Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
In September 1947 the combat elements of the Army Air Forces separated from the U.S. Army, forming the United States Air Force. But a few Air Force support functions, such as medical care, remained U.S. Army responsibilities for the next two years. Starting in 1948, the Air Force and the Air Surgeon, Maj. Gen. Malcolm C. Grow (1887-1960), began to convince the U.S. Army and the administration of President Harry S. Truman that the Air Force needed its own medical service. In the summer of 1949, Air Force General Order No. 35 established a medical service with the following officer personnel components: Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Air Force Nurse Corps, and Women’s Medical Specialist Corps.
Mathews family (Virginia)
Mason M. Patrick (1863–1942), son of Virginia (Mathews) Patrick, was commander of the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and the Interwar Period. He drafted and proposed the 1926 Air Corps Act to Congress, creating the U.S. Army Air Corps from the existing Air Service. In 1947 the Air Corps was made into the United States Air Force.