wwi 90th aero squadron history

8/14/2019 WWI 90th Aero Squadron History

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THE NINETIETH AEROSQUADRONAMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES

A History oj Its Activities Duringthe World War, from Its Formationto Its Return to the United States

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BYLELAND M. CARVER, GUSTAF A. LINDSTROM

A. T. FOSTEREDITED AND PUBLISHED BYE.HAROLD GREIST


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COPYRIGHT 1920E. H. GREISTHINSDALE. ILL.

OCT -9 1320e)CI,A597719


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'# Our Loved Comradeswho gave their all, and

whose example and memoryinspired the rest of us tocarry onthis hook is dedicated.


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THE 90th Aero Squadron was created by SpecialOrder 104, Headquarters Kelley Field, SouthSan Antonio, Texas, on September 25, 1917. Themen in it were largely from two detachments; onefrom Vancouver Barracks, Washington, which arrivedat Kelley Field August 18; another from Fort Leaven-worth, Kansas, which arrived August 25. Both ofthese detachments had been held from the date oftheir arrival until September 25 under Recruit CampHeadquarters as a Provisional Squadron. The dayafter the forming of the Squadron, September 26,1917, under Special Order 119, Headquarters KelleyField, Lieut. W. H. Y. Hackett took command. OnSeptember 28, Lieut. J. J. Livingston, M.R.C., withfour enlisted men of the Medical Corps, were assignedto the 90th. Lieutenant Livingston has ever sincebeen with the Squadron, save for the periods duringwhich he was on detached service at hospitals.

This completed the primary organization of theenlisted part of the Squadron. Many changes wereto take place in the course of the next year, but thefoundation of the esprit, which was to be so great


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a factor in the Squadron's success on the front, waslaid. Specialized training was necessary, but nearly allwere by trade expert mechanics, who had volunteeredfor the work to which they had been assigned andwho were enthusiastic over the prospect of doing their"bit" along the lines for which they were peculiarlyfitted. It might be taken as an augury of success andas an indication of the adaptability of the 90th, thatat this time every State of the Union was representedby one or more men.On September 30, under command of Lieutenant

Hackett, the Squadron left San Antonio for Mineola,Long Island, where it arrived five days later. Goodorder, good health and good spirits marked the wholetrip. On the night of October 5 the Squadron de-trained, and early next morning hiked out to FieldNo. 2 of the Aviation Mobilization Camp, where theywere quartered with the Headquarters of the FirstProvisional Wing in Barracks No. 5. Here theystayed for three weeks performing guard duty andfatigue work, and carrying on the work of organi-zation, equipment and preparation for overseas duty.Recreation was provided in the form of frequenttwenty-four hour passes to New York City and othertowns in the neighborhood, so that the time did notpass too slowly. It should be put on record that afterthe 90th had departed from Mineola its example washeld up to succeeding squadrons as one worthy ofemulation.About the middle of October rumors began to cir-

culate as to the early departure of the Squadron foroverseas duty, but it was not till the 26th of the month

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that orders were received to pack up equipment andto prepare for immediate departure. The followingday the Squadron entrained for Pier 54, North River,and boarded H.M.S. ''Orduna." Two officers and157 men were at this time on the Squadron roster.The crossing of the Atlantic was uneventful. The" Orduna " proceeded alone to Halifax, where It pickedup seven other vessels and the convoy sailed togetherOctober 31 for Liverpool. Lieutenant Hackett wasappointed Assistant Adjutant to Major Moynahan,165th Infantry, who commanded the troops onboard. The quarters furnished the men were fairlygood, and only a few cases of "mal de mer" occurredduring the two weeks on the boat. An occasionalsubmarine alarm, which always proved to be false,helped to while away the time. Guard duty, and twodaily inspections at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. were the onlyother amusements.On November 10 the "Orduna" moved into thedock at Liverpool, welcomed by numerous British shipsin the harbor. Bands played, flags were run out, andthe entry of the convoy seemed like a celebration.The troops were disembarked by three in the after-noon, and the 90th marched through the streets tothe railroad station. It is safe to say that this firstglimpse of a British city, and these first welcomesfrom a people as whose ally we had come to fight,made an impression which no man in the 90th will everforget.No stop was made in Liverpool; a train was wait-ing and the Squadron was carried on to Southampton,

and then given a march of an hour and a half to a


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" Rest Camp." Here the men first tried the Britishration, and began to learn at first hand the hardshipsof the submarine blockade.On November 12 the Squadron crossed the Channelon the transport " Prince George," arriving in Havreearly on the 13th, and marched at once to A.E.F.Rest Camp No. 2. Here they remained several daysand the officers who had been temporarily attachedat New York, as well as six first-class sergeants, weredetached from the organization. On November 18the 90th made the personal acquaintance of the famous" Hommes 40, Chevaux 8 " box cars, entraining forColombey les Belles, northeast of Neufchateau andsouth of Toul. After a long and tiresome trip, thedestination was reached during the night of Novem-ber 20, and the next morning the men were billettedIn lofts scattered through the village.

It was now announced for the first time that the90th was to do road and barracks construction workfor the time being. Naturally this came as a greatdisappointment to all, as the great ambition of every-one had been to get into a service squadron, and dowork on the front. However, the experience gainedin construction work would be valuable, and the timecould be profitably employed In fitting the right meninto the right places. It was with these feelings thatofficers and men set to work on the first job assigned,the construction of roads through what was to becomethe great American Aviation Field at Colombey.This lasted the rest of the year. For the first threemonths of 1918 the Squadron, together with the 88thand 89th Squadrons, was to start the construction of

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the barracks and hangars of the Colombey Field.This was a piece of work of which the squadrons whichtook part might well be proud, as the buildings wereerected with little delay in the very worst part of a par-ticularly severe winter. The period of apprenticeshipwas now passed and the 90th was designated as aService Squadron.

During this period of initiation to life in the A.E.F.there were many incidents which the men will be gladto remember in after years. On November 27, 1917,Lieutenant Schauffler, who was destined to commandthe Squadron during the greater part of its time atthe front, brought by aeroplane the first mail it hadreceived since leaving the States. That same nightthe British Aviation Field at Ochey, near by, wasbombed, and the 90th saw from a distance a bit ofthe war. Thanksgiving Day was, of course, a holiday,and the 90th celebrated by beating the 2nd Engineersat football by a score of 12-0. On December 5,Colombey was treated to a German bombing raid, sixbombs being dropped, one of them a dud. The onlyone which did much damage destroyed the house atNo. 6 Rue Jeanne d'Arc and injured two Americanswho were billetted there.

Christmas Day was observed in fitting manner. At1 1 :30 A.M. the Squadron was formed at the Mess Halland marched to Post Headquarters. Here the Starsand Stripes were unfurled. The Squadron then pa-raded through the village to the music of the 364thFrench Infantry, headed by Lieutenant Hackett.Then came a promotion ceremony by which four newsergeants, three corporals, and ten first-class privates

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were created. The Christmas dinner, with roast tur-key as the principal dish, was a merry meal, and inthe evening the Y. M. C. A. gave a musical entertain-ment in which 90th men took a large part.On April 13 Major Dunsworth succeeded Lieuten-ant Hackett as Commanding Officer, as all ServiceSquadrons at the front must be commanded by FlyingOfficers. It is fitting here that a word of appreciationshould be given Lieutenant Hackett for his work withthe Squadron. He set the example of efficiency whichthe 90th has always followed. Through his effortsthe personnel of the Squadron was picked and it wasunder his guidance that the Squadron started its career.His success in picking the Squadron was noteworthy,and the numerous trips by land and water which weremade under his leadership went off most smoothly.At the same time, by his fairness and firmness, hemade himself most popular with the men under hiscommand. After Major Dunsworth took commandLieutenant Hackett remained with the Squadron asAdjutant for four months. One thing which makeshim unique among the rest of the 90th is the factthat he was the only one who was married while over-seas. On October 1 he married an American girl whowas at that time living in Paris. Unfortunately, Lieu-tenant Hackett had left the Squadron at that time andnone of the officers were able to get to his weddingin Paris.On April 15 the Squadron finally came into its ownas a Service Squadron. Fifteen French Sopwith obser-vation planes arrived from Paris and six pilots wereassigned to the Squadron. These six, the first to fly for


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the 90th, were: Lieuts. "Judge" Hill, who was latershot down behind the German lines; "Ernie" Giroux,later shot down in flames; Cannon, Eaton, Jeffers, andSherry. They had all received their entire trainingin the air in France. Jeffers, Cannon and Eaton werehonor students of the first Ground School class grad-uated in the United States; Hill and Giroux came toFrance in June, 1917, to join the Lafayette Escadrille,but enlisted instead in the American Air Service onarrival; "Madame" Sherry enlisted in Paris, havingserved previously as volunteer with the Transport Sec-tion of the American Field Service with the Frencharmies.No flying was done for the first few days after thearrival of the Sopwiths, but the mechanics were as-signed to their respective planes and spent the timein studying their construction. On April 19 theSquadron moved to Amanty, north of Neufchateau,where the Observation Training Center of the 1stCorps was located. Here it was engaged in trainingflights. The flying personnel was changing constantly,pilots and observers being attached for a short timeand then transferred to chasse or bombing squadrons.Naturally the breakage of planes was considerable, asmost of the pilots had been trained on Nieuports, andthe change to the Sopwiths proved difficult. No one,however, was seriously injured.

Meantime, the organization of the Squadron as afighting unit was continuing. On May 7 LieutenantLooney joined as Supply Officer, a graduate of theGround Officers' Training School at Kelley Field;Lieutenant O'Connor, Radio Officer, arrived May 13


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from the Radio School at College Park, Maryland.Lieutenant Lacy reported on June 6 as ArmamentOfficer after training at the Springfield Armory.On May 18 the following pilots reported for duty:Lieutenants Cowle, Conover, Ellis, Greist, Livingston,Neidecker, Patterson, Pierson, Simpson, White, Free-man, Merz, Brewer, Lee, Pike, and Hathaway.Early in June the following observers reported : Lieu-tenants Adams, Francis, Maynor, Grainger, Bolt, Vin-son, Blekre, Hendricks, Tillman, Shuss, Sherrick, Har-rison, Lowe, Walden, and Sullivan, while LieutenantLockwood reported for duty as Engineering Officer,after having served for some time in that capacity atField 7, Third Aviation Instruction Center.On June 13 the Squadron received its first assign-ment to active duty, moving to Ourches, fifteenkilometers due west of Toul, on the Meuse River,the station of the First Corps Observation Group.Like many divisions of Infantry the Squadron wasto do its first real work in the famous "American"sector, which at that time extended from Apremont,east of St, Mihiel, to Remenauville, west of the Mo-selle. Here we were destined to remain for sometime, till, from the air, every stick and stone of thesector became familiar to the pilots and observers, andthe famous "V" in the woods north of Flirey wasto direct many a pilot toward home and safety afterhis first trip over the lines.The first misson to go over the lines was a general

reconnaissance of the sector on June 16th by a forma-tion consisting of Major Dunsworth, pilot, with Lieu-tenant Adams, observer, in No. 13, leading; Lieu-

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tenant White, pilot, with Lieutenant Hendricks,observer, in No. 7, and Lieutenant Simpson, pilot, withCaptain Goss, observer, in No. 15. The reconnais-sance covered the sector from Apremont to Xivray;the first compliments of the Hun to the 90th werereceived in the shape of an Archie barrage, whichpierced Lieutenant White's plane in several places.Anti-aircraft fire over Apremont was reported to beparticularly accurate by all, a note which became astock feature of observers' reports in the succeedingmonths.

Later In the day another formation went out, ledby Lieutenant Greist, in plane No. 4, with LieutenantVinson as observer; Lieutenant Neidecker, pilot, withLieutenant Tillman, observer, in No. 5 ; LieutenantsPatterson and Blekre, in No. 14; Lieutenants Ellis andShuss, in No. 17, and Lieutenants Pierson and Maynor,in No. 6. The following day six missions were car-ried out over the sector, but for the rest of the monthlittle work was done, as the sector was quiet and therewere three squadrons to divide the work.On June 20 Lieut. W. G. Schauffler took command,vice Major Dunsworth, who left to take a course inaerial gunnery at Caseaux. This appointment wasmade permanent when Major Dunsworth was assignedin his absence to the command of the 96th Aero Squad-ron. Lieutenant Schauffler came to the 90th from theFirst Observation Squadron. With this squadron hehad seen service on the Mexican border and had thehonor of being the first pilot of an American squadronto fly over the front. Other important additions tothe Squadron during this period were made by the

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arrival of Lieutenant Young on June 19, LieutenantRohrer on June 26, and Lieutenants Bovard and Kins-ley on July 3.On June 25 the first casualties occurred in the Squad-ron, caused by an accident. Lieutenants Hathaway,pilot, and Maynor, observer, started at 8 A.M. on areconnaissance mission. Hardly had they left the fieldwhen, from an altitude of 200 meters, their plane wentinto a vrille and dove into the ground with full motor.Both were killed instantly. The funeral was held atSebastopol, near Toul, and was attended by all. Lieu-tenants Pierson and Harrison circled overhead in aplane and at the close of the service dropped flowerson the grave.yhe death of these two men, coming so soon after

the arrival of the Squadron on the front, was verykeenly felt. Both had been among the first in France,and left a host of friends who will long rememberthem.

Lieutenant Hathaway came to France early in 1917as a volunteer in the American Field Service. Hiswhole training in aviation was in France, beginningwith the French Caudron School at Tours, in the earlypart of September. From this he graduated in thelatter part of October and went to the American Schoolfor Advanced Training at Issoudun. He left therein January, 1918, to go to the American ObserversSchool at Tours, there assisting in the instruction ofobservers, going from there directly to the front inMay, where he joined the 90th at Amanty.

Lieutenant Maynor arrived in France in September,1917, and after some weeks at an Artillery School, was


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XivRAV (^SV. Mihiel Sector.


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assigned to the 101st Field Artillery. He was a mem-ber of the first class in the school for aerial observersat Tours, which began work on January 14, 1918.After graduating, on February 22, he proceeded tothe First Corps Observation Training Center atAmanty. From there he was ordered to a FrenchObservation Squadron with the Eighth Army. Afterseveral weeks there, he took the course in aerial gun-nery at Cazeaux, and on its completion reported forduty with the 90th.The Fourth of July was fittingly celebrated in sev-

eral ways; a flag raising was held; Secretary Walkerof the Y. M. C. A. read the Declaration of Inde-pendence, and Lieutenant Mahan, Post Adjutant,delivered an address. Lieutenant Schauffler then wentout in a biplane Spad to celebrate in the air, accom-panied by Lieutenant Harrison. They recalled themeaning of the day to the Germans by strafing severaltowns, and on the way home joined in the celebrationswhich were being held by the French in Toul, Com-mercy and Void, flying just over the tree tops andwaving to the people in the streets below.

Other additions were made to the flying personnelduring this period. Lieutenant Bogle joined theSquadron on July 4. On July 13 Lieutenants Parr,Lindstrom, Borden, and Hayden, observers, arrived.Lieutenant Carver, pilot, reported July 19, and Lieu-Derby, observer, on the 23rd. On the 24th Lieu-tenant Schauffler was suddenly taken ill and had tobe removed to the hospital. He was temporarilyreplaced in command by Lieutenant Gallup, also ofthe 1st Aero Squadron, who retained command till

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September 15. Lieutenant Wallace joined the Squad-ron on August 24, replacing Lieutenant Lockwood asEngineering Officer, he becoming temporarily Trans-portation Officer. Lieutenant Wallace had trained inthe Aviation Engineering School at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, and very soon after his arrivalwith the 90th made a record for upkeep of motors andplanes which no other Squadron has ever surpassed.On the departure of Lieutenant Hackett, LieutenantLockwood was made Adjutant.The work during July was the regular aerial work

for a Corps Squadron on a quiet sector. Two regularreconnaissances were made each day and during goodweather photographic missions were carried out. The90th was alone on the field and took care of all thework assigned to the 4th Corps Observation Group.The French Sopwiths, with which the Squadron didall their early work, never proved very satisfactory onthe front. They were rather slow, and their elasticconstruction never inspired a great deal of confidence.Hence it was with great relief that the Squadron sawthe " Sops " being replaced with other ships, though atfirst these latter were of several types, and made ofthe 90th the strangest hybrid Squadron in the A.E.F.Early in July a few biplane Spads arrived. On July19 the first of the Salmsons arrived, piloted from Co-lombey by Lieutenant Cowle, and it was rapidly fol-lowed by others. Shortly afterward three Breguetswere assigned to us, so that on July 31 the Squadronequipment included sixteen Salmsons, eight Sopwiths,four Spads, and three Breguets. This was an assort-ment which must have given many a German Intelli-gence Officer some hard moments identifying.

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The object of the Breguets was to give the Squadronpractice in night flying. This had been attempted inSopwiths, but had resulted only in the salvaging ofnumerous machines. After the arrival of the Breguetsthe experiment was once more undertaken, but withoutsuccess. The field was absolutely unsuited for anysuch work. It was on top of a hill which sloped pre-cipitously on all sides into deep valleys. Consequently,in landing in the dark, there was a great tendencyto underestimate the slope, and a crash into the sideof the hill was the natural consequence. Fortunately,no one was seriously hurt in this work; the worstinjuries were received by Major Anderson, whoreceived a cut on the face when he, with LieutenantKirwan, Group Observation Officer, as observer,crashed into the hill in landing. The only really suc-cessful night flight was made by Lieutenants Young andHarrison, who went up with the idea of protecting thefield against bombing raids, and after staying up forover an hour, made a good landing. After two ofthe Breguets had been salvaged, the remaining onewas rescued by an order suspending the experimnt.On the night of July 31, at about half past ten, the90th was host to a small German bombing party. Theofficers and men heard the planes overhead, and identi-fied them as German by the sound of their motors,which were suddenly cut, and the machines glideddown toward the field, heading toward the Spadhangar. They dropped seven small bombs, three ofwhich landed within twenty feet of the hangars; butby great good fortune did no damage beyond a few

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holes In the field, and these were filled in before day-light in order that no photographic reconnaissance bythe Germans would reveal how close they came toaccomplishing their end.

It was about this time that the division of the squad-ron into flights was made. Lieutenants White, Greist,and Pierson were appointed Commanders of A, B, andC Flights, respectively. At the same time the Flightsselected their colors: A Flight, white, probably incompliment to its commander; B Flight, orange, andC Flight, red.On August 4 the first Infantry Contact mission wasassigned to the 90th, the work of which it was laterto do so much, and by which it gained its reputationof being a "Shock Squadron." A *'coup de main"by the Infantry was being carried out northeast ofFlirey. Lieutenants White and Sherrick were detailedto carry out the mission at dawn and report on theattainment of the objective four kilometers beyond theold German lines. In spite of extremely bad weatherconditions, a contrary wind and low clouds with fre-quent showers, the mission was quite successful, andvaluable information as to the progress of the raidwas brought back.

In the early part of August the 135th Aero Squadronjoined the 90th at Ourches, and for the balance of themonth the Corps work was split between the twoSquadrons. The 135th was the first Squadron on thefront with the American-built De Haviland 4's withLiberty motors, and as such created considerable atten-tion. Their first flight over the lines was on August10. As they were new to the sector, they requested

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Lieutenant White of the 90th to take the place ofone of their pilots who was ill, and to lead their forma-tion. This he did. Weather conditions were unfav-orable, and the formation broke up, but to LieutenantWhite belongs the distinction of having taken the firstLiberty over the active front.

In addition to the regular corps work which the90th was doing, they carried out a considerable num-ber of Infantry Contact patrols near Chaumont, takingpart in exercises with newly arrived divisions. A fewadjustments of artillery with French batteries in thewoods north of Boucq were also carried out.On September 7 Lieutenants Lake, Burger, andGrier joined the Squadron. They had served severalmonths with the French Caudron 46 Escadrille asMachine Gunners and had flown on many protectionflights for daylight bombing raids. They had all beendecorated with the Croix de Guerre. LieutenantsHart, Broomfield, and Dorrance arrived from pilots'school on the same day.The first work of great importance which came to

the Squadron was its part in the operations whichresulted in the clearing of the St. Mihiel salent, Sep-tember 12-14, 1918. The two weeks preceeding werespent in much careful preparatory work. A great dealof photographic work was done, among other missionsbeing the photographing of the lines from Apremontto Limy at an altitude of 350 meters, by LieutenantLindstrom, observer, and Lieutenant Carver, pilot.Maps were prepared with great care and all was madeready for "D" day and "H" hour. On September12 the 90th had available for duty eighteen pilots,

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thirteen observers, and three machine gunners. TheSquadron had twenty-five Salmsons on hand, all ofwhich were available for duty. The planes were allarmed with Vickers guns firing through the propeller forthe pilot, and two Lewis flexible guns for the observer,these being mounted on a tourelle. Two days beforethe attack each team was assigned to its particular dutyduring the attack. Every man became absorbed instudying his particular task. From then on, till " H "hour arrived, the enthusiasm and earnest endeavor ofevery man in the Squadron seemed to charge theatmosphere with a spirit that spelled success. Theunder current of enthusiasm revealed itself particularlyat the Squadron mess. The spirit of the 90th and itsdetermination to "do" was evidenced in the songs,the toasts, and the general feeling of good-fellowshipwhich pervaded the atmosphere at mess. With sucha spirit success was bound to come.The night of September 1 1 was one which will

always remain fixed in the memory of the flying offi-cers; pilots and observers were called together about8 P.M., as soon as it was definitely learned that theattack would be made the next day. Major McNar-ney, the Group Commander, gave the Group a fewlast hints as to the methods to be used in their work.Aviation, he said, was a very essential part of theattack, and whatever the weather, the missions wereto be performed as long as it was physically possiblefor the planes to take off. It was known that thebarrage was to be a particularly dense one, but theremust be no hesitation to go through it. From conver-sation with French officers the impression had been

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gained that Infantry contact was at best a hazardousgame; that any team that carried out more than onewas entitled to the greatest credit, and could have doneit only because favored by chance. As three tripswere scheduled for each man on the following day,there seemed to be need of great good luck for theSquadron to come through unscathed.The day finally arrived and with it probably theworst weather in which a Squadron ever attemped

to carry on major aerial operations. The first mis-sion, an Infantry liaison Lieutenant Rohrer, pilot,with Lieutenant Vinson as observer left the groundat 5 :20 a.m., in spite of a high west wind and a ceilingof about 300 meters. These conditions prevailedthroughout the greater part of the day, with low-hanging, heavy clouds and intermittent, heavy showers.The 90th was working with the famous 42nd or Rain-bow Division, and throughout the course of the day'sadvance faithfully recorded the progress made by theInfantry, and was practically the only reliable liaisonbetween the advancing troops and the Division Head-quarters.As was to be expected, flying at such extremely low

altitudes, due to the clouds and rain, the 90th planeswere not to get through the day untouched. Earlyin the day, Lieutenant Young, Pilot, and LieutenantBogle, Observer, had the radiator of their planepierced by machine gun bullets fired from the ground,while flying at an altitude of about 50 meters in thevicinity of Thiaucourt. So near were they to crashingbehind the German lines that at one time, with thewheels of the plane nearly on the ground, the German

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Infantrymen ran In their direction, expecting the planeto crash In a shell hole. However, Lieutenant Youngbrought the plane back into friendly territory, finallylanding just behind the advancing American lines.They at once delivered their information, and then,making use of any transportation going toward theSquadron, they made their way back in time for Lieu-tenant Bogle to go up on another mission late in theafternoon.

Lieutenant Kinsley, with Lieutenant Lowe, Ob-server, had a similar experience while carrying out anInfantry contract mission later In the day, but beingnearer to our lines when it happened. Lieutenant Kins-ley was able to bring the plane back as far as CorpsHeadquarters, where they landed and delivered theirinformation.On September 12 the 90th made twenty-six sorties,and in no case did a plane fail to carry out Is missionsuccessfully.

September 13, the second day of the attack, wasvery much a repetition of the first day. The Infantrycontinued to advance, attaining their forty-eight-hourobjective in twenty-seven hours, and the Squadronplanes reported the progress of the troops from hourto hour.

In the attack the chief work of the Observers con-sisted of finding and reporting to the rear the positionof our front line, the location of hostile strong points,surveillance for enemy counter-attack, and the harass-ing of the retreating enemy by machine gun fire.

September 15 Lieutenant Schaufller returned fromthe hospital and assumed command.

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The following letters of appreciation were receivedby the Squadron as a result of the satisfactory workdone by the Squadron during the attack:

HEADQUARTERS 67th F. A. BRIGADEAmerican Expeditionary Forces

FranceSeptember 15, 1918.FROM : The Adjutant.TO : Commanding Officer, 90th Aero Squadron, 4th

Obs. Group.SUBJECT: Recent Operations.

1. The Brigade Commander directs me to express to youhis appreciation of the efficient service of your Squadron inconnection with this Brigade during the recent operations inthe St. Mihiel salient. The service of your command has beenmost efficient and satisfactory.

C. H. NANCE,Major, F. A., U. S. A.

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCESSeptember 15, 1918.FROMTOSUBJECT

Commanding General, 42nd Division.Chief of Air Service, Amer. E. F.Expression of Appreciation.

1. It is desired to express appreciation of the work done bythe 90th Aero Squadron, 4th Corps, Observation Group, dur-ing the recent operations. This Squadron, continually on duty,rendered most excellent service to the Division in furnishingvaluable information promptly with regard to the advance madeby our own elements and movements of enemy forces; also inregulating our artillery fire and the spotting of fugitive targets.

(Signed) CHAS. T. MENOHER,Major General, U. S. A.

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AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCESOffice of Chief of Air Service

September 25, 1918.FROM : C A. S.TO : Commanding Officer, 90th Aero Squadron(Through C. A. S., 4th Corps).

SUBJECT: Appreciation.1. I take great pleasure in transmitting to you a letter of

appreciation from the Commanding General, 42nd Division, forthe excellent work done by your Squadron during the recentoperations.

2. This appreciation may have already reached you, but theChief of the Air Service takes great pleasure in adding hisappreciation to that of the Commanding General, 42nd Divi-sion, and in thanking you and the officers and men under yourcommand for the fine part you and they have played in therecent operations. By direction of the C. A. S.,H. C. WHITEHEAD,

Colonel, A. S.*****HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE

4th Army CorpsOctober 1, 1918.

FROM : Chief of Air Service, 4th Army Corps.TO : Commanding Officer, 90th Aero Squadron(Through C. O. Observation Group, 3rd

Army Corps).SUBJECT: Appreciation.

1. I wish to forward the inclosed letter of appreciation withmy congratulations. It is a great pleasure to command unitswhich conduct themselves as the 90th did during the St. Mihieloperations. (Signed) H. B. ANDERSON,

Major, Air Service, U. S. A.

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From September 15 to 20 the Squadron made sev-eral daily reconnaissances of its sector and carried outseveral photographic missions. On September 13Lieutenant Carver, Pilot, and Lieutenant LIndstrom,Observer, took oblique views of the various towns inthe 42nd Division's sector of the salient, and on Sep-tember 15 photographed the Hindenburg Line fromRembercourt to the Lac de La Chaussee, both missionsbeing carried out from an altitude of 300 meters.On September 16 Lieutenant Pierson, Pilot, and Lieu-tenant Hayden, Observer, although harassed by intenseArchie fire, photographed the Hindenburg Line andterritory in the rear of the German lines. On Sep-tember 14 Lieutenant Conover, Pilot, and LieutenantLindstrom, Observer, started on a photo mission whichcovered the territory in the rear of the lines betweenRembercourt and La Chausse. They started out withchasse protection, but for some reason these planes soonbecame separated from them; nevertheless, they con-tinued the mission and completed it successfully.On September 20 the Squadron moved from Ourchesto Souilly, southwest of Verdun, transferring from the4th Corps to the 3rd Corps, First Army. With thisit was to work during the Argonne-Meuse offensive,which terminated only with the armistice. In spiteof the long distance which the Squadron moved, therewas no great delay in activity, and in a day or so theSquadron was operating on the new sector. FromSeptember 22 to 26 the Squadron made only shortreconnaissance flights back of the American lines toacquaint the flying personnel with the new sector.This was in order that the enemy might not notice

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increased aerial activity on the sector and foresee thecoming attack.On September 24 Captain Foster, and Lieutenants

Cutter, Foster, and Elliott, joined the Squadron. Asthere were then no vacancies In the teams, they wereleft temporarily without definite assignments.The American First Army struck the first blow of

the Argonne-Meuse offensive on the morning of Sep-tember 26, and offensive operations continued almostwithout cessation until November 11. At the startthe 90th was operating with two divisions of the 3rdCorps, but on October 11, one-half of the Squadronwas assigned to duty with the 17th French Corps onthe east bank of the Meuse. The Squadron continuedto operate from the airdrome at Souilly, under ordersof the Third Observation Group, Captain Littauercommanding.The Squadron worked with the 80th Division from

September 26 to October 11 ; with the 33rd from Sep-tember 26 to October 22; on the west bank of theMeuse. On October 11 the 5th Division relieved the80th and we continued our work with It. On October22 the Squadron was attached to the 90th Division,on the west bank of the Meuse, and In the neighbor-hood of Romagne and eastward. In place of the 5thDivision. Till October 22 the Squadron worked withthe 29th Division on the east bank of the Meuse, untilthis Division was relieved by the 79th, with whomwork was continued until the cessation of hostilities.The Squadron also continued work with the 90th Divi-sion until November 11.During this time the closest possible relations were

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CuNEL {Argonne-Meuse Sector)Mine Craters {Argonne Forest)


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maintained between the Squadron and the Divisionswith which it was working, by the Squadron's liaisonofficers maintained at Divisional Headquarters. Thiswas an experiment never tried before September 12,and was to improve the understanding between theAviation and the Line. It had been found that lineofficers did not understand the nature of aerial work,and that communication between Divisions and theirsupporting Squadrons was often too slow. LieutenantFrances and Lieutenant Vinson eventually became ourliaison officers. They remained constantly at theHeadquarters of the Divisions with which we wereworking, reporting daily to the Squadron OperationsOfficer by telephone, and rendered invaluable aid inmaintaining close relations between the units.The 3rd Corps Group at the same time establisheda Liaison School for the officers of the Divisions withwhich it was working. Detachments from the 5th,33rd, and 90th Divisions, each of about two hundredmen and several officers, spent in turn several dayswith the group, the officers being entertained by the90th Squadron during their stay. The training wasdoubtless of value and the intimacy which grew upbetween the men on the ground and the men In theair certainly increased the Interest each took In thework of the other.As in the St. Mlhiel operations, the Squadron had

to contend with very bad weather. Owing to theseason of the year and the proximity of the MeuseRiver Valley, the atmospheric conditions were almostalways unfavorable. Heavy clouds and constant rainsincreased the difficulty of reconnaissances. The ground


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mists of the mornings, which seldom cleared up before10 or 11 o'clock, added much to the difficulty. Butin spite of the poor visibility which made the averagealtitude at which the planes could work about 300meters, several daily reconnaissances were made. Fly-ing at a very low altitude, the Squadron planes dailypenetrated the hostile lines to a depth of from threeto five kilometers, bringing back information as toour own front line, position of hostile troops, batteriesin action, fires, explosions, etc., and frequently a col-lection of bullet holes in the plane. This is consideredprobably the most dangerous and difficult work anObservation Squadron has to perform.

Artillery work was not as successful as Infantry.This was chiefly due to bad weather, which made itimpossible to attain the necessary altitude. When aclear day would finally come, the batteries would per-haps be moving or be found unable for some reasonor another to carry out the reglage desired.

October 17, Lieutenant Adams, who had been Oper-ations Officer since June, left to become instructor inthe aerial gunnery school at St. Jean du Mont.When Lieutenant Adams came to the Squadron he hadhad very little experience on the front, and the positionof Operations Officer is one which, more than anyother, requires an intimate knowledge of observationwork. In spite of this, he handled the mass of detailconstantly passing through his hands with accuracyand dispatch, and never was any fault found with theway in which the 90th did its work under his super-intendence. It was said of "Mort" that he wouldask no one to undertake a mission which he would

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not undertake himself. And when a particularly dan-gerous or difficult mission was in hand, it was usually"Mort" who went out.On October 22 Lieutenant Schauffler received hisCaptaincy, and was at about the same time made GroupCommander. The Squadron was sorry to lose theCO, with whom they had worked so long and harmoni-ously over the front, but glad to see his merit recog-nized by the promotion. As a pilot, Captain Schaufflerwas second to none in skill and experience, and heloved the game. While in the hospital in September,he heard of the drive being made at St. Mihiel, andthough only convalescent at the time, he ran awayfrom the hospital, and arrived back at the Squadronin time to take an active part in the drive. " Schauff

"was always most popular with the officers and men, andbesides looking after the numerous details incidentalto the running of the Squadron efficiently, he took anactive part in the performance of missions over thelines.Numerous other changes took place. Lieut. Norris

E. Pierson, who had been with the Squadron since theAmanty days, and who was thoroughly familiar withthe personnel, system and traditions of the Squadron,assumed command. Captain Schauffler took with himLieutenant " Charlie " Lockwood, who had served theSquadron both as Engineering Officer, TransportationOfficer, and Adjutant, and had made an eviable recordfor zeal and efficiency in each capacity. He becameGroup Adjutant. Lieutenants Tillman and Sherrickalso went with the Group as Operations Officer andAssistant Operations Officer, respectively. Lieutenant


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Walden left the Squadron to become Operations Offi-cer of the 93rd Aero Squadron. Lieut. "Marine"Lowe became Squadron Operations Officer, and Lieu-tenant Hayden became Adjutant. Lieutenant White-head joined the Squadron as Pilot.

October 21 marked a very sad event in the historyof the Squadron the death of Lieutenants Broom-field and Cutter over the lines. They left the fieldat about 10 a.m. on an Infantry contact mission, todiscover whether our troops had taken Hill 299, eastof the Bois de Rappes. They never returned, andit is believed were shot down by machine gun fire fromthe ground. In November, when our troops advanced,the wrecked plane was found on Hill 299, and Lieu-tenants Cutter and Broomfield were given a properburial at Souilly.Lieutenant Broomfield had graduated from Toursand Issoudun as Observation Pilot, and had taken theaerial gunnery course at Cazeaux. While he had beenwith the Squadron, he had frequently demonstratedhis skill as a pilot and his efficiency was proved byhis able management of the field at Ourches during theSt. Mihiel drive.

Lieutenant Cutter was in the Minnesota NationalGuards at the outbreak of the war, and served as anofficer in the Artillery until detailed in January to takethe Aerial Observer's course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.After graduating there he attended the GunnerySchool at Fort Worth, Texas; then, coming to Francein July, he took a short course at Tours in observationand gunnery, and proceeded directly to the Squadronat Souilly.

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On October 28, Lieutenants Conover and Burgerwere out on an Infantry contact mission, and werediving on enemy machine gun nests which were hold-ing up the advance of the Infantry, when machine gunbullets from the ground severely wounded LieutenantConover in the knee. In spite of this, he flew theplane back to our lines and managed to land safelywithout crashing, on the west bank of the Meuse, aboutfive kilometers behind our front lines. They broughtback valuable information which was at once trans-mitted to Division Headquarters, after which Lieu-tenant Conover was taken to the hospital, and has sincebeen unable to rejoin the Squadron, being invalidedback to the States. He had always been the one tostart the song after the dinner table had been cleared,and his absence was felt as a keen loss by all.As a result of the good work done by the Squadron

during the October operations north of Verdun, itreceived the following letters of commendation fromthe 33rd Division, with which it had worked:

HEADQUARTERS 33rd DIVISIONAmerican Expeditionary Forces

FranceOctober 20, 1918.FROM : Commanding General, 33rd Division.TO : Commanding Officer, 90th Aero Squadron,

Amer. E. F.SUBJECT: Service with 33rd Division.

1. As the 33rd Division is about to withdrav^^ from thissection of the line, I imagine the services with the Division ofthe 90th Aero Squadron will end, at least for the time being.Consequently I wish to express to you at this time my appre-

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elation for the valuable and efficient work the Squadron hasdone with us during the operations. You have met all ourrequests with willing compliance unless prevented unquestion-ably by the elements. Your greatest cooperation has been inassisting us in locating our lines, which you have done repeat-edly with uniform success and accuracy.GEORGE BELL, Jr.,

Major General, U. S. A.*****West Bank of River,

30th Sept., 1918.90th Aero Squadron.

Gentlemen: Many thanks for cigarettes and newspapersdropped to us. It sure made us feel fine to know that otherswere thinking of us. These are the things that make us wantto go ahead. Sincerely,LOUIS PRESTON,

Capt. 131st Inf.Commanding Co. B, 33rd Division.

G-1 October 15, 1918.GENERAL ORDERS No. 135Officers, noncommissioned officers and enlisted men of the 29th

and 33rd.D.LU.S., 18th, 26th, D.L and 10th, D.I.C.

You have conquered Lawavrille, the wood Des Cauresand that of D'Haumont, you have reached the summit ofOrmont, gone beyond the Rechene and the woods ofChaume.

The Austro-Germans have lost, on curved front of 15kilometers, those arrogant observation posts which have defiedthe heroic defenders of Verdun.On the 8th of October you advanced in a magnificent man-ner, on formidable slopes and through powerful and echelonorganizations.

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On the following day you pursued an obstinate advancewhich checked all the enemy counter-attacks ; you compelled himto bring up numerous reinforcements in a hurry, which did notsucceed in taking back one foot of conquered ground.

5,800 prisoners, more than 50 guns, machine guns andmaterial which has not yet been counted, are the booty of thesemagnificent days.

All of you infantrymen, artillerymen, engineers, aviators,staff and other branches of the service have their part in thesuccess.

American soldiers, French white and black soldiers, youhave vied with each other in valor and comradeship during thecombat, and weakened the menace which still threatens theImmortal City.

I am proud to have you under my command.COMMANDING GENERAL OF 17th FRENCH

CORPS. (Signed) CLAUDEL.Translated from the French by order of Captain VIGNON,

C.A.S., 17th French Corps. J. TONGAS,First Lieut. F.A., French Liaison Officer.

Owing to the rapid advance which the AmericanFirst Army had made up to the last of October andthe still more rapid advance which was contemplated,it was decided to be necessary for the 3rd Corps Groupto be nearer the front line. Near Bethelainvllle wasa high plateau which had previously been known asthe only place in the sector where a forced landingcould be made with any safety. It was far from level,very muddy, and had many shell holes. After thefirst drive, however, it was out of range of all butthe heaviest Artillery, so it was this field which waschosen. Barracks and hangars were erected in theBois de Hesse, a stone road built leading up to the

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field, and on October 29 the 90th moved up. The88th, 284th (French), and Group Headquarters fol-lowed a few days later.The 90th was complimented by Corps Headquarters

for the manner in which work was continued withoutinterruption during the moving. Several planes tookoff in the morning from the Souilly field, and afteraccomplishing their missions, landed on the new fieldand made their reports.Operations from Bethelainville proved most difficult.The field was isolated from all bases of supplies, thevery uneven terrain was the cause of constant break-age of axles, and the mud made the transportation ofsupplies impossible without the use of caterpillartractors.

While here, the last remaining team of those formedin August was broken up. Lieutenants Carver andLindstrom set out on a reconnaissance the morning ofNovember 4. The cloud level was at 200 meters, andjust after diving through these clouds at a point a fewmiles north of Cunel, the front cowl suddenly blewoff, and back into the flying wires, probably throughthe wire holding it having been cut. LieutenantCarver attempted to land, after pointing the planesouth, but either because of the added wind resistancefrom the hanking cowl, or through the elevator wireshaving been cut by fire from the ground, it was impos-sible to redress for the landing, and the plane crashednose first into a shell hole north of Cunel. LieutenantCarver's injuries were quite serious, among them adislocated hip, sprained knee and ankle, and severe cutson the face. Lieutenant Lindstrom's face was cut and

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bruised, but otherwise he was all right. The planewas totally demolished, the fuselage breaking in twopieces near the pilot's seat. Lieutenant Carver wasdischarged from the hospital January 7, 1919, andrejoined the Squadron at Belrain, Meuse.The 90th reported constantly on the progress of

the 90th and 79th Divisions during the stirring daysjust before the armistice, and rendered valuable aidin harassing the retreating Boche troops in their flightnorthward. Lieutenant Greist, with Lieutenant Wil-kinson, Observer, in a flight made a day or so beforethe armistice, gave material assistance to a platoon ofthe 314th Infantry (79th Division), which had gotteninto difficulty, and later discovered that it was com-manded by Lieutenant Pierson, brother of our Com-manding Officer.

Following the armistice little flying was done, mostof the old pilots and observers being absent on leaveor returning to the States. Lieutenant Greist, withLieutenant Stevens, Photographic Officer of the 3rdCorps Observation Group, took some very fine obliqueviews of the devastated country north of Verdun, aswell as of Verdun itself, while the pilots who arrivedat the Squadron at the time of the armistice or later,amused themselves by wrecking most of the remainingplanes and some of the new observers. The Squadronreceived word that it was to return to the States, surelya thing not to be regarded lightly, and the rest of theplanes were turned in to the 1st Air Depot, and byJanuary 15 practically all of the pilots and observershad been detached from the Squadron, which at that

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time found itself at Belrain, near Bar-le-Duc, whenceit had moved from Bethelainville.

January 18 the Squadron took another step towardhome, moving to Colombey les Belles, where it hadcommenced the building, in November, 1917, of the1st Air Depot. Very comfortable quarters wereassigned and the Squadron settled down to await ordersto the coast.The following are the officers who accompanied the

Squadron to Libourne:First Lieut. Norris E. Pierson, A.S. U.S.A., Commanding

Officer.First Lieut. E. Harold Greist, A.S. U.S.A., Adjutant and

Flight Commander.First Lieut. Loren E. Rohrer, A.S. U.SA., Flight Com-

mander.First Lieut. Leland M. Carver, A.S. U.S.A., Flight Com-

mander.First Lieut. William O. Lowe, U.S.M.C, Operations

Officer.First Lieut. Glenn M. Pike, A.S. U.S.A., Pilot.First Lieut. J. J. Livingston, M.C. U.S.A., Surgeon.First Lieut. Ralph G. Looney, A.S. U.S.A., Supply Officer.Second Lieut. John H. Wallace, A.S. U.S.A., Engineering

Officer.Second Lieut. Clive W. Lacy, Ord. U.S.A., Ordnance

Officer.Second Lieut. Arthur J. O'Connor, AS. U.S.A., Radio

Officer.

The Squadron left Colombey les Belles January 25,1919, en route for the Port of Embarkation. Thetravel directed was accomplished in the French variety

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Bois DE Forges {Meuse Sector)


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of Side-door Pullmans, otherwise known to fame as"Hommes 40, Chevaux 8," and was said to be neces-sary in the military service. Through the initiativeof our men stoves were installed, which made thejourney bearable in spite of the considerable coldweather encountered. Our actual destination provedto be the pretty little village of St. Denis de Piles,near Libourne, Gironde, and the officers and enlistedpersonnel occupied excellent billets, which had beenarranged for by the advance party under command ofLieutenant Rohrer.On February 3, after five days spent at St. Denis,

the Squadron was ordered to Libourne, the next stepon the way home. There we occupied the old stoneFrench barracks, while the officers were billeted atprivate houses throughout the town. The time wasspent in drilling, fatigue work, and other recreation,including the famous outdoor sport of "making bigones into little ones," which the men all thoroughlyenjoyed . (???).On February 22, Lieutenant Pierson received hispromotion to a Captaincy, for which he and the FlightCommanders had been recommended prior to thearmistice.March 10, Lieutenant Pike left the Squadron to

proceed to Poland as a member of the American FoodCommission, and shortly after Lieut. J. J. Livingston,our Medical Officer since the formation of the Squad-ron at Kelley Field, left to take a course of study atthe A.E.F. University at Beaume. March 21, Lieu-tenant Greist, who had been a Flight Commandersince the Squadron arrived at the front, and who had

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served as Adjutant since shortly after the armistice,was detached to go home as a casual, on account oithe receipt of news of illness in his family. LieutenantRohrer was appointed Adjutant to succeed him.On April 10, Lieutenant Lowe learned from a NavyDepartment order that he had been a Captain sinceJuly 8, 1918.The Squadron remained at Libourne until April 10,

when the long-awaited order to proceed to the Em-barkation Camp at last arrived. The trip to Genicartwas made in one day by marching, and the Squadronentered Camp No. 1, the first stage in the processthrough the Embarkation Camp. After two dayshere, the next step was taken, the Squadron going toCamp No. 2, entering by way of the " mill," wheredelousing and the physical examinations took place.All the members of the 90th were pronounced "fit,"and there remained only to wait for the boat to bedesignated.

After two or three disappointments we were orderedon board the U.S.S. "General Goethals," but unfor-tunately, owing to the small size of the boat and theconsequent limitations in staterooms for the officers, theSquadron was allowed to take but three officers, thoseaccompanying Captain Pierson being Captain Alger,M.C., U.S.A., who was assigned to the Squadron asMedical Officer at the Embarkation Camp, and Lieu-tenant Carver, as Adjutant. The other officers weredetached, and sailed the same day, April 20, EasterSunday, on board the U.S.S. " Susquehanna."The voyage was very uneventful, especially com-

pared to the excitement of the trip across, when sub-

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marines were a constant menace, and the men passedthe time in reading and sleeping. The only excitementwas when a porpoise jumped alongside the steamer, orwhen another steamer was sighted, which occurred butseldom. The weather was unusually good, only onestorm, of two days' duration, being encountered.Land was finally sighted at 5 a.m.. May 3, and wedocked in Hoboken at 10 a.m., after a voyage ofthirteen days.

Pie and coffee were served on the dock, after whichthe ferry took us to a Long Island train, from whichwe unloaded near Camp Mills. A brief marchbrought us to camp, where we were assigned to bar-racks.At midnight the Squadron made the acquaintanceof the American variety of delouser, and blouses suf-fered severely from the wet steam.May 4, at 8 a.m., the Squadron marched over toField No. 2, Garden City, and the work of demobili-zation was begun.At this stage the 90th lost the services of Sergeants

Hankins and Byrth, who became ill.Captain Alger and the Medical Detachment were de-tached and assigned to duty with the Camp Hospital.A few days later Sergeant-Major Greer, M.E.A.S.,who had also been with the Squadron from the begin-ning, became ill, and was transferred to the hospitalfor treatment, M.E.A.S. Rich replacing him.Sergeant Greer had earned his grade after startingas a private, his work in the office being of so higha grade as to win constant recognition and steadyadvancement, and it was greatly regretted that he had

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to leave during the pressing work of demobilization.Sergeant Rich, who took his place, proved equal tothe occasion, and earned special commendation for hisefficient service.

After two weeks of paper work, it was finally com-pleted, and orders received sending the men to thevarious discharge camps throughout the country.The time was passed by the men in New York City

for the most part, as no passes were needed to leavecamp, and the men were not slow to avail themselvesof the opportunity afforded.The last detachments entrained May 22, and Cap-

tain Pierson and Lieutenant Carver received theirorders relieving them from duty with the 90th.

There remained of the Squadron but the threeRegular Army men, headed by Sergeant Richardson,who were to form the nucleus of the new 90th, as thename is to be preserved, and vested in a RegularArmy Squadron, to commemorate the work of the 90thin France.As Lieutenant Looney, the old Supply Officer, had

just arrived in camp, he was assigned to take the 90thto Kelley Field, where it arrived May 25, after havingbeen absent, in service, for nearly two years.

Special mention should be made of the work ofSupply Sergeant Jones, and Sergeants Hankins, Blake,Johnston, York, Chew, Louis Hill, and Sill. To doreal justice, in fact, the Squadron roster might becited, for all did their duty, with a will that made the90th the success it was.

Since the St. Mihiel drive the 90th has been calleda "Shock Squadron." For almost two months, with-


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out any relaxation, it carried on the difficult partassigned to Divisional Squadrons in offensive and openwarfare. During that time missions were carried outin all kinds of weather, good and bad, but usually bad,and the results accomplished, as seen from the Observ-ers' reports and the many letters of commendationand appreciation received from the Divisions for whichit was working, were of the utmost value to these units.The 90th has a right to feel that its work will be puton record and that the " Red Dice " will long beremembered. Our only regrets come from the lossof our four comrades who died while serving the uni-versal cause with us, as well as of our friend, who,after bearing his part courageously and cheerfullythroughout the five months which the Squadron spenton the front, was destined never to return to the UnitedStates. Compared to many other Squadrons, our listof casualties has been small, but the memory of thosewith whom we worked who made the supreme sacrificefrom our midst, will live with us forever.

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MEMORABLE INCIDENTSTHE greatest danger to the 90th, In spite of theirlarge number of combats, came not from enemyplanes, but from the enemy on the ground, and frombad weather conditions. It is impossible to mentionindividually all the difficult missions accomplished. Afew types only are picked out to illustrate.On October 8, the 33rd Division, attached to the

17th French Army Corps, was advancing east of Con-senvoye. Lieutenants Pike and Parr volunteered tofind the front line. It was raining and hailing as theytook off, but in the midst of this storm they flew forover an hour at fifty meters from the ground, passingthrough the friendly barrage and hostile machine gunfire, and brought back the desired information.On October 13, 1918, at about 10:30 p.m., the 90threceived a telephone message from G2 that it wasreported that an armistice had been signed, but thatno order had yet been issued to suspend hostilities.The Squadron celebrated the news in a fitting manner.Next morning an advance was scheduled to take placenorthwest of Cunel. The weather was so foggy thatno plane was able to ascend until about noon, whenLieutenants Carver and Lindstrom decided to go upif possible and see whether the war was really overor not. On reaching the vicinity of Brieulles theweather was found to be fairly clear, and they startedto stake the lines. While flying at about fifty metersfrom the ground the gas tank was pierced by a bullet,

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Where Vaquois Was {Argonne-Meuse Sector)


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which first carried away the speaking tube, but theSalmson's rubber covered gas tank made it possibleto drop messages to the 5th Division at Montfauconand to the 3rd Corps at Rampont, and to land on thefield at Souilly before all the gas had leaked out. Itwas decided that if the war was over, the Boches inthe Bois de Foret had not yet been notified of the fact.On October 21 the 3rd Corps Commander sent anurgent request for a plane to ascertain whether prepa-

rations were being made by the enemy to counter-attack. Lieutenants Broomfield and Cutter volun-teered. They were seen to cross the lines at aboutfifty meters altitude, flying in irregular course to dodgemachine gun fire. A balloon observer saw them dis-appear for a few minutes, then reappear at about thesame altitude. At 11:15 o'clock he saw the planesuddenly lurch and crash out of control the short dis-tance to the ground. It fell in "No Man's Land,"near Cote 299, northeast of Cunel, and both pilot andobserver were killed instantly. As our lines advanced,both their remains and the ruins of the plane werefound and identified.On October 28, Lieutenants Conover and Burgerwent out on a very difficult Infantry contact missionover Hill 360, east of the Meuse. Visibility was bad,and they were forced to fly at fifty meters, as theInfantry were too busy to put out their panels. Theydetected six enemy machine gun nests which seemedto be holding up the American advance, and dived atthem repeatedly, firing several hundred rounds of am-munition. Four of these machine gun nests wereabandoned and the other two silenced. In the course

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of this action the plane was riddled with bullets, andLieutenant Conover was wounded twice, two of thebullets tearing a large hole in his right knee. He suc-ceeded, however, in effecting a safe landing near Con-senvoye, and Lieutenant Burger immediately tele-phoned in his information.

Lieutenants Greist and Borden had a very excitingtrip together. They went up late in the afternoonon an Infantry contact mission and were attacked bythree Fokkers. These they drove off, but in the delayit had become almost dark. They staked the lines andwere about to return home when a six-star rocketexploded in the plane, which immediately took fire.Lieutenant Greist headed for the ground, but Lieu-tenant Borden grasped the flaming rocket in his handand threw it from the plane. Then with the Pyrenecan he extinguished the blaze in the fuselage andshouted to his pilot that they could return to the field,where Lieutenant Greist made a safe landing by flares.On October 31, Lieutenants Bovard and Foster were

on a reconnaissance of the enemy lines north of Aincre-ville, flying at about 100 meters, when they foundthemselves over several hostile strong points. A singlegun opened on them and they retired behind our lineswith a few bullet holes. Uncertain, however, whetherit was a friendly or hostile gun which had fired, theyentered once more and this time were fired on fromall sides by every gun within range. The only direc-tion clear was directly away from home, so the planewas forced to proceed several kilometers into hostileterritory before it could swing around the dangerousspot and retire. The engine was irreparably injured

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by bullets in the radiator and oiling system, but com-pleted the trip back to the field before giving outentirely.

Lieutenants Neidecker and Lake, on November 3,flew a general reconnaissance for the 17th FrenchCorps. They penetrated the enemy lines so far thatthey went entirely off their map, but flying at 200meters they picked up much information which theywere able to locate on the map after their return. Atone point they saw a train of nineteen cars movingalong a siding, filled with troops. They dived andraked the whole length of it with machine gun bullets.On the morning of November 1 the main offensivewas renewed west of the Meuse. A thick mist andlight rain made it seemingly impossible for a plane totake off without danger of crashing. It was of utmostimportance, however, that the location of our lines beascertained. Lieutenants Grelst and Burger volun-teered for this mission. When they took off, the fogwas so thick that they were forced to just skim theground, relying on their intimate knowledge of thesector to find their way to the lines. They ran therisk of running Into hills in their blindness, and werealmost constantly in their own barrage. Without anyprotection they penetrated five kilometers behind theGerman lines, and returned with valuable informationas to the disposition of the enemy Artillery and Infan-try. They flew along the barrage lines just over theheads of our Infantry so that Lieutenant Burger couldstake our lines. The ship was so tossed about by theconcussion of bursting shells underneath that bothpilot and observer were made very sick. Finishing

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their mission successfully, they landed at an aerodrome,delivered their information, and set off once more inthe fog for home. This was the only mission carriedout over the sector that day, and brought the Divi-sional Commander the only information he receivedas to the location of his front lines, and all the infor-mation was later verified.

Both Lieutenant Greist and Lieutenant Burger wererecommended for the Medal of Honor for extraor-dinary heroism.The following Military Decorations have been con-

ferred on Officers of the 90th Aero Squadron:Distinguished Service Cross

Second Lieut. Valentine J. Berger (with oak leaf).First Lieut. Harvey Conover.First Lieut. E. Harold Greist.First Lieut. Wilbert E. Kinsley.First Lieut. William O. Lowe.Second Lieut. Fred A. Tillman.

Legion of HonorSecond Lieut. Fred A. Tillman.

Croix de GuerreFirst Lieut. Morton B. Adams.Second Lieut. Valentine J. Burger (with palm).First Lieut. Harvey Conover.Second Lieut. Alexander Grier.Second Lieut. Horace A. Lake (with palm).Maj. William G. Schauffler, Jr.Second Lieut. Fred A. Tillman (with palm).Aero Club of America Medal of HonorFirst Lieut. Harvey Conover.


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SEVEN UPIN the choice of an insignia the Squadron was for-tunate. It is a rule of the Air Service that noSquadron shall have an insignia until it has seen threemonths' service at the Front. The time for the 90thto adopt one came while it was stationed at Ourches.There was a frenzied fortnight of verbal strife betweenparties supporting different designs. No one is quiteclear as to the reasons which led to the triumph ofthe dice. Some claim that it was through the influenceof certain members who through this symbol corneredthe money market after every pay day.

Whatever the cause, this insignia, first used by Cap-tain Schauffler while with the First Aero Squadron,became the emblem of the 90th, and in short orderall the planes of the Squadron blossomed out with reddice twelve by twelve, with white eyes. Whateverway the dice are read they come " Seven." That thiswas a lucky emblem the multitude of successful mis-sions and seven official victories In the air, prove.Other Squadrons cried for replacements, but the diceof the 90th brought her veterans through with butvery few casualties, only one plane being lost over thelines, which is probably a unique record among Squad-rons which saw an equal period of service at the front.

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COMBAT REPORTS CONFIRMATIONSTHE first question an aviator asks of any oldacquaintance whom he has not seen for some timeis, "Get any Boches lately?" This shows the tendencyto give great importance in aerial work to combats,to getting a " Hun." In the case of ObservationSquadrons this emphasis is wrongly placed, since themeasure of success of such a Squadron is measured notin terms of combats but in terms of accurate informa-tion brought back and this means dodging battlesinstead of seeking them. None the less, accuracy witha machine gun is an essential accomplishment both forpilots and observers and a good record against theFokkers is certainly something to be proud of. Inits five months on the front the 90th engaged in overtwenty-five aerial battles, practically all of which werein the last two months, as it was very rare to see aBoche plane in the St. Mihiel sector before the driveof September 12. As a result of these combats theSquadron was credited officially with the destructionof seven enemy planes, in addition to which severalothers were in fact brought down, and in all thesecombats lost but one plane, which may have beenbrought down from the ground. The records whichfollow give some idea of the odds at which our menalways fought and of one part of the danger whichawaited them on a large proportion of their missions.On September 20, 1918, Lieutenant Hart, Pilot,and Lieutenant Grier, Observer, while acting as protec-

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don for another observation plane, were engaged inthe following combat west of Dampvitoux in the St.Mihiel sector at 17:44 o'clock. While flying abovein the rear of the observation plane, Lieutenant Griersighted a single enemy plane flying below him, withinthe German lines, and at an altitude of about 200meters. The Boche did not attack, but manoeuveredsuspiciously to attract attention. Expecting a ruse ofsome sort, Lieutenant Grier began to watch the skyabove him, especially a white puff of cloud within theenemy lines, at the same time moving his guns into aposition ready to meet an attack from that direction.They were flying at about 800 meters, when suddenly

three Fokkers shot out from the cloud at an altitudeof about 1000 meters and dived to attack from the rear,firing as they came. Lieutenant Grier held his fireuntil he had a good range and then opened up onthe leader. He saw his tracer bullets hit the enemyplane in several places, and then saw the plane gointo a vertical dive with smoke pouring from the motorand fuselage. He watched it fall until a second Fok-ker came down upon him, which he succeeded in drivingoff with sixty or seventy well-directed shots from hisLewis gun. The enemy craft then gave up the fightand disappeared among the clouds behind their ownlines. The plane, in which were Lieutenants Grier andHart, also bore several marks of battle. Wings, tailand fuselage were punctured by bullets, several havingpassed within a few inches of the observer, and onesevering a brace wire on the rudder.

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Order of Confirmation.HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE, FIRST ARMY

American Expeditionary ForceFrance, September 27, 1918.

General OrdersNo. 10

Extract2. Second Lieut. F. H. Hart, Pilot, and A. T. Grier,

Observer, 90th Aero Squadron, 3rd Corps Observation Group,are hereby credited with the destruction in combat of an enemyairplane in the region of Dampvitoux at 800 metres altitude,on September 20, 1918, at 17:45 o'clock.

By Order of Colonel Mitchell,T. DeW. MILLING,

Col., A.S. U.S.A., Chief of Staff.OFFICIAL:

M. P. KELLEHER, Major.Lieut. W. G. Schauffler, Pilot, and Lieut. Morton

B. Adams, Observer, while dropping newspapers toour troops along the southern edge of the Bois deDannevoux, on October 1, 1918, were attacked byeight Fokker chasse planes at an altitude of 500 meters.The Hun, employing his usual method of attack, camedown from the rear on their tail, firing as they dived.The third plane to attack succeeded in cutting awaythe horns on the right elevator, thus rendering theright elevator control wire useless. Lieutenant Adamsin the meantime had been pouring a stream of bulletsinto the second, third and fourth enemy planes as theycame down on him in quick succession. It was onthe fourth Boche that his bullets took vital effect.This plane was seen to issue a great cloud of black

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smoke, turn sharply to the right, and start rapidlytowards the earth and in the direction of the Germanlines. As he watched for an instant the downwardcourse of the enemy looked more and more as if theFokker were in flames and out of control. Theremaining four planes overhead claimed his attentionby their manoeuvering but did not attack again, evenwhen Lieutenant Schauffler turned his plane toward theGerman lines. During this fight Lieutenant Adamsobserved a new type of German cocarde. One of theHun machines bore, instead of the customary blackMaltese cross, a circle on the wings in which a verysmall cross was painted.Order of Confirmation.HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE, FIRST ARMY

American Expeditionary ForceFrance, October 23, 1918.

General OrdersNo. 20.

Extract13. First Lieuts. W. G. Schauffler, Jr., and Morton B.Adams, 90th Aero Squadron, 3rd Observation Group, are

hereby credited with the destruction in combat of an enemyFokker in the region of Dannevoux, at 500 meters altitude, onOctober 1, 1918, at 5 :00 o'clock (p.m.).

By Order of Colonel Milling.W. C. SHERMAN,

Lieut. Col., A.S. U.S.A., Chief of Staff.OFFICIAL:

H. S. STURGIS,Second Lieut., A.S. U.S.A., Adjutant.

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Lieut. W. E. Kinsley, Pilot, and Lieut. W. O. Lowe,Observer, while on an Infantry liaison mission in thevicinity of Cunel, on October 7, 1918, at an altitudeof 300 to 600 meters, sighted eight hostile planes northof Cunel. They watched these planes until they dis-appeared, and then approached the southern end ofthe Bois du Foret, where Lieutenant Lowe called forour lines by Very pistol signals. They then turnedsouth and crossed the Cunel-Brleulles road, where theywere attacked by the eight Fokkers previously seen,which dived suddenly from a cloud over their rightwing. Two Germans opened fire immediately at arange of 150 meters and came Into thirty meters.Lieutenant Lowe opened fire on the first one, directingtracers Into the motor, which caused the Boche to stopfiring Immediately. Lieutenant Lowe then turned hisguns on the second plane, which was only about 75meters away, and which approached to within thirty-five meters of the Salmson's tail, when he viraged off,exposing his entire lower side. Lieutenant Lowe tookadvantage of the opportunity and, firing a quick burst,saw several tracers enter the fuselage under the pilot'sseat. The result was quickly seen, for the Hun startedto fall, out of control. At this moment the first planeto attack was seen to hit the ground in a vertical nosedive at point 1 1.7-85.4, just east of Cunel. Two moreplanes followed up the attack of their fallen leaders,both firing at the same time, but from the respectfulrange of 300 meters. Lieutenant Lowe then engagedthe nearest of them and directed several tracers Into thefuselage, whereupon they withdrew and rejoined theremnants of their formation. Two more planes still

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higher manoeuvered for position, but were unsuccess-ful and did not attack.This first incident over, Lieutenant Kinsley with-drew a short distance into friendly territory andwatched the enemy out of sight. Then they returned

to their mission, but were immediately pounced uponby six hostile scouts, who manoeuvered to attack fromtheir right rear. Lieutenant Lowe opened fire at 400meters, but seeing that they were watched, the enemywithdrew to the north.The effect of the Boche machine gun fire was notserious. One bullet had punctured the rudder, threehad passed through the right elevator, and one throughthe left elevator.


American Expeditionary ForceFrance, October 23, 1918.General Order

No. 20.Extract

18. Second Lieuts. W. E. Kinsley and W. O. Lowe, 90thAero Squadron, 3rd Observation Group, are hereby creditedwith the destruction, in combat, of an enemy Fokker, in theregion of Cunel, at 400 meters altitude, on October 7, 1918, at12:30 o'clock.

By Order of Colonel Milling.W. C. SHERMAN,Lieut. Col., A.S. U.S.A., Chief of StafF.OFFICIAL:


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Lieut. Harvey Conover, Pilot, and Lieut. V. J.Burger, Observer, while engaged in a dangerous In-fantry contact mission with the 17th French ArmyCorps, east of the Meuse, near Sivry, on October 10,1918, were attacked three times during the same flightby enemy chasse patrols. The first, a patrol of five,attacked vigorously, and only by clever manoeuveringwas Lieutenant Conover able to keep his plane soplaced that Lieutenant Burger could fire effectively.The result of this first attack, however, was the crash-ing of one plane and the driving off of the remainingfour. Returning then to their mission, they wereagain attacked on two different occasions, but by goodflying and good shooting in a running fight, they wereable to hold the enemy off and complete an importantmission.The American plane, after this series of combats,

was riddled with bullets, wires were cut, spars split,and ribs damaged. In fact, so many parts werebroken or damaged that the plane was declared unsafefor further flying and had to be salvaged. Bullets hadalso passed through Lieutenant Burger's flying suit,but no injury had been done to pilot or observer.Order of Confirmation.HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE, FIRST ARMY

American Expeditionary ForceFrance, October 23, 1918.

General OrderNo. 20.

Extract29. First Lieut. Harvey Conover and Second Lieut. V. J.

Burger, 90th Aero Squadron, 3rd Corps Observation Group,

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are hereby credited with the destructoin, in combat, of anenemy Fokker, in the region of Sivry sur Meuse, at 500 metersaltitude, on October 10, 1918, 16:45 o'clock.

By Order of Colonel Milling.W. C. SHERMAN,

Lieut. Col, A.S. U.S.A., Chief of Staff.OFFICIAL:


On October 22, 1918, Lieut. B. C. Neidecker, Pilot,and Lieut. Horace Lake, Observer, were sent acrossthe lines to drop a note concerning the whereaboutsof Lieutenants Broomfield and Cutter, who had beenmissing since undertaking a dangerous mission the pre-ceding day. At 15:15 o'clock, at 1000 meters overClery-le-Grand, and when just in the act of droppingthe message container, they were attacked by sevenBoche planes. The first dived straight on their tail,using the unmistakable incendiary bullets. LieutenantLake opened fire immediately and succeeded in sendingthe machine down in a vrille with smoke pouring fromthe fuselage. A second Fokker dived immediatelyand viraged off at a distance of about 100 meters. Atthat moment both of Lieutenant Lake's magazineswere empty and, as a third Fokker was attacking, hecalled to Lieutenant Neidecker, who immediately puthis plane in a straight nose dive, followed by the Ger-man, who was shooting as he came. During the dive.Lieutenant Lake replaced his empty magazines, andwhen Lieutenant Neidecker straightened out, openedfire at his pursuer. Immediately the fire was openedthe Fokker turned off and flew back into his own lines.

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The entire fight lasted four minutes, and this planewas the only allied plane over the sector at the time.Order of Confirmation.HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE, FIRST ARMY

American Expeditionary Force^ , /-, , France, November 2, 1918.Cjeneral Order

No. 22. Extract8. First Lieutenant B. C. Neidecker and Second Lieut.H. A. Lake, 90th Aero Squadron, 3rd Observation Group, are

hereby credited with the destruction, in combat, of an enemyFokker, in the region north of the Bois de Foret, west of Clery,at 1000 meters altitude, October 22, 1918, 3:40 p.m.

By Order of Colonel Milling.W. C. SHERMAN,Lieut. Col., Chief of Staff.

H. S. STURGIS,Second Lieut., Adjutant.

On November 4, 1918, while performing an Infan-try contact mission, Lieut. L. E. Rohrer, Pilot, andLieut. A. T. Foster, Observer, in one plane, and Lieut.W. E. Kinsley, Pilot, with Lieut. L. M. Hall, Ob-server, in another plane as protection, were attacked byseven Fokkers. Four enemy planes singled out Lieu-tenants Rohrer and Foster, while the other three con-centrated on Lieutenants Kinsley and Hall. It wasabout 15:35 o'clock and both observation planes wereflying at about 300 meters. Lieutenant Foster and hispilot saw the scouts just as they approached the Foretde Dienlet, high overhead, and turned south. As theyturned, the Boche split their formation and came downto attack both planes. Three of the enemy, attacking

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Lieutenant Rohrer, came down on his tail to within100 meters, Lieutenant Foster in the meantime firingabout eighty rounds from each gun. The leaderdropped suddenly and disappeared from sight behinda wing, going down out of control. The two follow-ing did not approach so closely, but fired a considerablenumber of rounds and then turned off. LieutenantsRohrer and Foster then made another attempt to findthe lines, but were met by two Fokkers, with whomthey exchanged shots with no apparent effects. Re-turning for the third time to try for the lines theywere met by nine Fokkers, attacking from above andto the left. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Foster's gunsjammed after a few rounds and it was necessary forthem to try and get away. The enemy planes fol-lowed them for about a kilometer and forced themdown to within about 100 meters of the ground beforethe observer's guns were in action again and he couldturn them off with his fire. Lieutenant Rohrer thenattempted to go home, but two more Huns arrivedand forced them several kilometers west of Mont-faucon, in a running fight, while his observer continuedto keep tracers sufficiently close to the enemy pilots toprevent their closing in on them.Order of Confirmation.HEADQUARTERS AIR SERVICE, FIRST ARMY

American Expeditionary Force^ , ^ France, November 19, 1918.General Orders

No. 28. Extract33. First Lieuts. L. E. Rohrer and A. T. Foster, 90th Aero

Squadron, 3rd Observation Group, are hereby credited with the

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destruction, in combat, of an enemy Fokker, in the region ofForet de Dienlet, at 300 meters altitude, on November 4, 1918,at 14:10 o'clock.

By Order of Colonel Milling.W. C. SHERMAN,Lieut. Col., G.S. U.S.A., Chief of Staff.

OFFICIAL:H. S. STURGIS,

First Lieut., A.S., Adjutant.

Lieuts. John S. Young and V. J. Burger, while ona reconnaissance of the 90th Division sector on Novem-ber 3, 1918, had the following interesting combat witha single enemy Fokker over Stenay, at 15:30 o'clock.They arrived over Stenay at an altitude of 300 metersand saw four hostile planes, which circled back Intothe German lines while they turned south toward theirown. Three times they flew over the town of Stenay,and each time were chased away by the four Boches,who did not fire a shot but seemed content to chaseonly. On the fourth trip over the town they wereattacked vigorously by a single Fokker of the latesttype D VII. The Boche was a daring flyer and anexcellent shot. His endeavors to get under their tailand to turn them back Into the German lines wereunsuccessful, however. Finally he resorted to the olddiving method, and approached to within twentymeters on their left side. In viraging off he exposedhis entire under side for an Instant and then It was thatLieutenant Burger filled his motor, body, wings, andthe under side of the fuselage with both tracer andordinary bullets. The German's manoeuver was fatalto him, and he fell off In a slow loose vrllle toward theground.

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The statement that the Boche was an excellent shotwas borne out by an examination of the American planeafter landing. Six bullets had pierced the right wing,two had punctured the gas tank, six had gone throughthe tall, one had split the propeller, and one put outthe wireless generator. One bullet had passed throughLieutenant Burger's combination suit, just missing hisleg.Interest was added to this combat by the fact thatthe Boche pilot bore on his plane five vertical whitestripes, proclaiming him five times an ace. His excel-lent ability as a flier and his accurate shooting mightwell bear out the evidence.


American Epeditionary ForceFrance, November 17, 1918.

Special OrdersNo. 27.

Extract18. First Lieut. John S. Young and Second Lieut. V. J.Burger, 90th Aero Squadron, 3rd Observation Group, are

hereby credited with the destruction, in combat, of an enemyFokker in the region south of Stenay, at 300 meter

wwi 90th aero squadron history

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