INTRODUCTION
The matter of which state may claim the National Guard's first aviation unit as part of its organized militia has been contended over the years. New York has been one claimant.
Purpose of the Present Study
The purpose of this study is to determine, if possible, which state first possessed a bona fide aviation unit in its National Guard. The study was undertaken at the request of Major General Lewis A. Curtis, Commander, New York Air National Guard. General Curtis's instructions were to examine and analyze all available documents, and offer a substantiated conclusion. He directed that the study be carried out with complete impartiality regarding New York. If, as the General believed, New York had indeed been first, that story was to be told. If it were discovered in the course of the study that another state had been first, that was to be told as well.
Scope of the Present Study
In order to distinguish between authentic National Guard units and irregular state ones, it was necessary to apply a uniform criterion to each state. Date of Federal recognition was decided upon as the criterion.
Research
Research was conducted then to deter mine which state had the first Federally recognized aviation unit, The following sources were contacted or examined in the search for information: (1) Historical Research Division, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base; (2) National Guard Association, Washington, D. C., (3) National Guard Bureau, Information Services, Washington, D. C., (4) Office of Air Force History, The Pentagon, Washington, D. C., (5) Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Information, New York City, (6) Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Albany, NY, (7) Headquarters, New York Air National Guard, NY, (8) New York Public Library; (9) military periodicals; and (10) living pioneers of New York National Guard aviation. Findings of this study are presented in Chapter II. They are supported by footnotes and appendices, both placed at the end of the report. Conclusions are offered in the last chapter, Chapter III. They are derived solely on the bas s of evidence put forth in the context of the report. |
