Fell, R. E.

Richard Earle Fell was an air mail pilot in the 1920s-1930s. He picked up the first air mail from Kitty Hawk Air Field in 1937. He was a Colonel in the Army Air Corps in World War I and a Colonel in the Army Air Force in World War II. In World War II he was responsible for transporting supplies "over the hump" to Major General Chennault in 1942. He received both the Air Medal and the Bronze Star for these flights. He also served in the Africa-Middle East and China-Burma-India theaters. From 1942-1946 he was a reserve officer. From 1942 to 1944 he was the Commanding Officer of Edwards Air Base A-T-C's Special Mission Group and the Commanding Officer at the National Airport Air Transport Command Base in Washington, D.C. in 1946. He was called back from the Army Air Force Reserve to serve in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and on Operation Gay-Dog in Greenland. He joined Capital Airlines, Inc. in 1942 and was president of the airlines when he retired in 1963.

From the guide to the R. E. Fell papers, 1924-1970, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)