Wilford Andrew Fair was born in 25 February 1883 at Avalon, Grundy County, Missouri; the son of Thomas Fair and Nancy Shield Fair. He lived in Missouri for all of his youth and graduated from Trenton High School.

Fair next attended University Medical College in Kansas City, where he completed his studies and graduated in 1909. His course of study included six months as assistant surgeon at the Nevada State Hospital.

With medical degree in Hand, Dr Fair joined the medical practice of his brother, Dr S W Fair, in Belton, Missouri. He stayed there for only six months before he moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, to establish his own practice in the spring of 1910.

On 19 October that same year, Dr Fair married Martha L Wilson, born in Kentucky.

With war looming on the horizon, Fair volunteered to take a commission in the Army as a First Lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps. His date of commissioning was 28 May 1917.

The newly minted Lt Fair reported to Allentown, Pennsylvania on 6 July 1917 for initial training. He was next ordered to Washington, DC, where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Engineers as part of the battalion's Medical Detachment. The 2nd Battalion was one of the first elements of the Army Expeditionary Force to be sent to France. The 2nd Battalion was also the Regiment's forward-post unit, positioned directly behind the front lines of the Americans and French to provide support to divisions in direct combat.

Over a period of almost a year, Lt Fair was the primary surgeon for nearly 1000 engineers and support troops. The soldiers were engaged in difficult and challenging forestry and milling work, and the medical skills of Lt Fair were severely challenged.

Some of the officers of 2nd Battalion, 20th Engineers
Lt Fair is at upper right
1 - Lt Rowdybush, Battalion's Dentist
2 - Lt Van Meter
3 - Capt Brookings, Commander of 5th Company
4 - Lt McCoy
5 - Lt Holman
6 - Major Johnson, Battalion Commander
7 - Capt Dudley
8 - Lt Brush
9 - Lt Thompson
10 - Lt Kelly
The reverside side of the photo: "Every man the Dr's. Friend"

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Not one content to sit in the rear, on 5 October 1918 Lieutenant Fair joined the reconnaissance party to find new front-line project sites as Allied forces began their first major offensives against the Germans in the summer and fall of 1918. The party included one of the unit's sergeants and Captain Harry Henderson, commander of the 15th Engineer Forestry Company.

Captain Macpherson was crossing an open area near Varsennes, in the French sector, when he was targeted and mortally wounded by a German machine gun crew.

Lieutenant Fair rushed to assist Captain Macpherson without regard to his own safety; the machine gun also shot and killed the brave medial officer.

The area was contested by Allied and German forces for several days afterwards. It wasn't until days later that the bodies of Macpherson and Fair were recovered. They were both buried in expedient graves in the Argonne Forest.

For his bravery under enemy fire and supreme sacrifice to save the life of a fellow soldier, Lieutenant Fair was posthumously promoted to Captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross--the highest award given to any soldiers of the 20th Engineers in World War 1. Some reports state the award was later upgraded to a Silver Star.

Lieutenant Fair was exhumed from the Argonne and buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, where he rests to this day.