Lansdale, Edward Geary (06 February 1908–23 February 1987), air force officer and counterinsurgency specialist, was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of automotive executive Henry Lansdale and Sarah Frances Phillips. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and obtained an army commission through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program. Leaving UCLA without graduating in 1931, he went to New York City to look unsuccessfully for newspaper work. There he met and married Helen Batcheller in 1932. They had two children....
