Arthur Bee McDaniel was born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 31, 1895. He was graduated from the West Texas Military Academy in San Antonio in 1913, before attending the University of Texas in Austin. He graduated from there with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1917. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry in the Officers’ Reserve Corps on August 15, 1917, and was called to active duty on that same date. He was commissioned a second lieutenant, Infantry, in the Regular Army, on October 26, 1917.
SERVICE
After attending Officers’ Training Camp at Leon Springs, Texas, from May until September 1917, he was transferred to Columbus, New Mexico, with the 24th Infantry. In January 1919 he was transferred with that unit to Fort Bliss, Texas, and the following March to Columbus, New Mexico. In August 1919 he went to Germany to serve with the American forces in Mulheim and Bendorf.
In December 1921 he returned to the United States, and entered the Air Service Pilot School at Carlstrom Field, Florida, for flight training. He was transferred to Kelly Field, Texas, in August 1921, for advanced pilot training, and upon his graduation there in February 1922, remained at Kelly Field as Commanding Officer of the 26th Squadron.
He became Commanding Officer of the 43rd School Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas, in January 1923, and in July 1924, was named Director of Pursuit Training at the Air Service Advanced Flying School there. In December 1924 he became Operations Officer for the 10th School Group, and in September 1925 was named Secretary of the School, and Officer in Charge of War Plans, Training Section and Co-ordination for the 10th School Group. In July 1926, he became the Officer in Charge of Training at Kelly Field, Texas.
He was the Finance Officer, Executive Officer, and Pilot of the Pan American Flight made in the period from December 21, 1926, to May 2, 1927. In July 1927, he was assigned to Duncan Field, Texas, as Director of Training at the Air Corps Training Center, and served there until January 1930, when he was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps.
He became Executive Officer of the Training and Operations Division, A-3, in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps, in July 1930. In April 1933 he became Assistant to the Training and Operations Officer, A-3, of the General Headquarters Air Force. In September 1933 he was ordered to Maxwell Field, Alabama, as a student in the Air Corps Tactical School, and was graduated in June 1934. He was assigned to the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in September 1934, and was graduated in June 1935. In June 1936 he completed the Advanced Course at the Command and General Staff School.
He then became an instructor at that school in July 1936, and served until September 1938, when he was ordered to Washington, D.C., as a student officer at the Army War College. He was graduated in June 1939, and again was assigned to the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps as Executive Officer of the Training and Operations Division, A-3, in Washington, D.C.
In February 1941 he was transferred to Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone, where he subsequently became Chief of Staff of the Caribbean Air Force, later the Sixth Air Force. He returned to the United States, and on 1 October 1942, became Commanding General of the III Air Support Command at Birmingham Army Air Base, Alabama. The command was primarily concerned with the training of bombardment units, but under his direction a gradual shift was made to tactical and photographic reconnaissance. On August 18, 1943, the organization was redesignated the III Reconnaissance Command.
General McDaniel suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on December 26, 1943.
He was rated as a Command Pilot, Combat Observer, and Aircraft Observer.
PROMOTIONS
Second Lieutenant, Officers’ Reserve Corps, August 15, 1917 (Active Duty from August 15, 1917, to November 18, 1917); Second Lieutenant, Infantry, October 26, 1917; First Lieutenant (temporary), October 26, 1917; First Lieutenant (permanent), March 11, 1919; Captain, July 1, 1920; transferred to the Air Service on February 7, 1922; Major, August 1, 1935; Lieutenant Colonel (temporary), October 12, 1937; Lieutenant Colonel (permanent), August 18, 1940; Colonel (temporary), December 30, 1940; Colonel, A.U.S., December 24, 1941; Brigadier General, A.U.S., March 27, 1942.
DECORATIONS
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with the following citation:
“For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Captain McDaniel, as one of the pilots of the airplane “San Antonio” during the Pan-American Flight, December 21, 1926, to May 2, 1927, displayed initiative, resourcefulness, and a high degree of skill under the many trying conditions encountered throughout this flight. His tireless energy, sound judgement and personal courage contributed materially to the successful completion of this mission of good will. In the efficient performance of arduous duties he aided in the accomplishment of an exploit which brought great credit to himself and to the Army of the United States.”
In addition, he received the following awards:
World War I Victory Medal, Army of Occupation of Germany Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Foreign Service Clasp, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Bolivian Order of the Condor of the Andes (Officer), Chilean Order of Merit (Officer), Order of the Sun of Peru (Officer), Peruvian Aviation Cross, 1st Class, Venezuelan Order of the Liberator (Officer), Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy.