George Welch
1918–1954 (age 36)
Fighter Pilot
Biography
George Welch soared as an American fighter pilot, flying the twin-engine P-38 Lightning with daring at every turn. He was among the first to challenge enemy assaults over Europe and later embraced new aviation frontiers, helping to test the nation’s earliest jet fighters.
Colleagues remembered him for his fearless commitment to pilots in the cockpit and to the engineers on the ground, a partnership that underscored America’s airpower edge.