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.
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.
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.
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 actual combat in support operations.
John Morrison Birch was a United States Army Air Forces military intelligence captain, OSS 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.
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 Navy and Marine Corps' Navy Cross, the Air Force and Space Force's 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.
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.
Wesley Lee Fox was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps colonel with 43 years of service. Fox was a combat veteran – receiving the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Vietnam War – and is considered one of the Marine Corps' legendary heroes. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he wrote a book about his career: Marine Rifleman: Forty-Three Years in the Corps; and, he served for 8 years as deputy commandant for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
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.
Gerald Francis Coleman was a 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.
In the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, colonel is the most senior field-grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. It 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.
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.
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. Davis rose to the rank of major, and was promoted posthumously to lieutenant colonel and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in "MiG Alley" during the latter war. He was the only flying ace of the United States to be killed in action in Korea.
Hispanic Americans, also referred to as Latinos, served in all elements of the American armed forces in the war. They fought in every major American battle in the war. Between 400,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, out of a total of 16,000,000, constituting 3.1% to 3.2% of the U.S. Armed Forces. The exact number is unknown as, at the time, Hispanics were not tabulated separately, but were included in the general white population census count. Separate statistics were kept for African Americans and Asian Americans.
General Emmett E. "Rosie" O'Donnell Jr. was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF) from 1959 to 1963. He also led the first B-29 Superfortress attack against Tokyo during World War II.
The Kagnew Battalions were a number of military units from the Imperial Ethiopian Army which fought as part of United Nations Command in the Korean War (1950–53). The battalions rotated yearly, with the First Kagnew Battalion arriving at the front in 1951. The Third Kagnew Battalion which arrived in 1953, stayed through the signing of the armistice into 1954. Over the next two years more Ethiopians guarded the stalemate in Korea as part of the Fourth Kagnew Battalion and the Fifth Kagnew Company. Even though some publications indicate Ethiopians remained in Korea until 1965, in fact they remained a part of the United Nations Command until 1975. Members of Kagnew Battalion were, with few exceptions, drawn from the Ethiopian Imperial Bodyguard Division.
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.
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.
Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Muñiz was a United States Air Force officer who during World War II served in the United States Army Air Forces. He co-founded the Puerto Rico Air National Guard together with then-Colonels Alberto A. Nido and Mihiel Gilormini. In 1963, the Air National Guard Base, at the San Juan International Airport in Puerto Rico, was renamed "Muñiz Air National Guard Base" in his honor.
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