George Patrick Welch

Last updated

George Patrick Welch was a historian and writer whose works include Britannia: The Roman Conquest and Occupation of Britain.

He was born in 1900 in Boston, Massachusetts and was educated at Harvard from which he graduated in 1923. For fifteen years thereafter he was active in investment banking, retiring in 1938 to write. In the next few years, he published many short stories and articles, plus a historical novel, Final Hosting. Then came Pearl Harbor and the Army. As a soldier, Colonel Welch served through World War II and for some ten years after in various posts in the United States, the Africa-Middle East Theatre, and Japan. During the Korean War, he commanded an artillery battalion at the Inchon landing, the assault on Seoul, and the march to the Yalu River. He also served as General Matthew Ridgway's Information Officer. He made headlines in Time magazine in 1952 because of his involvement in exposing information leaks between American and Russian journalists. Some war correspondents, said Welch, had been abusing their rights at Panmunjom by "fraternization and trafficking with the enemy." He said they were guilty of "excessive social consorting, including drinking of alcoholic beverages, with Communist 'journalists.'" Retired as a full colonel in 1956, he held the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Korean Campaign Medal with four stars, and the Air Medal.

Besides his two books, he also wrote a play, "Assignment in Judea", a fact-based fictional account of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ from the Romans' and Pontius Pilate's perspectives. It premiered in Florida in 1964.

He lived his final years in Colorado Springs, surrounded by his friends in the extensive military complexes headquartered there, including the Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, and NORAD. He died in 1973.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Edgehill</span> 1642 battle during the English Civil War

The Battle of Edgehill was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)</span> Military award of the US Armed Forces

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The medal was established on July 2, 1926, and is currently awarded to any persons who, after April 6, 1917, distinguish themselves by single acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Both heroism and extraordinary achievement are entirely distinctive, involving operations that are not routine. The medal may be awarded to friendly foreign military members in ranks equivalent to U.S. Pay Grade of O-6 and below, in combat in support operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Birch (missionary)</span> American missionary and military officer

John Morrison Birch was a United States Army Air Forces military intelligence captain, OSS field agent in China during World War II, as well as former Baptist minister and missionary. He was killed in a confrontation with Chinese Communist soldiers during an assignment he was ordered on by the OSS, ten days after the war ended. Birch was posthumously awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Fletcher Prouty</span> United States Air Force officer

Leroy Fletcher Prouty served as Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President John F. Kennedy. A colonel in the United States Air Force, he retired from military service to become a bank executive. He subsequently became a critic of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which he believed was working on behalf of a secret world elite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distinguished Service Cross (United States)</span> US Armys second highest medal

The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree that they are above those required for all other U.S. combat decorations, but which do not meet the criteria for the Medal of Honor. The Army Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Naval Services' Navy Cross, the Air and Space Forces' Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. Prior to the creation of the Air Force Cross in 1960, airmen were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Patton IV</span> United States Army general and son of George Patton

George Smith Patton IV was a major general in the United States Army and the son of World War II General George S. Patton Jr. He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Welch (pilot)</span> World War II flying ace (1918–1954)

George Schwartz Welch was a World War II flying ace, a Medal of Honor nominee, and an experimental aircraft pilot after the war. Welch is best known for having been one of the few United States Army Air Corps fighter pilots able to get airborne to engage Japanese forces in the attack on Pearl Harbor and for his work as a test pilot. Welch resigned from the United States Army Air Forces as a major in 1944, and became a test pilot for North American Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry D. Welch</span> United States Air Force general

General Larry D. Welch is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who served as the 12th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. As Chief of Staff, he served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of a combined active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian force serving at locations in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as the principal military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Nuclear Weapon Surety Task Force for the Defense Science Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Coleman</span> American MLB player, broadcaster, and manager (1924–2014)

Gerald Francis Coleman was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Yankees teams on which he was a player appeared in six World Series during his career, winning four times. Coleman served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War, flying combat missions with the VMSB-341 Torrid Turtles (WWII) and VMA-323 Death Rattlers (Korea) in both wars. He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonel (United States)</span> Military rank of the United States

A colonel in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, is the most senior field-grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. Colonel is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. By law, an officer previously required at least 22 years of cumulative service and a minimum of three years as a lieutenant colonel before being promoted to colonel. With the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, military services now have the authorization to directly commission new officers up to the rank of colonel. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thomas Corley</span> United States Army general

Brigadier General John Thomas Corley was a career United States Army officer who served with distinction in World War II. He was also noted for his contributions to army training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Andrew Davis Jr.</span> American fighter pilot (1920–1952)

George Andrew Davis Jr. was a highly decorated fighter pilot and flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later of the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He was killed in action during a combat mission in northwestern Korea, in an area nicknamed "MiG Alley". For his actions during the Korean War, Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted from major to lieutenant colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James L. Day</span> United States Marine Corps general

Major General James Lewis Day was a United States Marine Corps major general who served in World War II, in the Korean War, and in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions as a corporal on May 14 to 17, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William F. Dean</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

William Frishe Dean Sr. was a United States Army major general during World War II and the Korean War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 20 and 21, 1950, during the Battle of Taejon in South Korea. Dean also became the highest ranking American officer captured by an enemy force since the 18 American Army generals captured by Imperial Japan after the fall of the Philippines when he was captured by North Korea during the Korean War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Childress</span> American writer (1933–2022)

William Childress was an American writer, author, poet, and photojournalist. Childress received numerous awards, prizes, and accolades for his writing and poetry, and is regarded as one of the foremost poets of the Korean War by at least two critics.

Anthony B. Herbert was a United States Army officer, who served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He is best known for his claims that he witnessed war crimes in Vietnam, which his commanding officer refused to investigate. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and was the author of several books about his experiences, including Soldier and Making of A Soldier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatoly Kornukov</span> Soviet general (1942–2014)

General Anatoly Mikhailovich Kornukov was a general in the Russian Air Force and the former fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Defence Forces. From 1998 until 2002, he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force. He is remembered for ordering Korean Air Lines Flight 007 to be shot down, resulting in the deaths of all 269 aboard.

Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.

References