World War I

Famous Air Force Units: 1st Reconnaissance Squadron

Famous Military Units, World War I, World War II

The squadron emblem roundel pictured above is still current and has been in active use since 1933. As of this year, there are twenty-six active reconnaissance squadrons in the United States Air Force. The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, by that specific unit designation, was not technically constituted until 1991-94 but was preceded by the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron in 1966 and two training units utilizing similar nomenclature in between. Yet, this organization traces its full roots back to the US Army Air Service, 1st Provisional Aero Squadron in 1913. In all but six of its fifteen inclusive designations, its duty has been observation, as it was once termed, reconnaissance by the current definition. According to the Air Force Historical Research Agency, that role is "Reconnaissance" complements surveillance in obtaining, by visual observation or other detection methods, specific information about the activities and resources of an enemy or potential enemy or in securing data...

The Wild Deserters of World War I

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

At the 1918 Battle of the Somme, a British cavalry officer orders a search party to follow a dozen German troops into No Man's Land, swearing he saw them go underground. He was advised against it as the sun was setting – soon, the legend says, wild, ghoul-like men will feast on the Germans and kill anyone who gets in the way. Of all the military myths and legends that sprung from World War I, there is possibly no greater mystery – and nothing closer to the men in the trenches – than the Wild Deserters of No Man's Land. Most military myths are passed down from generation to generation, usually from a friend who "knows a guy who was there." You've probably heard about the infamous "ether bunny," the Bigfoot of the Vietnam War, or even a ghost story or two (especially if you were stationed on Okinawa). The Wild Deserters are a legend shared on both sides of the war by thousands of men across almost all armies. Except, notably, the United States. The Haunting Realm of No Man's Land...

Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

A largely unsung and non-known hero of the World War One was the fascinating Eugene James "Jacques" Bullard of the Lafayette Flying Corps. Biography Eugene Jacques Bullard Bullard was born in a three-room house in Columbus, Georgia, the seventh of ten children born to William (Octave) Bullard, a black man who was from Martinique, and Josephine ("Yokalee") Thomas, a Creek Indian. His father's ancestors had been slaves in Haiti to French refugees who fled during the Haitian Revolution. They reached the United States and took refuge with the Creek Indians. An adventurer by nature, he left the small town of Columbus and moved to Atlanta by himself while still in his teenage years. He had been told that the way to escape racial prejudice was to head to Europe, particularly France (he once said he witnessed a near lynching of his dad). A long time back his father had pointed out to him that Bullard was a French name and that at least one ancestor had hailed from there. Stirred by all the...

American Nurses in WWI

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

As a German plane buzzed overhead, nurse Helen Dore Boylston dropped face down in the mud. Boylston, an American nurse, serving at a British Army base hospital near the Western Front in 1918, had been running between wards of wounded patients that night, trying to calm their nerves during the air raid. Now, all she could do was brace herself for the hissing bomb that hurtled toward her. She covered her eyes and ears against the deafening roar and "blood-red flare." About a half-hour later, finally realizing she had not been hurt, Boylston stopped shaking. The Account of World War I Experience as a Nurse Boylston's vivid account of her World War I experience as a nurse, published in 1927, depicts her work with the first Harvard Unit, a U.S. medical team that treated more casualties than any other American doctors group and nurses during the conflict. In May 1917, U.S. medical teams became the first American troops to arrive in the war zone, and many remained through mid-1919. Over...

The Loss Of Coast Guard Cutter USS Tampa

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

USS Tampa's short story began on August 9, 1912, when the U.S. Revenue Service Cutter (UCRC) Miami, built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp, was commissioned at Arundel Cove, MD. The ship was named for the Miami Indian tribe rather than for the then little settlement in South Florida. At the time, several revenue cutters were named after Indian tribes. The Miami was 190 ft long, with a 14.6-ft draft and a displacement of 1,181 tons. Her normal crew complement was 70 Officers and men, she carried three quick-firing six-pounders and various small arms, and she could do 13 knots. The Miami's first duty was with the International Ice Patrol, operating out of Halifax and looking for icebergs. Subsequently, she was based in Tampa, Florida, and developed a relationship with the city. In January 1915, the Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifesaving Service were merged and renamed the U.S. Coast Guard. It was then decided that the Indian tribal names were to be phased out, so in...

The Death of the Red Baron

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

In 1915, von Richthofen transferred to the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkrafte). He studied aerial tactics under the master German strategist, Hauptman Oswald Boelcke, flying his first combat mission after less than thirty hours of flight instruction. Despite an indifferent start as a fighter pilot, he nonetheless was invited to join Boelcke's Jagdstaffel 2 squadron and soon excelled in combat following the Boelcke Dicta, which included approaching his enemy from above with the sun behind him, firing only at close range, always keeping his eyes on his target, and attacking in a group of four to six planes. The History of The Red Baron At the beginning of 1917, he had 16 confirmed kills, had been awarded Germany's highest military decoration, Pour le Merite, and was commander of a squadron, Jasta 11, of elite fighter pilots. In April 1917 alone, he downed 22 British planes. Flying a series of Albatros aircraft, his vanity led him to have each painted red. As the...

The Hero Dog Of Verdun

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

A courageous World War I war dog was widely hailed a hero, after battling bravely through no man's land to deliver a life-saving message to French troops during the Battle of Verdun in WWI. The Hero Dog Of Verdun Service The wonder dog - named, oddly enough, Satan - was assigned the dangerous task of delivering the message from French commanders that contained the words that would bring vital relief to the besieged soldiers under heavy attack by the Germans. The life-saving message read: " For God's sake hold on. We will relieve you tomorrow." With the gas mask in place, two baskets containing carrier pigeons on his back, and a brass tube attached to his collar with the communication securely stored inside, Satan dashed determinedly towards the desperate men Employing the skills he had been trained to use, Satan zigzagged his way through a hail of bullets fired by German soldiers, whose single-minded aim was to bring him down before he could complete his mission. Despite his...

The Wreck of the First U.S. Navy Destroyer Jacob Jones Has Been Found

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

Just 40 miles off the coast of the Isles of Scilly, in the southwest of England, a team of expert divers located the wreck of the USS Jacob Jones (DD-61). The Tucker-class destroyer was built prior to WWI and was sunk on December 6, 1917, by a German submarine. Of her crew of seven officers and 103 men, 2 officers and 62 men lost their lives according to the U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command. The Jacob Jones was the first American destroyer lost to enemy action. On April 6, 1917, when America declared war on Germany, the USS Jacob Jones was on patrol off the Virginian coast. The next month, on May 7, she set sail for Europe. Ten days after departing her homeport of Boston, Jacob Jones arrived in Queenstown, Ireland and began patrol and convoy escort duties in British waters. Throughout 1917, Jacob Jones conducted several notable rescues. On July 8, the new rescued 44 survivors from the British ship Valvetta when she was sunk by a U-boat. That same month, she rescued...

The Men Who Fought in the Battle of Belleau Wood

Battlefield Chronicles, World War I

In June of 1918, a fierce battle was waged at Belleau Wood, an ancient hunting-reserve of old-growth oaks, surrounded by wheat fields, located about 60 miles outside of Paris. The Germans were launching their spring offensive to overwhelm the Allies before they were fortified by fresh American troops. The Americans were arriving at a rate of about 250,000 per month. The Battle of Belleau Wood has since achieved near-mythic status in U.S. military history, particularly for the U.S. Marines. Founded in 1775 during the American Revolution, the U.S. Marines Corps had a reputation for discipline, excellent marksmanship, and, as the Germans would find out at Belleau Woods, tenacity. During the Great War, they were also very young. A The New York Times article from July 1918 cites a report stating that "nearly one-third of the recruits obtained by the Marine Corps since the United States entered the war were under twenty-one years of age." The article goes on to quote Secretary of the Navy...

WW1 – Battle of Saint-Mihiel

Battlefield Chronicles, World War I

The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, when it declared war on Germany. The declaration came after a series of provocative acts from the German military and diplomatic corps. U.S. troops arrived in Europe by June 1917 but were largely ill-prepared for the kind of fighting taking place on the western front. Preparation for the Saint-Mihiel Battle For months, American soldiers were used to augment French and British forces in Europe. As training improved and the number of veteran U.S. troops increased, Americans reasserted control of their forces. By September 1918, Gen. John J. Pershing had taken command of the American First Army and would lead them into combat at Saint-Mihiel. Pershing was leading the largest American offensive operation ever assembled for combat in the first time American troops were deployed to defend a foreign country. The Germans had captured Saint-Mihiel early on in the war, and its position cut a hole in the French Army’s line of...

WWI Military Technologies Still in Use Today

WW1 Fighter Ace – Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker

Profiles in Courage, World War I

The American Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a successful race car driver, fighter pilot, an airline executive, wartime advisor, and elder statesman. Few aces achieved so much in so many different lifetime roles. His twenty-six aerial victories came after only two months of combat flying, a spectacular achievement. Eddie Rickenbacker Set a Speed Record in a Blitzen Benz His family name was originally spelled "Reichenbacher," anglicized to its more familiar form when the U.S. entered World War One. His father died when Eddie was twelve, and the youngster quit school to help support his mother. He found a job with the Frayer Miller Air-cooled Car Company, one of the thousands of automobile companies that emerged in the early 1900's. From his job road-testing cars for Frayer-Miller, he made his way into automobile racing, racing for Fred Duesenberg, among others. He raced three times in the Indianapolis 500 and set a speed record of 134 MPH in a Blitzen Benz. He became one of the...

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World War I

Famous Air Force Units: 1st Reconnaissance Squadron

The Wild Deserters of World War I

Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

American Nurses in WWI

The Loss Of Coast Guard Cutter USS Tampa

The Death of the Red Baron

The Hero Dog Of Verdun

The Wreck of the First U.S. Navy Destroyer Jacob Jones Has Been Found

The Men Who Fought in the Battle of Belleau Wood

WW1 – Battle of Saint-Mihiel

WWI Military Technologies Still in Use Today

WW1 Fighter Ace – Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker

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