Robert M. Losey
| Robert M. Losey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 27, 1908 Andrew, Iowa |
| Died | April 21, 1940 (aged 31) Dombås, Norway |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1929–1940 |
| Rank | Captain |
Captain Robert Moffat Losey (May 27, 1908 – April 21, 1940), an aeronautical meteorologist, is considered to be the first American military casualty in World War II. While serving as a military attaché prior to America's entry into the war, Losey was killed on April 21, 1940 during a German bombardment in Norway. He had been attempting to complete the evacuation of the American diplomatic legation from Norway to Sweden in the wake of the German invasion.
Robert Moffat Losey was born in Andrew, Iowa, on May 27, 1908, to Presbyterian clergyman Leon A. Losey and his wife, Nellie Moore Losey. He graduated from Trenton High School in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1924. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York in 1925. After graduating among the first 100 members of the West Point Class of 1929, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in field artillery, but transferred one year later to the Air Corps. He received his wings from the Air Corps' Advanced Flying School in San Antonio, Texas, on October 11, 1930. Losey then earned two master's degrees from the California Institute of Technology, while serving as a meteorologist in California. "Professors described him as 'perhaps the most brilliant student' who ever attended the school."
On April 10, 1933, he was married to Kathryn Leona Gault "Kay" Banta of California.
From August 1937, to January 1940, Losey was on duty in Washington with the office of Training and Operations Section of the office of the Chief of the Air Corps, Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold. There, he served as the first chief of the Weather Section, and was considered "the army's crack aeronautical meteorological expert."
In February 1940 Losey began serving as the air assistant to the military attaché with the United States Embassy in Finland. News accounts indicated his mission was to report on air developments in the Russo-Finnish War (where the harsh winter conditions provided a special opportunity to observe the interplay between meteorology and military aeronautics). As the German armed forces began their Norwegian Campaign, Losey was directed first to Sweden, then to Norway. After arriving in Norway he immediately became involved in efforts to evacuate the American legation to safety across the Swedish border. The American legation was divided into two parties. The first party, including Losey and U.S. Minister Florence Jaffray Harriman, reached Sweden safely, but had lost contact with the second party. Losey volunteered to return to Norway in search of the remainder of the American legation.
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