AMERICA'S FIRST EAGLES. THE OFFICIAL HISTORY US AIR SERVICE 1917-187
THAYER
Foreword by Douglas Campbell, Ace*
As one of the “young eagles of 1918,” I find “America’s First Eagles” very interesting, not only because it tells of individuals I knew and incidents and situations I experienced, but because, among other things, it deals with the early behind-the-scenes organization of the air service and the very important contribution to that successful effort by such unsung staff officers as Carberry, Dodd, Van Horn and Bolling. Few people, now living, are aware that when the United States declared war on Germany in early April 1917, the American air arm was nearly non-existent. In my effort to volunteer to serve in it, I spent a complete day in Washington looking for its office. By chance, the next day, I found the one-room, rented office of the Aviation Section, Signal Corps of the Army, occupied by Captain Thomas D. Milling and a secretary. I gave them the required information about myself, and one month later I was beginning my training at one of the rapidly organized ground schools in the United States. I then went on to get flying training in France, and within a year (April 14, 1918) I had shot down my first enemy aircraft. Other features of great interest in this book are the detailed accounts about World War I flying, of the work of the observation and bombing squadrons, the balloon companies and their personnel, and the American pilots and observers who served in British, French and Italian commands. To those who read this book, I would like to make one additional comment. Remember, there were many “American eagles” who did not become famous but whose contribution to the victory was extremely important: crews of observation and bomber aircraft who performed their low-altitude missions; and pursuit pilots who did not “rack up” big scores but who could always be depended upon to be in the right place when they were essential to the success of the mission. There were others who had all the qualifications to become aces but not the sheer good luck that the rest of us had, to live through enough of their combat fights to determine what was happening and what to do about it