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Charles Savage was signed in the Floyd Bennett Field Register as a passenger on April 10, 1933 at 11:30AM. He arrived at Brooklyn from Washington, DC in a Douglas O38B piloted by Charles Cummings. Savage retired from the Army in 1942, with ratings of balloon observer and aircraft observer (see below), so he was likely just a passenger and not a pilot on the Douglas in 1933.
Genevieve Moore Savage, Ca. 1935 (Source: Ninety-Nines via ancestry.com)
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Savage was born July 18, 1880 in Reading, PA.
The 1920 Census cited his residence as the balloon school, Lee Hall, VA (west of Newport News). The 26th Balloon Company of the Army Air Corps had a training school at Lee Hall during the summer of 1920. It trained soldiers for deployment to central and South America. At age 39, he was among the oldest at the school.
Two months after the Census, Savage married Genevieve Jeanette Moore on March 15, 1920 in Chicago, IL. She was 25 years old (b. 12/24/1894). She was a pilot in her own right who was killed in an airplane crash on August 27, 1937 (see below). Photograph, left, shows her at about age 40. The 1923 city directory for Belleville, IL listed them living at 418A North Jackson in that city.
When Savage was 50, in April, 1930, the couple were recorded on a U.S. Immigration form sailing from Manila, P.I. to San Francisco, CA aboard the military transport ship "U.S. Grant." According to the Army Registry, below, he would have been a major in 1930. I could find no 1930 U.S. Census information for them, probably because they were in the Philippines at the time of the tally.
We can place him at Bolling Field, Washington, DC in 1934, because of a compensation application he completed on March 24, 1934. This would explain his arrival from Washington, DC cited in the Register. Part of that form is below, showing his service activities during WWI.
C.M. Savage, Compensation Application, March 24, 1934 (Source: ancestry.com)
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Savage had the distinction of serving in the U.S. army in 1898. To my knowledge he is the only military signer of any Register to serve in the 19th century. Below is a summary of Savage's military service through to his retirement on November 9, 1942. He retired in 1942 with the rank of colonel.
Army Register, 1944 (Source: Woodling)
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C.M. Savage, Later Life (Source: ancestry.com)
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I have little information about what he and Genevieve did for fun, or if he had children or remarried after Genevieve's passing. An immigration form dated October 15, 1952 recorded him as a passenger returning to San Francisco from Honolulu, T.H. aboard the S.S. Lurline. At age 72 he was the oldest passenger. He appeared to be traveling solo. If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me KNOW.
C.M. & G.M. Savage, Grave Marker (Source: findagrave.com)
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Charles Savage died August 23, 1977 in Santa Clara, CA. He was 97 years old and enjoyed a long retirement from the military. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His grave marker is at left. He has no official Air Force Biography listed.
His wife, Genevieve, was buried with him. Her application for Arlington burial is below. Savage was a major at the time of her death. She had been flying for about six years.
Genevieve Moore Savage, Arlington Certificate, 1937 (Source: ancestry.com)
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Genevieve's death certificate follows.
Genevieve Jeanette Moore Savage, Death Certificate, August 30, 1937 (Source: ancestry.com)
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Brownsville Herald (TX), August 30, 1937 (Source: newspapers.com)
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Seattle Times, August 28, 1937 (Source: Woodling)
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Genevieve died at 3:26PM on August 27, 1937. Interestingly, her place of death was identified online as "near Presidio, TX." Guadalupe, her official place of death according to her death certificate, is a long way from Presidio, being farther northwest, nearer El Paso on the U.S.-Mexican border.
Numerous news articles documented Genevieve's crash and praised her accomplishments as a pilot. At the time of her crash, she was on her way to Cleveland, OH to participate in the Amelia Earhart Trophy Race as part of the National Air Races. Her airplane was a Ryan S-T. She had been a consistent prize winner.
At left is an article from the Brownsville Herald (TX), August 30, 1937, and at right is an article from the Seattle Times, August 28, 1937.
Her news coverage surpassed that of her husband. Interestingly, her age was given as "about 30" in the newspapers. Her actual age, having been born in 1894, was about 43 when she died.
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 01/19/17 REVISED:
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