Instead, he sought to secure a graduate scholarship in petrography at an eastern university, but when this fell through, he decided to accept an offer of an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from Senator Robert N.

He was a member of the cadet choir, taught Sunday school, and qualified as an expert marksman with the rifle and pistol.

[5] During his senior year, he visited Langley Field, Virginia, where he was impressed by the adjutant, Colonel James F. Doherty's, advocacy of an independent air force.

He then attended the Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, from which he graduated with his wings on 11 June 1930.

[6] His teachers included Sverre Petterssen, a Norwegian meteorologist whose theories of atmospheric circulation revolutionized weather forecasting.

[3] He obtained his master's degree under the supervision of Irving P. Krick,[5] and became the post weather officer at Randolph Field, Texas.

He returned to the California Institute of Technology on 1 February 1942 on a mission from the chief of the Army Air Forces, Lieutenant General Henry H. Arnold.

He built on Darwin's work with his own published paper on coral reef development,[3][better source needed] which divided atolls into 3 age strata, with different characteristics.

The differences were crucial to the success of the operation, because the slopes off the lagoon shores of the Marshalls were steeper than forecast by a strict reading of Darwin's 19th century general work, and the lagoon was deep enough for LSTs to enter to discharge tanks directly onto the beach, which Zimmerman confirmed by going ashore with the 4th Marine Division.

[1] He returned to Washington, D.C., where he served with the Operations Division of the War Department General Staff from 5 June 1944 to 30 June 1945,[8] returning to the Pacific to serve at the Guam-based headquarters of the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific,[8] for which he was awarded a second Legion of Merit.

He was a student at the Imperial Defence College in the UK from 1 April 1946 to 20 December 1946, and then returned to Washington for another tour of duty on the War Department General Staff.

[8] After the outbreak of the Korean War he went to the Headquarters Far East Air Forces, first as its director of plans, programs and policy, and then as deputy for intelligence until after the fighting ended in 1953.

He gave it a different orientation from West Point, with as many classroom hours devoted to the humanities and social studies as to scientific subjects.