US Army Air Force Major General. He was born the oldest of three sons whose father was a railroad engineer. He received his elementary education at Holy Redeemer Grammar School and graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. He then attended the University of Detroit, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in aeronautical engineering. In August 1927 he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps as a flying cadet and received his pilot wings at Kelly Field (now Kelly Field Annex, as part of Joint Base San Antonio), at San Antonio, Texas, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Air Reserves in June 1928. In February 1929 he received a regular commission in the US Army Air Corps. He joined the 94th Pursuit Squadron, the famed World War I "Hat in the Ring" Squadron, at Selfridge Field (now Selfridge Air National Guard Base), near Mount Clemens, Michigan and over the next 13 years, he served in numerous instructional and command positions. In 1930 he was the winner of the Mitchell Trophy Air Race. In October 1934 he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and was temporary captain from August 1935 to June 1936 before being promoted substantively in February 1939, the year that he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base), Alabama. He commanded the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field from September 1939 to July 1940, then the 41st Pursuit Squadron until January 1941. He also served with the 50th Pursuit Group at Selfridge until December 1941, when he assumed command of the 49th Pursuit Group at Key Field (now Meridian Regional Airport), Mississippi, shortly after the US entered World War II, following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. In February 1942 the 49th Pursuit Group, with its P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aircraft, was sent to Darwin, Australia and defend it from Japanese forces who frequently bombed the city. He developed battle tactics to outmaneuver the Japanese Zero aircraft and, coupled with successful ground and service troop support, he was able to stem the tide of relentless attacks by Japanese forces. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in July 1942 and by January 1943 his fighters claimed to have show down 78 Japanese aircraft. In September 1942 his unit became part of the reformed Fifth Air Force under the command of Major General George Kenney, the senior Allied air officer under theater commander General Douglas MacArthur. Wurtsmith assume command of the Fifth Fighter Command of the Fifth Air Force in November 1942, with his headquarters at Port Moresby, in Paupa New Guinea and their main role was to provide escort protection for Allied bomber aircraft. In February 1943 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In January 1945 he replaced Major General St. Clair Streett as commander of the Thirteenth Air Force and was promoted to the rank of major general in March of that year. The Thirteenth Air Force was tasked with the support of Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger's Eighth United States Army in the Victor series of operations to clear the Southern Philippines that included the Invasion of Palawan, Battle of the Visayas, and the Battle of Mindanao. He returned to the US in July 1946 and was assigned to the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Bolling Field (which became Bolling Air Force Base, now part of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling), Washington DC. In September 1946, he was appointed commander of the Eighth Air Force at MacDill Field (now MacDill Air Force Base), Florida, one of SAC's three numbered air forces. On 12 September 1946, he departed from MacDill in a B-25 Mitchell bomber aircraft, flying first to Bolling Field and then on to Selfridge Field. On 13 September, he was at the controls when the aircraft departed Selfridge for MacDill Field in bad weather, flying at 6,000 feet, below the safe altitude for the area. At around 11:20 all on board were killed when the aircraft crashed into Cold Mountain, about 20 miles southwest of Asheville, North Carolina. He was 40 years old and had served continuously in the military for 18 years. Among his military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star, The Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In February 1953, the US Air Force named Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan, in his honor. A book has been written about the crash entitled, "Cold Mountain Bomber Crash."