Norstad, Lauris

Norstad, Lauris (1907–88) aviator; born in Minneapolis, Minn. Commissioned into the cavalry after graduation from West Point in 1930, he transferred to the Air Corps the following year, and by August 1942 had risen to the post of deputy chief of staff of the 12th Air Force in North Africa. Returning to Washington in 1944, he had direct responsibility for planning the atomic bomb missions. He later commanded U.S. air forces in Europe (1950) and NATO forces in Europe (1956). He retired in 1963 to become president of Owens-Corning Glass.