Clair Wilbur Welty was born October 15, 1890, to A. J. and Mary Welty. He lived in Apple Creek, Ohio, located near Wooster in the northeastern part of the state. Welty attended grade school and high school in his home community, graduating from Apple Creek High School in 1905. He left for a brief period to attend the College of Wooster, then returned to teach in his old school district. In October 1917, Welty enlisted in the United States Army Signal Corps. This was an unusual action for someone who was raised Mennonite, as Welty had been. He was trained as an airplane pilot at Ohio State University. Upon the completion of his training in November 1917, Welty was commissioned Second Lieutenant. After additional training in California, Welty was sent to France as part of a group of commissioned flying officers. After he recovered from a brief period of illness, Welty was ordered to Issoudun, France, where he served as a pilot-trainer. On November 10, 1918, the day before the war ended, another pilot's plane crashed into Welty's Nieuport 28 during a routine training flight. The details appear to have been glossed over in several of the letters which were later sent to Mary Welty, but it is obvious that Clair Welty survived the crash for only a short period of time and died the same day. He was buried November 11, Armistice Day, following day in AEF Cemetery 32, Issoudun, France.
From the guide to the Clair Wilbur Welty Papers, 1905-1922, 1917-1918, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)
