Raynal Bolling
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Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling (September 1, 1877 -March 26, 1918) was the first high-ranking U.S. officer to be killed in combat in World War I. He laid the foundation for the U. S. Military Aviation Service. He was ambushed by German troops near the front lines on the Amiens-Saint-Quentin road (the modern N29) during the second Somme offensive. The spot is a few kilometers east of the commune of Estrées-Deniécourt, Picardy, France. He was the namesake of Bolling Air Force Base.
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, from 1909 on he was a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut at his estate Greyledge on Doubling Rd. The estate was razed in 2006 by its current owner despite a public outcry. Near the town commons a life-size bronze statue cast by the Gorham Foundry of Rhode Island sculpted by Edward Clark Potter serves as his memorial. The Indiana limestone background of the memorial shows aircraft in combat in low relief. The inscription on the front of the memorial reads simply "Bolling", on the reverse it reads:
Raynal C. Bolling
Born September 1, 1877
Foresaw his Nation's call to Arms
And left a brilliant career
To prepare himself for service
In the World War
Colonel of Aviation
American Expeditionary Forces
He laid the foundation
For Our Aerial Warfare in France
He fell in action near Amiens
March 26, 1918
In the Vanguard
Of the Thousands of Americans
Who gave all for their Country
Other memorials are at Harvard and Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
He attended the Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, graduating in 1896. Graduated from Harvard in the class of 1900 and from Harvard Law School in 1902.
He was a lawyer at Guthrie, Cravath, and Henderson. A little after a year there he began his career in the legal department of the United States Steel Corporation. By 1907 he was Assistant General Solicitor and married Anna Tucker Phillips. He also joined the New York National Guard. He and his wife had four daughters and a son. In 1913 he was named General Solicitor of US Steel.
By 1917 he was a colonel with the United States Army Signal Corps and Assistant Chief of the Air Service. Because of his legal experience he was chosen to draft a bill for Congress to authorize air service production. That year he headed the Bolling Mission to Europe representing the Secretary of War and the Air Service Production Board to report on aircraft production.
Killed in action in 1918, he was posthumously awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor and the Distinguished Service Medal. Lord Northcliffe said "Bolling is our best."
"Let's look inside and remember that it's our ideals, our endeavors, our affections and love that are the realities in Life."
- Raynal Bolling
