Foulois, Benjamin D.

Foulois, Benjamin D. (Delahauf) (1879–1967) soldier, aviator; born in Washington, Conn. He left his father's plumbing business to enlist to fight the Spanish in 1898, was commissioned in 1901, and transferred to the Signal Corps in 1908. He learned to fly two years later; he was assistant chief of the American Expeditionary Force's air service in France in 1917. As chief of the Army Air Corps from 1931–35, Foulois overcame tight budgets and official indifference to improve training, equipment, and doctrine. He retired in 1935, the year in which the establishment of General Headquarters Air Force gave the flying service a measure of autonomy.