Air Force Major-General Lewis H. Brereton
Lewis Hyde Brereton was a 1911 graduate of West Point.
When Japan attacked in the Pacific in December 1941, he was commander of U.S. Far East Air Force, based in the Philippines. What had been described as a breakdown in communications with McArthur's Headquarters enabled the enemy to catch Brereton's Luzon-based B-17s on the ground and the bulk of his force was destroyed.
In early 1942 he was named Deputy Air Commander to Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse (ABDA air component).
He later assumed command of the Middle East Air Forces, which later became the 9th Air Force Army. Achieving the rank of Lieutenant General in April 1944, he commanded the 9th Air Force when it raided Ploesti, Rumania, and remained with it until August 1944, at which time he took over the 1st Allied Airborne Army in Great Britain.
Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942
Copyright © Klemen. L. 1999-2000
