JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
While known for being the “father of U.S. military aviation” with his historic flight at Fort Sam Houston March 2, 1910, Benjamin D. Foulois was also the owner of many other aviation-related “firsts.”
1931 – First Chief of the Air Corps to be a military aviator
After a series of important assignments in the 1920s, Foulois reported to the Office of the Chief of Air Corps in 1930 and earned the Mackay Trophy in 1931 for leading the Air Corps’ annual exercises.
On Dec. 19, he became chief of the Air Corps, the first military aviator to do so. His vision and persistence laid the foundation for moving the Air Corps from a supporting branch of the Army toward full status as an independent service.