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Lt. Col. Alvin M. Welbes USAF (Ret.) Lt. Col. Alvin M. Welbes, USAF (Ret.), age age 85, of Austin passed away on Thursday, April 29, 2010. He was born on June 13, 1924 in Waterloo, Iowa to John Peter and Leona Delagardelle Welbes. Col. Welbes received his Pilot Wings in the U.S. Army Air Force in San Antonio, Texas in 1943, and shipped out to the European Theater as part of the 57th Fighter Group, 65th Fighter Squadron, where he flew P-40s and P-47s in North Africa and Italy, spending the majority of his time in Corsica. As part of the war effort, Hollywood made a major documentary film about the men and mission of the 65th FS, entitled "Thunderbolt", in which then Capt. Welbes makes several appearances. He also flew several combat tours in Korea and Vietnam. He retired from the USAF after 30 years of service. Medals and awards earned while serving in the USAAF and USAF include: Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal w/ 15 OLC, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal w/ 1 OLC, National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 Bronze Service Star, Air Force Longevity Service Award w/ 1 Silver & 1 Bronze OLC, WW II Victory Medal, European/African/ Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal w/ 1 BSS, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Presidential Unit Citation (20th TASS).
1943-1947, United States Army Air Corps (USAAC)
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The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. The statutory administrative forerunner of the United States Air Force, it was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926 and part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps was the immediate predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), established on 20 June 1941. Although discontinued as an administrative echelon during World War II, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.
The Air Corps was renamed by the United States Congress largely as a compromise between the advocates of a separate air arm and those of the traditionalist Army high command who viewed the aviation arm as an auxiliary branch to support the ground forces. Although its members worked to promote the concept of air power and an autonomous air force between the years between the world wars, its primary purpose by Army policy remained support of ground forces rather than independent operations.
On 1 March 1935, still struggling with the issue of a separate air arm, the Army activated the General Headquarters Air Force for centralized control of aviation combat units within the continental United States, separate from but coordinate with the Air Corps. The separation of the Air Corps from control of its combat units caused problems of unity of command that became more acute as the Air Corps enlarged in preparation for World War II. This was resolved by the creation of the Army Air Forces (AAF), making both organizations subordinate to the new higher echelon.
The Air Corps ceased to have an administrative structure after 9 March 1942, but as "the permanent statutory organization of the air arm, and the principal component of the Army Air Forces," the overwhelming majority of personnel assigned to the AAF were members of the Air Corps.
