MAJOR GENERAL RALPH ROYCE

Major General Ralph Royce was born in Marquette, Michigan, on June 28, 1890. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, with the Class of 1914, receiving a commission of second lieutenant in the Infantry on June 12, 1914.

June 12, 1914-September 22, 1915: Officer in the 26th Infantry, served with regiment at Texas City, Brownsville and Harlingen, Texas, September 12, 1914 to September 18, 1915 (at Naco, Arizona, attached to the 11th Infantry, December 18, 1914-February 18, 1915).
September 22, 1915-May 12, 1916: Student at Signal Corps Aviation School, San Diego, California. He was awarded F.A.I. airplane pilot certificate No. 393 (January 1916) and the rating of Junior Military Aviator (May 1916).
May 15, 1916-April 1917: Pilot with the 1st Aero Squadron during the Mexican Punitive Expedition and at border base.
1917-1919: Squadron Engineer Officer, Supply Officer, Adjutant and finally Commanding Officer of 1st Aero Squadron. After two months duty at the Pilot’s School in Memphis and Chicago, he returned to command of the 1st Aero Squadron. On August 5, 1917, the squadron, with Royce, in command left Columbus, New Mexico for Europe. He commanded the squadron in France until June 1918. He concurrently served as Commanding Officer of I Corps Observation Group from its activation until June 1918. He next served as Corps Air Service Officer (I Corps) until July 4, 1918, before serving as Assistant in various Army Staff Air Service positions until September 1, 1918. For the next ten months he served as the Air Service Representative in the 5th Section of the AEF General Staff.
1920-1926: Commanding Officer of Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida, and later Commandant of the Primary Flying School, Brooks Field, Texas.
1926-1927: Student at the Air Corps Tactical School, Langley Field, Virginia.
1927-1928: Student at the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
August 1928-15 May 1930: Commanding Officer of the 1st Pursuit Group, Selfridge Field, Michigan.
January 10, 1930-January 29, 1930: Commanding Officer of the “Arctic Patrol” Winter Test Flight of the 1st Pursuit Group (18 Curtiss P-1C fighters, two C-9 Ford transports, one C-1 Douglas transport, and one 02-K Douglas observation aircraft) from Selfridge Field, Michigan to Spokane, Washington and return, during a period of extreme cold, snow and other bad flying and operating conditions. Royce was awarded the 1930 Mackay Trophy in recognition of this achievement.
May 1930-1933: Duty with the War Department General Staff, Washington, D.C.
May 1933: Temporary duty as Operations and Training Officer (G-3), General Headquarters Air Force (Provisional), March Field, California.
September 1933-June 1934: Student at the Army War College, Washington Barracks, D.C.
July 19, 1934-August 20, 1934: Operations Officer of the Alaska Flight commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry H. “Hap” Arnold. Arnold and his executive and operations officers, Majors Hugh J. Knerr and Royce respectively, led ten Martin B-10 bombers on an 18,000 mile round-trip flight from Bolling Field, D.C. to Fairbanks, Alaska during which they photographed some 20,000 square miles of Alaskan territory, providing data that was useful later in World War II. The mission garnered Arnold the Distinguished Flying Cross and the 1934 Mackay Trophy (his second) for the most meritorious flight of the year. To Arnold’s dismay, none of the other crew members received any award.
October 4, 1934-April 30, 1937: Commanding Officer of the 1st Pursuit Group, Selfridge Field, Michigan.
1937-1939: Air Officer, Philippine Department.
1939-c.May 1941: Commanding Officer of the 7th Bombardment Group, Hamilton Field, California; from September 7, 1940, Fort Douglas, Utah.
May 1941-July 1941: Assistant Military Attaché at the American Embassy in London, England.
July 1941-January 1942: Military Attaché for Air at the American Embassy in London, England.
February 24, 1942-May 1942: Chief of the Air Staff, U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA)
April 12-13, 1942: Leader of the Royce Mission, a force of three B-17 and seven B-25 bombers deployed from Australia to secret staging bases on Mindanao, Philippines for attacks on Japanese targets at Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
May 2, 1942-September 1942: Senior Air Officer, Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific.
September 1942-April 1943: Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces Southeastern Training Center, Maxwell Field, Alabama.
April 18, 1943-September 1943: Commanding General of the First Air Force, Mitchel Field, New York.
September 10, 1943-March 10, 1944: Commanding General of the U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME), Cairo, Egypt.
March 1944-August 1944: Deputy Commander of the Ninth Air Force, England; from September 15, 1944, France.
August 8, 1944-January 29, 1945: Deputy Air Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force and Commanding General of the U.S. Component.
October 20, 1944-January 29, 1945: Commanding General of the First Tactical Air Force (Provisional), Vittel, France.
February 1945-August 1945: Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Personnel Distribution Command, Atlantic City, New Jersey; headquarters moved to Louisville, Kentucky in April 1945. The command was responsible for handling wounded, sick and battle weary Air Force members, arranging for hospitalization after their return from overseas and then determining their fitness for future assignments.
June 30, 1946: Retired (disability in line of duty).
October 18, 1997: Inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.

He was rated as a Command Pilot, Combat Observer, Aircraft Observer, and Technical Observer.

PROMOTIONS
Cadet, Military Academy, March 1, 1910; Second Lieutenant, Infantry, June 12, 1914; First Lieutenant, Aviation Section Signal Corps, May 16, 1916; First Lieutenant, July 1, 1916; Captain, May 15, 1917; Major, Air Service National Army, June 17, 1918, to March 1, 1920; Lieutenant Colonel, Air Service (A), U.S.A., August 14, 1918, to March 1, 1920; transferred to the Air Service on July 1, 1920; Major, July 1, 1920; discharged as a Major and appointed Captain, December 18, 1922; Major, July 11, 1923; Lieutenant Colonel (temporary), March 2, 1935; Lieutenant Colonel, December 1, 1935; Colonel (temporary), March 1, 1940; Brigadier General, A.U.S., April 7, 1941; Major General, A.U.S., June 15, 1942; Colonel, December 1, 1942; retired, disability in line of duty, with rank of Major General, June 30, 1946.

DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Mexican Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal, Army of Occupation of Germany Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Defense Medal, French Croix de Guerre (WWI), French Legion of Honor (Commander), Yugoslavian Order of the Karageorge Star with Swords, French Pilot’s Badge.