The 88th Aero Squadron was an

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

unit that fought on the Western Front during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the III Corps,

United States First Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

sector of the Western Front in France, providing battlefield intelligence.Maurer, Maurer (1978), The US Air Service in World War I, The Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF Washington
/ref> After the

1918 Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, the squadron was assigned to the

United States Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

as part of the Occupation of the Rhineland in Germany. It returned to the United States in June 1919 and became part of the permanent

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

in 1921, being re-designated as the 88th Squadron.Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint) The current

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

unit which holds its lineage and history is the 436th Training Squadron, assigned to the

7th Operations Group The 7th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 7th Bomb Wing, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The 7th Operations Group currently flies the B-1 Lancer. The 7th Operations Group is a direct ...

, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.Rogers, Brian. United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications, 2005. .

History

Origins

The 88th Aero Squadron history begins on 9 August 1917 at

Fort Logan Fort Logan was a military installation located eight miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. It was established in October 1887, when the first soldiers camped on the land, and lasted until 1946, when it was closed following the end of World War I ...

, Colorado when the men of both the 88th and 89th Aero Squadrons were inducted into the Army, received numerous vaccinations and began basic indoctrination into the military. On 16 August, the men boarded a troop train and were moved to Kelly Field No. 1, Texas. It was again moved to Kelly Field No. 2 on 24 September. After training and instruction on assembling new aircraft, the 88th Aero Squadron was ordered to move to the Aviation Concentration Center,

Camp Mills Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

, Garden City, New York on 6 October.Series "E", Volume 9, History of the 72d, 73d, 85th, and 88th–90th Aero Squadrons. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. After several weeks at Camp Mills, awaiting transportation for overseas movement to Europe, the squadron was moved to

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

, New Jersey on 27 October where it boarded the British Cunard Liner RMS Orduna for the trans-Atlantic move to England. On the 27th the Orduna formed with a convoy at Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England on 9 November. Taking a train to the south coast at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, the squadron crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and arrived at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, France on the 11th. After some rest at Le Havre, the squadron then was boarded on a train on 13 November, eventually arriving at the 1st Air Depot, AEF,

Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome : ''see also: Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force'' When the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the Air Service of the United States Army existed only as a branch of the Signal Corps, and was kno ...

on 16 November.

Training in France

Upon arrival at the camp, a billeting officer met the squadron and informed them that they would be assigned to civilian quarters in the town until the squadron could erect some wooden barracks on the station compound. On 5 December, the men had returned to their billets in the town when German

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

bombers attacked the town, and the squadron received its first taste of war. Fortunately, no one was injured and all that was lost was some sleep. On 1 February 1918, the 88th Squadron was classified as a Corps Observation squadron and was moved to the 1st Observation Group School at Amanty Airdrome. Here the squadron remained for over two months and was whipped into fighting condition. After a few weeks of training and also performing construction on the Airdrome, on 22d February, the squadron's pilots and observers arrived from training at

Issoudun Aerodrome Issoudun Aerodrome was a complex of military airfields in the vicinity of Issoudun, Centre, France. They were used during World War I as part of the Third Air Instructional Center, American Expeditionary Forces for training United States airmen ...

. Embryo observers were sent to the squadron and were trained by being taken up on various "missions", photographic, reconnaissance, liaison. etc. Pilots learned how to work with the observers and to make the plane a fighting unit. The school at Amanty was equipped with some obsolete French Dorand AR-1 aircraft, which were met with almost universal disapproval from the aviators that had trained on

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieu ...

s at Issoudun. Training at the school consisted of taking the observers up on missions over Allied-controlled territory. In May 1918 the 88th was assigned to the

I Corps Observation Group The I Corps Observation Group was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France after the 1918 Armistice with Germany ...

. Its mission was primarily to keep the command informed by visual and photographic reconnaissance of the general situation within and behind enemy lines. To accomplish this task, a routine schedule of operations was prescribed for each day consisting of several close-range reconnaissance missions in the sector and, toward dusk, a reconnaissance for active hostile batteries in action. Special missions were flown as required in addition to the daily routine work.

Combat in France

On 28 May 1918 the squadron moved to

Ourches Aerodrome Ourches Aerodrome, was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was West-Northwest of the commune of Ourches-sur-Meuse, in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. Overview The airfield was built by the French Army a ...

, France, and the 88th was re-equipped with English Sopwith 1½ Strutter two-seater, Rhone rotary engine, 120-horsepower aircraft. The squadron was attached to the 26th Division and on 30 May started operating over the lines on the sector extending from Xivray-et-Marvoisin to Limey-Remenauville. Hero it received its first training with large bodies of troops. Its main work was reconnaissance. with photography of American battery positions and wireless exercises with the Artillery. About the middle of June the squadron took part in the defense of Xivray still in the Toul sector and here got it first glimpse of actual warfare. At Ourches, the squadron flew reconnaissance missions from daylight until dark without a break. The squadron experienced its first combat attack by German aircraft on 5 July.

Chateau-Thierry front

The effect or this preliminary work was to make the squadron a fighting unit. From then until the end or the war, its service was constant and constantly growing in importance. This continuous service began with the move of the squadron to a different sector 150 miles to the west. On 7 July it moved to Francheville Aerodrome on the

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition at ...

front, near Belleau Woods where the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

was on the front. The main purpose of operations undertaken was a thorough reconnaissance and surveillance of the enemy opposite the Marne Sector in order to keep the command informed of movements and dispositions. On the 15th the last German offensive began. It was in repelling this offensive that the Third American Division east of Château-Thierry distinguished themselves. On the 18th began the counter-offensive by

Marshal Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...

. From now until 30 July the combat flying of the squadron was constant and severe, every pilot being on duty from daylight until dark. The work consisted of contact patrol and low reconnaissance sorties. The squadron was considerably handicapped by the Sopwith Strutters, as they were not suitable for combat operations. The aircraft having engines were second-hand when received. On 20 July 1918 the English Sopwith airplanes was replaced with the French

Salmson 2A2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 ...

. The Salmsons were exceedingly effective and very satisfactory. They were equipped with wireless accessories. three machine guns and ammunition, two Very pistols, assorted star shells, and several dropping tubes. The 88th continued operations from Francheville while the American infantry advanced northward. On 25 July, the squadron was assigned to the III Corps Observation Group and moved on 4 August to Ferme des Greves Aerodrome, France. The squadron started operating on the day of its arrival, making reconnaissance missions over the Corps front and giving protection to French photographic aircraft. As the infantry was constantly on the offensive, the squadron was constantly flying infantry liaison and artillery adjustments sorties.

Vesle Offensive

Following this the 88th along with two French squadrons were organized under the 26th Division and flew in the

Vesle The Vesle () is the river on which the city of Reims stands. It is a fourth order river of France and a left-bank tributary of the Aisne. It is long, and rises in the ''département'' of Marne through which it flows most of its course. Geogra ...

area. The tactical staff and personnel of the 88th comprised the commanding officer, three pilots, designated as flight commanders; two observers, designated as operations and assistant operations officers; 15 additional pilots, of whom three were deputy flight commanders; and 16 additional observers. The squadron was further divided into three sections or flights of six aircraft each. Missions assigned the 88th involved: short-range visual reconnaissance, short-range photographic, adjustment of light artillery fire, and infantry contact probes. On 4 September the unit moved temporarily to Goussancourt Airdrome, only a few miles behind the front when the American infantry began their advance across the Vesle. Here need for careful liaison and artillery adjustment flights was continual, with the squadron's service both intensive and strenuous. The squadron moved back to Ferme des Greves on the 9th after being relieved by the French. It had during the entire Vesle Offensive been serving with the III Corps under the Sixth French Army. During its time on the Vesle front, the Germans had superiority in the air and the fighting was continual and fierce.

St. Mihiel Offensive

Next the 88th moved to

Souilly Aerodrome Souilly Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located Northeast of Souilly, in the Meuse department in north-eastern France. Overview With the Battle of Verdun raging on in the early part of 1917, a cluster of new a ...

on 12 September and was attached to the

V Corps Observation Group The V Corps Observation Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 15 February 1919. There is no mod ...

. From 12 to 17 September the 88th operated over the lines at

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde and his wif ...

. The unit took part in the

St. Mihiel Offensive The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against ...

from 10 August to 17 September. It had fourteen planes available for service and stood sixteen pilots and eleven observers ready for duty. The squadron in the St. Mihlel attack served under the 5th Observation Group attached to the 26th Division. In the first day's fighting the division reached its enemy objective and the work of the squadron from then until the end of the offensive consisted of reconnaissance work for the division. in watching and reporting upon the enemy's retreat and counter-attacks. Thus the squadron, just having experienced hard and constant fighting on the Vesle, was able to do its part on the new front to help wipe out the St. Mihiel salient. During this time the squadron conducted photographic, corps visual reconnaissance and command missions. Also, on 14 September, the squadron moved again to the Pretz-en-Argonne Airdrome.

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Shortly after the St. Mihiel Offensive, a certain redistribution of units took place between the various corps air units in preparation for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The squadron beginning on 17 September, began preparatory missions to support the Argonne-Meuse operation flying from Pretz-en-Argonne. During the operation itself the squadron acted as corps squadron to the III Army Corps and moved successively to Souilly Aerodrome on 20 September and then forward to Bethelainville Aerodrome on 4 November. Its work the attack was intensive and evidently very successful as the general in command sent a field message to the 88th Squadron commander stating that he was "Very much pleased with work of the Squadron". The squadron continued combat operations in the offensive until 11 November.

Third Army of Occupation service

For a few days after the Armistice there was a general relaxation or war activities and even the flying ceased. During November the squadron was stationed at various places. The end of the month round it at Villers-la-Chevre Aerodrome, in northern France three miles or so from

Longwy Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label= Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a commune in the French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens'' ...

. The squadron is transferred to IV Corps Observation Group (Third Army) on 15 November, then on 6 December to the VII Corps Observation Group with the same Army, as part of the occupation force of the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

where the squadron celebrated Christmas. At Trier Airdrome, the squadron was able to perform test flights on surrendered German aircraft. Flights of the

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

Pfalz D.XII The Pfalz D.XII was a German fighter aircraft built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Designed by Rudolph Gehringer as a successor to the Pfalz D.III, the D.XII entered service in significant numbers near the end of the First World War. It was the last P ...

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...

s and

Rumpler Rumpler-Luftfahrzeugbau GmbH, Rumpler-Werke, usually known simply as Rumpler was a German aircraft and automobile manufacturer founded in Berlin by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler in 1909 as Rumpler Luftfahrzeugbau.Gunston 1993, p.259 The fi ...

aircraft were made and evaluations were made until May 1919.Series "P", Volume 1, History of Headquarters, Third Army Air Service. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Demobilization

On 12 May 1919, orders were received from Third Army for the 88th to demobilize. It was ordered to report to the 1st Air Depot at

, to turn in all of its supplies and equipment and was relieved from duty with the AEF. The squadron's Salmson aircraft were delivered to the Air Service American Air Service Acceptance Park No. 1 at Orly Aerodrome to be returned to the French. There practically all of the pilots and observers were detached from the squadron. Personnel at Colombey were subsequently assigned to the commanding general, services of supply, and ordered to report to the staging camp at Le Mans, France. There, personnel awaited scheduling to report to one of the Base Ports in France for transport to the United States.Series "D", Weekly Statistical Reports of Air Service Activities, October 1918 – May 1919. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. It was ordered on 10 June to report to the port of embarkation at

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

where the squadron left France by ship on 11 June and docked in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on 25 June 1919.Series "O", Volume 22, Weekly Statistical Reports on progress of Air Service Activities, October 1918 – May 1919. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Postwar activities

Upon its return to the United States, the 88th moved to

Mitchell Field Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Air ...

, Long Island, New York and was assigned to the 2d Wing on 27 June 1919. At Mitchell Field the unit was assigned

Dayton-Wright DH-4 The Dayton-Wright Company was formed in 1917, on the declaration of war between the United States and Germany, by a group of Ohio investors that included Charles F. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company ( DELCO ...

aircraft and moved to Scott Field Illinois on 11 July 1919. It was inactivated on 7 August 1919 at Scott Field. Less than a month later, on 5 September 1919 the unit was reorganized at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

, Virginia. Once again it was assigned to the 2d Wing which had moved to Langley from Mitchell Field, New York. On 28 October the 88th was attached to the newly arrived

1st Army Observation Group The 7th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 7th Bomb Wing, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The 7th Operations Group currently flies the B-1 Lancer. The 7th Operations Group is a direct ...

at Langley. The squadron was assigned to the 1st Army Group on 24 March 1920. While at Langley, the 88th flew the DH-4s and the

Douglas O-2 The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Development The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420 hp ...

. On 10 February 1921, the 88th was reassigned at Langley to the Air Service Field Officers' School. Following this the squadron was re-designated the 88th Squadron on 14 March 1921.

Lineage

* Organized: 88th Aero Squadron 18 August 1917 : Re-designated: 88th Aero Squadron (Corps Observation), 28 May 1918 : Re-designated: 88th Aero Squadron, 27 June 1919 : Re-designated: 88th Squadron 14 March 1921

Assignments

* Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 18 August-11 October 1917 * Aviation Concentration Center, 11–27 October 1917 *

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

, 9–16 November 1917 * 1st Air Depot, 16 November 1917 * 1st Observation Group School, 1 February-28 May 1918 *

, 28 May 1918 * III Corps Observation Group, 25 July 1918 : Attached to

, 12–17 September 1918 * IV Corps Observation Group, 15 November 1918 * VII Corps Observation Group, c. 6 December 1918 * 1st Air Depot, 18 May 1919 * Commanding General, Services of Supply, 25 May 1919 * Post Headquarters, Mitchell Field, 27 June 1919 * Post Headquarters, Scott Field, 11 July 1919 * 2d Wing, 5 September 1919 : Attached to

, October 1919 * lst Army Observation Group (later, 7th Bomb Group), 24 March 1920 – 9 February 1921 * Air Service Field Officer's School, 10 February 1921 – 14 October 1921 : School attached to 1st Provisional Air Brigade for operations, 6 May – 3 October 1921 Army Air Service Order of Battle 1919–1941
/ref>

Stations

* Kelly Field,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, 18 August 1917 *

Aviation Concentration Center Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

, Garden City, New York, 11 October 1917 * Port of Entry,

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

:: Overseas transport: '' RMS Orduna'', 27 October-11 November 1917 *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, 16 November 1917 * Amanty Airdrome,

, 1 February 1918 *

, 28 May 1918 *

Francheville Aerodrome Francheville Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located north of Coulommiers, in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Overview The airfield was built in June 1918 in some haste as the German armies w ...

, 7 July 1918 * Ferme des Greves Aerodrome,

, 4 August 1918 * Goussancourt Airdrome,

, 4 September 1918 * Ferme des Greves Aerodrome,

, 9 September 1918 *

, 12 September 1918 * Pretz-en-Argonne Airdrome,

, 14 September 1918 *

, 20 September 1918 * Bethelainville Aerodrome,

, 4 November 1918 * Villers-la-Chevre Aerodrome,

, 29 November 1918 * Trier Airdrome, Germany, 5 December 1919 * Le Mans,

, 1–10 June 1919 *

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...

, New York, 27 June 1919 * Scott Field,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, 1 July 1919

Combat sectors and campaigns

Notable personnel

* Lt. Philip R. Babcock,

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

, SSC, 2 aerial victories * Lt. Ralph B. Bagby, DSC, SSC, 1 aerial victory * Lt. Louis G. Bernheimer, DSC (2x), SSC * Lt. Theodore E. Boyd, DSC, SSC * Lt. James S. D. Burns, DSC (

KIA Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

) * Lt. Francis B. Foster, SSC * Lt. Sidney B. Grant, SSC * Lt. Lewis V. Heilbrunn, SSC * Lt. Roger W. Hitchcock, DSC * Lt. John W. Jordan, DSC * Maj. Kenneth P. Littauer, DSC, SSC (2x) * Lt. Joel H. McClendon, DSC (KIA) * Lt. Fletcher L. McCordie, SSC * Capt. Peter H. McNulty, SSC * Lt. Frank M. Moore, SSC * Lt. Joseph M. Murphy, SSC (2x) * Capt. Richard C. M. Page, DSC, 2 aerial victories * Lt. Joseph A. Palmer, DSC * Lt. Charles W. Plummer, DSC (KIA) * Lt. Leo F. Powers, SSC * Lt. John I. Rancourt, DSC, 1 aerial victory * Lt. John W. Signer, SSC
Lt. Albert William Stevens
* Capt. Charles T. Trickey, SSC * Lt. Curtis Wheeler, SSC DSC:

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

; SSC:

Silver Star Citation The Citation Star was a Department of War personal valor decoration issued as a ribbon device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 (Bulletin No. 43, War Dept. 1918). When awarded, a silver star was placed o ...

; KIA: Killed in Action

References

External links

88th Aero Squadron on the front
* {{US Air Force navbox Military units and formations established in 1917 Aircraft squadrons of the United States Army Air Service Squadrons of the United States Army Air Service in World War I Reconnaissance squadrons of the United States Army