As history books document the first flights at Kitty Hawk, N.C.,
by two brothers from Ohio, the Marine Corps honors 1st Lt. Alfred
A. Cunningham, as the father of Marine Corps aviation.
Cunningham’s first flight occurred on May 22, 1912, and since
then countless combat flights have taken place enabling an advance
in mission accomplishment. In the 1940s, four Marine aircraft wings
were established to support the Corps’ aviation
operations.