| Official USAF Biography www.af.mil/bios |
MAJOR GENERAL GILBERT L. MEYERS
Retired Nov. 1, 1966. Died Nov. 1, 1974.
Brigadier General Gilbert L. Meyers assumed command of the 836th Air Division, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., April
1, 1963. Prior to this assignment, he had commanded the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach Air Force
Base, S.C., since Oct. 3, 1960. Before that, he was commander of the 4530th Combat Crew Training Wing at
Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
A veteran of more than 27 years service with the Air Corps and Air Force, he is a graduate of the Canadian National
Defense College at Kinston, Ontario; the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; and the Armed Forces
Staff College at Norfolk, Va.
General Meyers entered military service in July 1936 at Fort Snelling, Minn. He attended pilot training at Randolph
and Kelly fields, Texas, from July 1937 to June 1938. His first assignment after completing pilot training was with the
Eighth Pursuit Group at Langley Field, Va.
During the early part of World War II he accepted the first P-47 Thunderbolt fighter for use by the Army Air Corps.
Later he had the job of familiarizing General John K. Cannon, the man for whom Cannon Air Force Base was
named, with the aircraft's flying characteristics.
Serving with the 368th Fighter Group, his was the first Air Force unit to land in France after Normandy. After the
German surrender, General Meyers served with the Fifth Air Force in the Far East and landed at Tachikawa Air
Base, Japan, only days after the unofficial Japanese surrender.
In 1946 he assumed command of the First Fighter Group when it was the first jet fighter unit in the Air Force. In
1948 he was assigned to Williams Air Force Base for a year and a half where he served as commander of the
primary training group and as deputy wing commander. In 1950 he went to Korea for two years as Fifth Air Force
director of operations during the Korean Conflict.
His other post-war assignments include: deputy chief of staff of operations, Headquarters Tactical Air Command,
Langley Air Force Base, Va.; vice commander of the Ninth Air Force, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and deputy
director for requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; and commander of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
Among the awards and decorations he has received are the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre from France, Luxembourg and
Belgium.
Retired Nov. 1, 1966. Died Nov. 1, 1974.
Brigadier General Gilbert L. Meyers assumed command of the 836th Air Division, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., April
1, 1963. Prior to this assignment, he had commanded the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach Air Force
Base, S.C., since Oct. 3, 1960. Before that, he was commander of the 4530th Combat Crew Training Wing at
Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
A veteran of more than 27 years service with the Air Corps and Air Force, he is a graduate of the Canadian National
Defense College at Kinston, Ontario; the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; and the Armed Forces
Staff College at Norfolk, Va.
General Meyers entered military service in July 1936 at Fort Snelling, Minn. He attended pilot training at Randolph
and Kelly fields, Texas, from July 1937 to June 1938. His first assignment after completing pilot training was with the
Eighth Pursuit Group at Langley Field, Va.
During the early part of World War II he accepted the first P-47 Thunderbolt fighter for use by the Army Air Corps.
Later he had the job of familiarizing General John K. Cannon, the man for whom Cannon Air Force Base was
named, with the aircraft's flying characteristics.
Serving with the 368th Fighter Group, his was the first Air Force unit to land in France after Normandy. After the
German surrender, General Meyers served with the Fifth Air Force in the Far East and landed at Tachikawa Air
Base, Japan, only days after the unofficial Japanese surrender.
In 1946 he assumed command of the First Fighter Group when it was the first jet fighter unit in the Air Force. In
1948 he was assigned to Williams Air Force Base for a year and a half where he served as commander of the
primary training group and as deputy wing commander. In 1950 he went to Korea for two years as Fifth Air Force
director of operations during the Korean Conflict.
His other post-war assignments include: deputy chief of staff of operations, Headquarters Tactical Air Command,
Langley Air Force Base, Va.; vice commander of the Ninth Air Force, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and deputy
director for requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; and commander of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
Among the awards and decorations he has received are the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre from France, Luxembourg and
Belgium.