I always wondered who Colonel Lahm might have been when I was a child. I never heard any stories about this photograph. Several years ago while travelling, we visited the Air Museum at College Park Maryland and there he was in an exhibit. Frank Lahm was the first pilot in the U.S. Miilitary Service trained by Orville Wright. At the time of this photo he was chief of aviation for the First Army. His biography can be found at:

http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6126