Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
UNMACHT, George F.
UNMACHT, George F. (Dubuque, IA, Sept. 10, 1887—Hawaii, Jan. 10, 1954). Colonel. Unmacht, a career military officer, invented a tank-mounted flame-thower for the armed forces. While stationed in Hawaii as the Territorial Coordinator for Civilian Gas Defense, he was given the task of providing a gas mask for every resident of the islands. Adults were soon supplied, but an estimated 5,000 young children were in need of protection.
Afraid of regulation gas masks, children needed something to protect them from the effects of an attack using gas during WORLD WAR II. Unmacht remedied the situation by inventing a gas mask that looked like a bunny face. (Photo Courtesy: James Unmacht—Colonel Unmacht (sitting) is congratulated by President Harry Truman)