Wilbur Franklin Cash enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps at Memphis, Tennessee. He was sworn in on November 17, 1941 in Jackson, Mississippi. Wilbur was inducted at Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi on November 18, 1941, and began basic training at Keesler Field, Mississippi on November 28, 1941. After training as an airplane mechanic there, he moved to Chanute Field, Illinois for training as an instructor. He was then assigned to Gulfport Field, Mississippi as an instructor in the engine branch. Following promotions to PFC, corporal and sergeant, he was selected for officer candidate school and was commissioned a second lieutenant on November 13, 1943. Assigned to Stewart Field, New York, he served as a part of the United States Military Academy at West Point then as supply officer of a squadron; adjutant of section B, technical supply officer, and assistant air corps supply officer. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1944 and discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey on March 1, 1946.