Benjamin Delahauf Foulois
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| Benjamin Delahauf Foulois | |
|---|---|
| December 9, 1879- 25 April 1967 | |
 Benjamin D. Foulois |
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| Place of birth | Washington, Connecticut |
| Place of death | Andrews Air Force Base |
| Allegiance | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1898-1935 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | Chief of the Air Corps Chief of the Air Service, AEF 1st Aero Squadron |
| Battles/wars | Spanish American War Philippine American War Pancho Villa Expedition World War One |
Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (December 9, 1879 - April 25, 1967), was a United States Army Officer and was one of the first three military pilots trained by the Wright brothers.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in Washington, Connecticut, and he enlisted in the Army in 1898 and served in Cuba and the Philippines where he was promoted from sergeant to Second Lieutenant. In 1906, he became interested in flying and wrote an essay on the uses of aircraft in military operations. He flew Army dirigible No. 1 in 1908 at Fort Omaha, Nebraska. In 1909 he received instruction from the Wright brothers as part of the contract delivering the first airplane to the Army. Then, in 1910, Foulois was sent to San Antonio, Texas as the officer-in-charge. The first flight of a military airplane took place March 2, 1910 at Fort Sam Houston with him at the controls. For a year he was the Army's only pilot. In 1915, he commanded the 1st Aero Squadron and participated in the 1916 Pancho Villa Expedition. During World War I he served as Chief of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces. After the war, Foulois served as air attaché in Germany and later rose to Chief of the Air Corps in 1931. He was promoted to the rank of Major General on December 20, 1931, and he retired in 1935.
After his second wife's death in the early 1960s, he traveled around the world to visit US Air Force bases and to talk to the airmen about his early aviation adventures. In 1963 Congress voted him a medal of recognition which was presented by Lyndon Johnson. Major General Foulois died at Andrews Air Force Base at the age of 87, and was buried in Washington, Connecticut with full military honors. Throughout his long life he never ceased advocating for air power.
[edit] Name
Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest "Rhymes with to cloy: foo-loy'." (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)
[edit] Publication
From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts: The Memoirs of Benjamin D. Foulois; New York, McGraw-Hill (1968)
[edit] Legacy
- General Foulois is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.
- The Benjamin D. Foulois Elementary School in Morningside, Maryland is named in his honor.
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