NAME William "Billy" Mitchell brings many images to mind--for example, that of the gallant Airman who forcefully advocated the independence of the Army Air Service from its mother service. Mitchell's polarizing behavior in this endeavor endeared his allies and alienated his opponents. Another image depicts the first American air theorist, whose ideas--taught and fostered in the curriculum of the Air Corps Tactical School--laid the foundation of American airpower's employment in World War II. Indeed, such contributions deserve high praise, which Congress bestowed posthumously in the form of a special medal of honor in 1957, more than 20 years after Mitchell's death. (1) Evidently, however, this was not enough. In 2004 the 108th Congress authorized the president to promote him to the rank of major general, citing that as the rank Mitchell would have achieved had he served as chief of the Air Service in 1925. The president has not exercised that option, nor should he do so--for two reasons: (1) many leaders of that time ensured that Mitchell never held this title for reasons other than the oft-cited ones of personal bias and resentment, and (2) posthumous promotion does not vindicate Mitchell from the more questionable acts he committed during his military service. (2) It is better to remember Billy Mitchell at his highest attained rank of brigadier general than to confer a new, pyrrhic rank of major general.

The promotion option was created at the behest of Senator Charles Bass (R-NH), whose father, Rep. Perkins Bass (R-NH), nephew of Billy Mitchell, had introduced a bill in 1957 nominating Mitchell for the same promotion. The elder Bass noted that Mitchell clearly deserved to be chief of the Air Service, a permanent major-general billet. According to Senator Bass, that effort failed because "[his father's] efforts were successfully blocked by some of Mitchell's military adversaries." (3) Of course these so-called adversaries did not impede Mitchell's reception of a medal of honor, but the initial efforts to promote Mitchell posthumously did come to a standstill. (4) Senator Bass explained his motivation for reintroducing the bill years later: "He [Mitchell] was the father of the modern Air Force.... This should be done." (5) The promotion option, which applied to rank only (it excluded additional money or benefits), drew muted support from the US Air Force--the service that calls Mitchell its patriarch. (6) Nevertheless, the promotion opportunity appears harmless enough and seemingly appropriate, so why not lobby the president to use his legal authority to posthumously promote Billy Mitchell to major general?

To begin, the justification that motivated this presidential legal option is erroneous. One can rightly question Representative Bass's accusation of adversarial impropriety. The Army recognized Mitchell's hard work, rewarding him with promotions and added responsibility. But prior to and during the initial part of his Army service, he received many handouts from his father, a well-to-do senator who arranged for his son's attendance at a private school and later engineered a commission for him in the Army, where he began as a signals...