Ira C. Welborn

Left shelter under fire to rescue a wounded infantry soldier

Ira Clinton Welborn was born at Mico, Mississippi, on 13 February 1874. He graduated from West Point in 1898 and was commissioned into the 9th Infantry as the United States fought Spain. Within weeks of leaving the academy he was on campaign in Cuba.

On 2 July 1898, near Santiago, he saw a wounded private of his company lying exposed. Leaving shelter voluntarily, Welborn went to the man under fire and assisted him. He received the Medal of Honor in June 1899 for that rescue.

His Army career continued through service in the Philippines, China and the First World War. From 1904 to 1906 he was a tactical officer at West Point. As mechanised warfare developed in Europe, the Army selected him to organise and direct its Tank Service in the United States. His responsibilities included creating the administrative and training arrangements needed to turn a new weapon into an effective military organisation.

That work brought the Army Distinguished Service Medal. He eventually held colonel rank and retired in 1932 after more than three decades of service. His career linked the infantry campaigns of 1898 with the beginnings of American armoured warfare.

Welborn died at Gulfport, Mississippi, on 13 July 1956 and was buried in Biloxi National Cemetery. His son John also pursued an Army career and commanded tanks during the Second World War.