<Li> The Lost Battalion </Li> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Congressional Gold Medal (posthumous) </Td> </Tr> <P> William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879--February 19, 1936) was a United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force . </P> <P> Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, commanded all American air combat units in that country . After the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars . He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and organized a series of bombing runs against stationary ships designed to test the idea . </P>

Who is the father of the air force