George DeJean DeBeeson was born in Shickley, Nebraska, on May 31, 1897. Growing up on a farm, he only acquired an 8th grade education, but his natural brilliance was apparent to all. He was a skilled artist and easily took to blacksmithing. In 1914, he helped his brother build an airplane of sorts on the family farm. A relative later recalled how the aircraft was constructed of “piano wire and canvas and bicycle tires,” and that it won a prize in the Geneva County fair.
During World War I, DeBeeson enlisted in the Navy Reserve on October 3, 1918, just before the Armistice. He trained briefly as an aviator before being discharged on December 14th of the same year. While his military service may have concluded, his passion for aviation did not. He continued to fly, tinker, and move in the same circles as aviation legends Jimmy Doolittle, Wiley Post and Frank Hawkes.
DeBeeson obsessed over creating a better autopilot and, by 1931, he succeeded. His “Iron Skull” autopilot received rave reviews from the likes of General Electric and publications like Modern Mechanics and Aviation Magazines, but he was never able to cash in on his invention and later claimed that he had been swindled by one of the first companies he had demonstrated his product to.
Still, he led an amazingly accomplished life. DeBeeson died on February 23, 1965, at age 67. He now rests in Section A-F, Site 236 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Honor his service on his virtual Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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Sounds like an interesting guy one could almost make a movie about. Too bad he did not live just a few more years to see men land on the moon.