MAJOR GENERAL PAUL B. WURTSMITH

"I consider it a great honor and privilege to have served with the officers and men of the Fifth Fighter Command. Although the difficulties encountered called for maximum effort, toil and sacrifice by every member of the command, not once in the history of this war did it fail in its mission. The Japanese learned the hard way that wherever your aircraft flew they must relinquish control of the air to you or suffer defeat. To administer this lesson, every man in the Fifth Fighter Command gave the maximum effort, and willing cooperation. The Fifth Fighter Command has established a wartime record that will rank with the finest in aerial combat history. All members of the command share equally in this military record. They may well look with pride on the part they have played in contributing to the defeat of the Japanese Empire."