Hap: Arnold and consisted of ten YB-10 Martin Bombers.

The mission departed Bolling Field, Washington, DC on July 19, 1934. The personnel were tabulated, left, in an article titled, "Flight to the Stars: The 1934 Air Corps Alaskan Expedition" that appeared in Air Power History, 58:3, pages 30- 38. The full article may be read at the link. The Air Corps' stated mission was 1) test the practicality of sending an air force to Alaska, 2) photograph strategic and landing areas in Alaska, and 3) formulate a plan for the defense of Alaska. They returned to Bolling Field on August 20th.

It's worthwhile to study the list of people Arnold assembled for the expedition. Eighteen of the 24 officers rose to general rank during the course of their careers; some were key leaders during WWII. Besides Arnold and McClellan, several others were Register pilots. Among them Lawrence Carr, John Corkille, John S. Griffith, Charles H. Howard, Hugh J. Knerr, Harold McClelland, Ralph Royce, Ralph Snavely, Ross Hoyt, Richard Freeman, Harlan McCormick and Nathan Twinning. It's an impressive list.

Allegedly McClellan flew a Douglas C-29 Dolphin amphibian, 33-292, while he helped prepare early charts and data while pioneering Alaskan air routes. No C-29s were mentioned in the article linked above.

Army personnel weren't the only military expedition to Alaska. The Navy sponsored a months-long aerial photographic mission in 1926. Davis-Monthan Airfield Register pilot C.G. Alexander was a participant in that mission.You can view photographs taken during that expedition (over 17,000 of them!) at the link.

Coshocton Tribune (OH), May 24, 1936 (Source: ancestry.com)

 

McClellan flew West just two years after his mission to Alaska. On May 24, 1936, near Centerville, OH, an Army Consolidated P-30A (army registration 35-1) he was testing got away from him. At right is a report of the accident in the May 24, 1936 Coshocton Tribune. The Gettysburg Times (PA) of May 27, 1936 reported similarly. The May 27, 1936 edition of The Edinburg Daily Courier from Edinburg, IN was a little closer to home, below.

Graduate and Son of Former Columbus Restaurant Man Dies Hez McClellan, a Columbus boy who rose to rank of major and chief of the U. S. Army's test flight section at Wright Field, was killed in the crash of a pursuit ship yesterday at Dayton, Ohio The Associated Press said a board of inquiry started an investigation of the crash today. "Major McClellan, a veteran pilot was flying a pursuit ship, submitted for tests and possible purchase by the air corps, when the plane went into a spin" the Associated Press said. "Harvey Anderson, a, farm hand, said McClellan had obviously been having trouble with the plane before the crash." Mr. McClellan was the son of Mr. and Mrs. O. F. McClellan, who for many years operated a restaurant in the Silverman building on Washington street now occupied by the Patton and Moore cafe. They sold the business to Gus Fricke and left here about 20 years ago, locating in Baton Rouge, La., where the parents still live. Mr. McClellan and his brother, Byron, took up aviation early in life and both became expert pilots. The brother is also located at Dayton. Besides the parents and brother, two sisters, Miss Maude McClellan of Cleveland and Miss Norris McClellan of New York, survive. Billie Lee Schoonover of this city is a nephew. In May 1933, Major McClellan wrote his nephew that he had been designated by the army as chief airplane pilot for President Roosevelt. In August, 1935, he granted an interview to the United Press which was reproduced in newspapers, with regard to the ill-fated flight of Wiley Post and Will Rogers in Alaska. McClellan said he flew the first army airplane into Point Barrow and would have attempted to dissuade Post from flying there if he had known the latter intended doing so. "It is the worst territory I have ever seen, and I have been flying for years," he was quoted as saying. He furnished Post with maps and information about Post's plans for his Alaska-Siberian-Greenland flight, but did not expect him to go by way of Point Barrow where Post and Rogers later were killed.

 

McClellan Grave Marker (Source: findagrave.com)

 

 

Xenia Daily Gazette (OH), June 23, 1936 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

McClellan was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His grave marker is at left.

The present-day Sacramento McClellan Airport is named after him. The airport was established in 1935 as a military base for the Air Corps. It commemorated McClellan's name on December 1, 1939. After being called the Sacramento Air Depot during WWII, it became McClellan Air Force Base in 1948. It remained a military facility until 2000, when it was transferred to Sacramento county and established as a mixed-use airport serving commercial, private and military aircraft.

He was conferred the Distingrished Flying Cross posthumously for his flight to Alaska. It was accepted in a ceremony in June 1936 as reported in the Xenia Daily Gazette (OH), June 23, 1936, right. The award was accepted by Madelyn.

McClellan also appeared in the Register of Pitcairn Field on Sunday May 25, 1930. He was solo in an unidentified Douglas O-1E.

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