Evening star., 1927-04-03
HIGH AIR OFFICERS
ONCE PR|VATES
Only Five in Corps Above
Lieutenant Colonel Come
From Academy.

Eleven buck privates who back In
the days of the Spanish American War
4 invested their lives in the military
service of the Nation have received
. dividends in the form of ranking posi-
. fions in the Army Air Corps today.
OF the corps IL officers of the grade
4 of lieutenant colonel and above, only
s gained their present positions with
out first serving in the ranks as pri-
+ Yates.
Five of that number went into the
Army from the Military Academy at
West Point, while the sixth stepped
4 into an officers uniform frons civilian
n clothes The West Point graduates
are Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patrick
chief of the Air Corps; Brig. Gen.
William E. Gilmore and Brig. Gen.
Frank P. Lahm, assistant chiefs; Col.
Chalmers G.. Hall and Lieut.. Col.
James A. Mars. Col. Theodore A.
Baldwin, jr., was appointed to the
Infantry from civil life in September,
1898.
Others Started at Bottom.
The remaining officers, who once
were at the very bottom of the mill
tary ladder, are Brig. Gen. James E.
Fechet, ranking first of the three as
sistant chiefs of the Air Corps. and
Lieut.. Coils. c. C. Culver, commanding
officer of Langley Field, Hampton.
. Va: Charles H. Danforth, air officer
of the 4th Corps Area, with headquar-
ters at Atlanta, Ga; Ira F. Fravel OF
the lighter-than-air branch and stu
dent at the Army War College here;
Harry Graham, commanding Rock
well Field, San Diego, Calf: Roy {.
Kirkland, General Staff, War Depart
ment: Arthur G.. Fisher of the lighter
than-air branch and commanding
France Field, Canal Zone; John II.
Howard, commanding Luke Field.
Hawaii: Seth w. Cook. air officer of
the 5th Corps Area, with headquarters
at Columbus, Ohio: Benjamin ID. Fou-
lois, commanding Mitchell Field, Long
Island. and John A. Paegelow of the
I1ighter-than-air branch and command
i ing Scott Field, Belleville, Ill.
Gems Fechet, Gilmore and Lahm
occupy appointive positions. but are
retained on the promotion list as lieu
tenant colonels When their terms of
Office expire they will revert to the
ranks of lieutenant colonels unless in
/ the meantime they have moved for
ward on the single list.
Served i'm Cavalry.
Gen. Fechet began his service as
private, then corporal and then SER
y
/ ing the service April Is, 1898. More
. than two years later he discarded the
enlisted mans uniform for that of a
second lieutenant in the Cavalry and
i In 1917 entered aviation with the tenn
porary rank of lieutenant colonel,
which was made permanent July 1,
1890.
Lieut.. Col. Culver spent about four
months as an enlisted man in 1898,
during that time as quartermaster
sergeant of Troop K, Sd Cavalry, and
then entered the Cavalry as second
lieutenant. He transferred to the fly
4 ing branch in 1918.
Lieut.. Col. Danforth served his first
4 duty as private, June is. 1898, rose to
\ the rank of sergeant and then first
sergeant of Company H, 4th Infantry,
and finally sergeant major OF the bat
talon before being commissioned in
\ the following year. He entered avia-
. ton in 1918.
Lieut. Col. Fravel was private, cor
p0fal sergeant and quartermaster
sergeant, Company L, 5th Infantry
from July %, 1898, to August 5. 1900.
when he became an officer. He trans
ferred to balloons and airships in 1917.
Lieut. Col. Graham was private and
corporal in Company ID, 18th Infantry,
from June 16. 1899, to September 90,
1900. With the rank of captain. he
entered aviation in February, 1918.
Transferred i'm 1914.
Lieut. Col Kirkland. one of the
group of air pioneers who few at
College Park, Nd, back in 1912, served
4 as private, corporal, sergeant and bat
TALON sergeant-major of the 7th In
fantry from November S, 1898, to
August 20, 1901. He transferred Of
s fioially to the aviation section of the
4 Signal Corps, with the rank of cap
tain, in 1914.
Lieut.. Col. Arthur G. Fisher was
. private and corporal of Troop HI, 1st
4 Cavalry, from September ]. 1899. to
April 20, 1901, and he entered aviation
4 in 1922.
Lieut.. Col. Howard served as pri.
vate. corporal and sergeant of Bat
h terry L. 7th Artillery, from April 81
1898, to October IL, 1901. He entered
the Air Service in December of 1921.
Lieut.. Col. Seth w. Cook was pri
rate and trumpeter of Troop NJ, 4th
Cavalry, from June 1, 1898. to July 6,
1901, and then went into the cavalry
{ rs an officer. transferring to the air
E branch In 1917.
Lieut.. Col. Foulois was private. cor.
poral. sergeant, quartermaster-ser
9eant and frst sergeant of Company
s g, 18th Infantry, from June II. 1899,
4 to July 8. 1901. He entered aviation
+ In 1914 and after several years of pio-
rIeering returned to the infantry, only
{ TO transfer back again to the air
. branch in 1920.
Lieut.. Col. Paegelow, born In Ger.
many, was private and quartermaster
sergeant of Company G, 18th Infantry,
from January s, 1897. to June 80.
1901. He entered the iighter-than-air
Held nearly seven years ago.