Muir S. Fairchild

In 1916, he was deployed in the Washington National Guard with the rank of sergeant, and his unit joined in the search for Pancho Villa along the Mexican border, where he spent much time in a horse saddle in the desert heat.The aircraft used for the journey were new observation planes, the Loening OA-1A that could be used as both landplanes and seaplanes, with Liberty engines and a wood interior structure with an aluminum-covered fuselage and fabric-covered wings.Clinton F. Woolsey, Lt. John Benton; Crew of the St. Louis: Lt. Bernard Thompson, Lt. Leonard Weddington The flight was marred by tragedy when the Detroit and New York accidentally collided mid-air and got locked together.The Pan American Flyers were greeted by a cheering crowd including President Calvin Coolidge, Cabinet members, and diplomats from Central and Latin America when they returned to Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., on May 2, 1927.Fairchild and the rest of the surviving Pan American Flight crew, and Charles Lindbergh, were among the first nine aviators to receive the newly created award Distinguished Flying Cross.Only one year and ten months later, General Fairchild died of a heart attack at his quarters at Fort Myer on March 17, 1950, while still on active duty as vice chief of staff at the Pentagon.
From left, Gen Dwight Eisenhower , Army Chief of Staff; Maj Gen Muir Fairchild, AU commander; and Maj Gen David Schlatter, the AU deputy commanding general (education), review an AU organizational chart during General Eisenhower's visit to Maxwell on 9 April 1947.
Bellingham, WashingtonFort Myer, VirginiaArlington National CemeteryArlington, VirginiaUnited States ArmyUnited States Air ForceGeneralVice Chief of StaffAir UniversityMexican ExpeditionWorld War IWorld War IIDistinguished Service MedalLegion of MeritDistinguished Flying CrossOlympia High SchoolU.S. Army'sSignal CorpsSeattleUniversity of WashingtonWashington National GuardPancho VillaBerkeleyCaliforniaAviation SectionMcCook FieldMitchel FieldNew YorkLangley FieldVirginiaHarold Ross HarrisWitteman-Lewis XNBL-1South AmericaKelly FieldLoening OA-1AHerbert DargueEnnis WhiteheadIra EakerClinton F. WoolseyBolling FieldCharles LindberghWright FieldDouglas AircraftAir Corps Tactical SchoolHaywood S. HansellBarney GilesVernon M. GuymonLaurence S. KuterLawson H. M. SandersonHoyt S. VandenbergArmy Industrial CollegeArmy War CollegeDwight EisenhowerJoint Strategic Survey CommitteeArmy Air Forces SchoolMaxwell FieldAlabamaheart attackFort Myerthe PentagonUnited States Air Force AcademyColoradolibraryFairchild Memorial HallWashingtonFairchild Air Force BaseSpokaneAir Force Historical Research Agencyarchive.todayVice Chief of Staff of the United States Air ForceNathan F. Twining