G. B. Greene, Jr.

Who is G. B. Greene, Jr.?

George Benjamin "Ben" Greene, Jr. was an American Air Force major general who was commander of Lackland Military Training Center, Air Training Command, and Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. In the dual capacity he was responsible for the operation of one of the largest installations in the Air Force as well as for the direction of a wide range of training functions at the base.

Greene was born in Laurens, South Carolina, in 1914. After graduating from high school in Anderson, South Carolina, he attended Clemson University, obtaining his bachelor of science degree in 1935.

He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Organized Reserve Corps, June 4, 1935, enlisted as an aviation cadet in January 1937, and completed flying training and received his pilot wings at Kelly Field, Texas, in January 1938.

Greene was then assigned to the 8th Pursuit Group, Langley Field, Virginia, as a pilot and group engineering officer. He became commander of the 35th Pursuit Squadron in December 1941 and moved with it to the Pacific Theater of Operations, serving in New Guinea. He flew 68 combat missions totaling 200 combat hours, all in fighter aircraft, and destroyed three enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, four on the ground, and one on the water.