| James McCormack | |
|---|---|
Brigadier General James McCormack, Jr, (right) is congratulated by Major General Lauris Norstrad (left) after being presented with the oak leaf cluster to his Legion of Merit |
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| Born | 8 November 1910 Chatham, Louisiana |
| Died | 3 January 1975 (aged 64) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1932–1955 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom) Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (France) Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with silver star (France) |
| Other work | Vice President for research at MIT Chairman of the Communications Satellite Corporation |
James McCormack, Jr., (8 November 1910 – 3 January 1975) was a United States Army officer who served in World War II, and was later the first Director of Military Applications of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
A 1932 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, McCormack also studied at Hertford College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering. In 1942, he was assigned to the and posted to the War Department General Staff. On 1 July 1944, he became the Chief of the Movements Branch of Twelfth United States Army Group, remaining in this role until 28 May 1945. He then returned to the War Department General Staff, where served in the Operations and Plans Division.
In 1947 McCormack was chosen as the Director of Military Applications of the United States Atomic Energy Commission with the rank of brigadier general. He took a pragmatic approach to the issue of the proper agency to hold custody of the nuclear weapons stockpile, and encouraged and supported Edward Teller's development of thermonuclear weapons. He transferred to the United States Air Force on 25 July 1950, and was appointed Director of Nuclear Applications at the Air Research and Development Center in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952. He was subsequently promoted to major general, and became Deputy Commander of the Air Research and Development Command.
After retiring from the Air Force, McCormack became a vice president for research at MIT, in which capacity he originated the proposal that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics be used as the basis for a new space agency, which eventually became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In 1965 was appointed chairman of the Communications Satellite Corporation.
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James McCormack, Jr., was born in Chatham, Louisiana on 8 November 1910. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point on 2 July 1928, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers on graduation on 14 August 1932, ranking 19th in his class. He departed for England where he studied at Hertford College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was promoted to first lieutenant in August 1935, and awarded his bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford. On returning to the United States, he was posted to the 8th Engineers at Fort McIntosh, Texas as a troop commander.[1][2]
In June 1936 he became a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with a Master of Science degree in civil engineering in August 1937. He then became a student officer at the Engineering School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In June 1938, he reported to Vicksburg, Mississippi as Assistant Project Engineer on the Sardis Reservoir Project.[1][2]
McCormack reported to Fort Benning, Georgia as a company commander in the 21st Engineers. He was promoted to captain on 9 September 1940, and attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1941,[1] after which he was promoted to major on 1 February 1942, and posted to the War Department General Staff. He was Assistant Chief of the Types and Allowances Branch of G-4 from March 1942 to March 1943, with a promotion to lieutenant colonel on 9 October 1942, and then Chief of the Construction Branch of G-4 from March 1943 to September 1943.[2]
In October 1943, McCormack became Chief of the Transportation Branch of the First United States Army Group, and was promoted to colonel on 1 December 1943. On 1 July 1944, he became the Chief of the Movements Branch of Twelfth United States Army Group, remaining in this role until 28 May 1945. For his services in the European Theater of Operations, he was awarded the Legion of Merit on 30 December 1944, and the Bronze Star Medal in May 1945. The British government made him an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 24 March 1945, while the French government awarded him the Croix de guerre with the silver star on 29 January 1945, and made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor on 3 October 1945.[2]
On 4 June 1945, McCormack returned to duty with the War Department General Staff as a member of the Policy Section of the Strategy and Policy Group, becoming the assistant section chief on 16 September 1945, He was then a staff officer with the Strategy and Policy Group from 16 February until 16 August 1946, when he became chief of the Politico-Military Survey Section of the Operations and Plans Division. For his service with the War Department General Staff, he was awarded an oak leaf cluster to his Legion of Merit on 8 April 1947.[2]
At this point, McCormack had become apprehensive about his career, but in early 1947 a new and exciting opportunity opened up.[3] The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 had created the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to oversee research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The Act had created a statutory position inside the AEC called the Director of Military Applications, whom the AEC commissioners envisaged as a staff post responsible for military planning and policy formulation. By law, the Director of Military Applications had to be a serving armed forces officer.[4]
The frontrunner for the post was the wartime commander of the Manhattan District, Brigadier General Kenneth Nichols. Indeed, Nichols was the War Department's only nominee. However, the AEC commissioners had different ideas. Nichols was seen as too closely identified with the wartime Manhattan Project; he had opinions at variance with the commissioners on whether the Director of Military Applications was a staff or a line position; and he had a strong disagreement with the commissioners over the vexing issue of the proper agency to hold custody of the nuclear weapons stockpile. Accordingly, the AEC commissioners decided to find another candidate.[5][4]
The AEC commissioners asked for Major General Lauris Norstad, the head of the Operations and Plans Division, but neither the Chief of Staff of the Army, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, nor the Secretary of War, Robert P. Patterson, was willing to release him. The commissioners then selected McCormack. The job came with a promotion to brigadier general.[3][6]
The commissioners got the kind of officer that they wanted. McCormack was willing to accept the post as a staff job, and took a pragmatic approach to the custody issue.[7] He became involved in discussions with Edward Teller over the possibility of developing thermonuclear weapons, then known as the "Super".[8] McCormack became an early advocate of the Super, and directed Norris Bradbury at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to proceed with it even at the possible detriment to other weapons.[9] This was despite the fact that, even after Operation Greenhouse, the processes involved in thermonuclear reactions were not fully understood, and the Super design might never work.[10] This would change with the development of the Teller-Ulam design.[11] For his services as Director of Military Applications, McCormack was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.[2]
McCormack transferred to the United States Air Force on 25 July 1950. After leaving the AEC in August 1951, he became Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Development. In January 1952 he was appointed Director of Nuclear Applications at the Air Research and Development Center in Baltimore, Maryland.[2] He was subsequently promoted to major general, and became Deputy Commander of the Air Research and Development Command. He was called to testify at the Oppenheimer security hearing.[12]
After retiring from the Air Force, McCormack became a vice president for research at MIT.[13][14] He originated the proposal that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics be used as the basis for a new space agency, which eventually became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.[15]
In 1964, the Governor of Massachusetts, Endicott Peabody, appointed McCormack as Chairman of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.[16] In October 1965, he was appointed chairman of the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT).[17] McCormack died at his winter home in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on 3 January 1975.[18]