Muir Fairchild and the Origins of Air University, 1945-46

In May 1945, in a small San Francisco hotel room overlooking the bay, Maj Gen Muir S. Fairchild formally reviewed his 28-year career in the Army Air Forces AAF. In his mind, it had been a memorable one--a virtual rags to riches story from the military point of view. He had entered the Washington National Guard as a private in 1916 and by the end of World War I, had received a commission, attended flight school, and flown in bomber combat missions with the French air forces over Germany. After the war, Fairchild won a regular commission, became a test pilot, and attended the Air Corps Tactical School ACTS at Maxwell Field, Alabama, the Army Industrial College, and the Army War College at Washington, D.C. One of his most momentous adventures was his trip with Capt Ira Eaker--the Pan-American Good will Flight to South America 1926-27--as a result of which he became one of the first airmen to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.