Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst Jr.
Born(1887-07-01)July 1, 1887
Macon, Georgia, US
DiedJune 11, 1912(1912-06-11) (aged 24)
United States Army Aviation School
College Park, Maryland, US
Cause of deathAircrash
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
EducationUnited States Military Academy
OccupationPilot
EmployerAeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps

Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst Jr. (July 1887 – June 11, 1912) was a pioneer aviator who was killed in an aircrash with Al Welsh piloting. Hazelhurst was the third United States Army officer to die in an aviation accident.[1] The two to die before him were Thomas Etholen Selfridge and George Edward Maurice Kelly.[1]

Biography

He was born in July 1887 in Macon, Georgia to Jessie M. (1865–?) and Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst Sr. (1862–?).[2] His father worked for the railroad.[2] Leighton Jr. was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was a classmate of Hap Arnold's. He was an appointee from Mississippi. He graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 17th Infantry in 1908.

He was detailed as a student aviator to the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps on March 1, 1912, and reported to the Aviation School in its temporary winter quarters at Augusta, Georgia, where he began instruction with Lt. Thomas DeWitt Milling. The school returned to its previous field at College Park, Maryland, on April 1, 1912.

On June 11, 1912, Hazelhurst was a passenger accompanying Al Welsh of the Wright Flying School as an official observer during an acceptance trial for the Army's first Wright Model C airplane. The plane crashed and both men were killed. He was survived by his wife and an 8-year-old daughter.[3] Although protocol for funerals for officers of his rank called only for the participation of a platoon of infantry, the entire garrison at Fort Myer including all the Army's aviators turned out for the ceremony, while a squadron of the 15th Cavalry and battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery provided the honor escort.[4]

Legacy

Hazlehurst was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.[5] Hazelhurst Field, New York, a major flying training center during World War I, was named for him. The two US Army aviators to die before him were Thomas Etholen Selfridge and George Edward Maurice Kelly.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Two Airmen Are Killed, Lieut. L. W. Hazelhurst and A. L. Welch the Victims". Chattanooga Daily Times. June 12, 1912. Retrieved 2009-09-05. Lieut. Hazelhurst is the third army officer to die in an aeroplane plunge. Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge met death in a machine that fell with him and Orville Wright at Ft. Meyer, Va., in September 1908, and Lieut. G. E. M. Kelly received a fatal fall on an army aviation field at San Antonio, Tex., last year.
  2. ^ a b 1900 US Census in Helena, Arkansas
  3. ^ "Army Fliers Killed In A 30-Foot Drop. Lieut. Hazelhurst and Al Welsh, Professional Aviator, Victims of Airship Test". New York Times. June 12, 1912. Retrieved 2009-09-04. Lieut. Leighton W. Hazelhurst Jr., of the Seventeenth Infantry, one of the most promising of the younger aviators of the army, and Al Welsh, one of the most daring professional aviators in America, were instantly killed in a flight at the Army Aviation School at College Park, Md., at 6:30 o'clock this evening.
  4. ^ Edwards, John Carver (2009). Orville's Aviators: Outstanding Alumni of the Wright Flying School 1910–1916. McFarland. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7864-4227-0..
  5. ^ Burial Detail: Hazlehurst, Leighton W – ANC Explorer

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