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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. This study found that New York has been one claimant with documented history. This document, sponsored by the New York Air National Guard and subsequently accepted by the National Guard Bureau, serves up the evidence why the First Aero Company and the subsequent organizations are the oldest National Guard aviation unit. It is also important to note that the states of Colorado and Minnesota also have a long heritage in aviation, but that the First Aero Company stands as the first aviation unit with continuous service.
The National Guard's involvement in aviation began in August 1908 when members of the First Company, Signal Corps, New York National Guard organized an aeronautical corps to learn ballooning. Over the next few years individuals in several States struggled to establish flying units. It was not until 1915, however, that the First Aero Company of New York became the first real National Guard aviation unit. A year later, the First Aero Company along with the rest of the National Guard was ordered to active duty. It trained on Long Island while several Guard units patrolled the Mexican border.
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The following article appeared in the New York Times on July 26, 1903:
The Dick Act of 1903 transformed all state militia units into the organized regiments and companies of the National Guard. In simplest terms, Guard units received increased funding and equipment, and in return, they were to conform to federal standards for training and organization. The Dick Act required Guardsmen to attend 24 drill periods per year and 5 days of summer camp. For the first time, Guardsmen received pay for summer camp but not for drill periods.
The research of the historical roots of the 102nd Rescue Squadron found several different variations on the name First Aero Company to include 1st Aero Company, First Company, and National Guard aeronauts. Each are correct but this website uses the First Aero Company as the standard of use.
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 1908 was considered a pivotal year for America, much like 1968 was for a later generation. In the 2007 book, America, 1908 by Jim Rasenberger, the major events of the year are captured in living color. Unfortunately, the author was more interested in national events and failed to include a reference to the National Guard members being trained in the use of balloons for military purposes. The sub-title of Rasenberger’s book is The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T and the Making of a Modern Nation, which aptly captures the history of 1908.
It was more famous for New Yorker’s for the New York to Paris Road Race than anything else. President Theodore Roosevelt, the former police commissioner of the City of New York, sent the U.S. Navy around the globe to project America’s military might. Aircraft number one was purchased by the U.S. Army from the Wright Brothers. Production of the Ford Model-T was begun, and the number of automobiles soared. Finally, 1908 was famous for New York Giant’s baseball as found in the book, Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History by Cait Murphy.
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The First Aero Company stakes its historical legacy upon balloon training in 1908 at the 7th Regimental Armory. This link provides early photographs of various balloons and several stories of their uses. The Ft. Meyer parade grounds are also featured in many of the early uses of balloons by the Army.
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Early Emblem
 BLASON CREST: On a wreath tenne (orange) and azure (blue) the full rigged ship "Half Moon" all proper. [Boat reddish brown; poop light blue with clouds; rails green with red between; figure head red lion with yellow mane; crow's nests red; lantern gold, flags as indicated; moon on sail same as that on the stern of original]
This device is the official emblem of the National Guard of New York and is borne on the colors of each organization, surmounting their Coats of Arms. Description The Crest is Henry Hudson's ship "Half Moon" in which he discovered the Hudson River in 1609. The original European settlement in New York was Dutch and the twists of the wreath are orange and blue, the colors of the house of Nassau. The original drawing submitted for the crest was made from a water color sketch, photographs and description of the "Half Moon" contained in the Fourth Annual Report of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission to the Legislature of the State of New York, 20 May 1910. |
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On a chilly April night, the members of the First Aero Company attended a training class provided by Lt. Frank P. Lahm, Lt. Thomas Selfridge, A. Leo Stevens and Augustus Post in the 7th Regimental Armory. This non-paid drill turned out to be the genesis of today’s Air National Guard. The event received media attention and was reported in the New York Herald (see image elsewhere in this website).
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 The New York Times reported daily from Connecticut since these maneuvers were considered the first in experiemental warfare. “For the first time, probably, in experimental warfare in this country will be tested apparatus fixed on the flying machine for telephoto work and moving picture machines. Most of the work will be done about nightfall or at dawn. The aviation section will also be used in aerial scouting and reconnaissance…The pilot will rise to an elevation of 2,000 feet above ground,” reported the Times on August 7th, which happened to be the day before the U.S. Army purchased the first aircraft from the Wright Brothers. These exercises proved the utility of aviation, and gave notoriety to the first aviator of the National Guard, Beckwith Havens.
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Many historical references focus on the activation of the unit by the U.S. Army, which gave rise to the title, Oldest Air National Guard Unit. This link provides the reader with imagery and media reporting on that famous day.
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 A. Leo Stevens (1876-1944) was a pre-World War One exhibition balloonist and parachutist who later developed new concepts of parachute canopies and harnesses. It was Stevens who provided the First Company with the balloon for training. Interestingly, Stevens was an advertising entrepreneur, and Allen XXXX, who has written about Stevens has agreed to provide additional information here.
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The Aero Club of America issued the first pilot's licenses in the US. It was founded in 1905, and had many sister organizations. The organization gave out the Collier Trophy. Some of the later licenses issued by the Aero Club of America bore the printed signature of Orville Wright. Wright served for a time as Chairman of the Aero Club of America's Contest Committee. Contrary to popular myth, the Wright brothers were not issued licenses number 4 and 5 for malicious reasons. They were simply among the five pilots who had, in America, demonstrated their ability to fly airplanes before the Aero Club of America's licensing program began. Those first five licenses were issued in alphabetical order –-- a practice followed by other national organizations belonging to the FAI.
There was no other organization that can take more credit for the transition of the Signal Corps to Aviation than the Aero Club of America. Starting that first night, Augustus Post, representing the Club, gave instruction in the use of the balloon. This link spells out in detail some of the characters that were involved in the Aero Club.
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At the ripe age of 20, Beckwith Havens became the first aeroplane salesman in the world when he joined the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1910. The following year, Glenn Curtiss taught "Becky" to fly at Hammondsport, N.Y., which started him on a very interesting career and into the National Guard history books as the first pilot. This link discusses his life and career.
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 One by one, the ten JN-4 "Jennies" dropped out of cloud-laden skies at the end of a trail-blazing cross-country flight. The date was November 19, 1916 and these pioneer aviators, members of New York's 1st Aero Company, had just completed an historic roundtrip from Mineola, N.Y., to Princeton, New Jersey. The flight, hailed by the press as "the largest number ever seen on one flight in this country," was the first mass cross-country flight in U.S. military aviation. The first leg of the historic flight was launched on Saturday, November 18, with a rendezvous of twelve airplanes over Governor's Island, New York. The flight leader, an airman destined to be one of the great names in World War I aviation-Captain (later Colonel) Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, formed the aero unit in 1915. Navigating by familiar landmarks on the roads and fields, the adventuresome National Guard pilots (two aircraft piloted by civilian trainees flew only the first leg), made the return trip on Sunday, November 19, a cold and overcast day. Truly a pioneer in militia aviation, the 1st Aero Company was the first ever to be called into Federal service, in June 1916. A year later most of its members were flying combat missions in France. But the first formation cross-country flight, a pioneer accomplishment soon to be eclipsed by the great strides in aviation, nevertheless set the stage for the accomplishments of the Air National Guard in the years to come.
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 This page is dedicated to those brave souls who risked their lives in order to show that aviation was practical. This link refers to those people that worked with the First Aero Company to make it work. It gives some insight into who worked behind the scenes in making the unit “get off the ground.”
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 This link refers to the Yale Flying Club, which did as much to promote aviation as any of the Ivy League Schools. The club, made famous in the great book, The Millionaire's Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys who Fought the Great War and Invented American Airpower, by Marc Wortman, provides insight into the time and people that flew on Long Island at the same time, and later fought in World War I.
Yale Aviation has roots as far back as 1915, when the First Yale Unit was started by then-Yale-sophomore Trubee Davison. The First Yale Unit is considered to be the first naval air reserve unit. Davison and 11 other Yale students were fascinated with the possibilities of aviation in general and of naval aviation specifically. After meeting with Admiral Robert Peary to gain authorization for the unit, Trubee Davison acquired a Curtiss Model "F" seaplane and members of the First Yale Unit were trained as pilots during the summer of 1916. They were the first aerial coastal patrol unit.
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This link is to an article by Phillip Wilcox in Country Magazine. In the article he describes in great detail the physical feelings and fantastic views of his early flights. He even describes the then-brand new Vanderbilt Motor Parkway as it crosses Long Island from west to east.
Research is inconclusive in identifying whether the author is the same Phillip Wilcox who constructed the Company’s first aircraft at Columbia University. |
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This golden anniversary was captured in print, and for the first time, we are able to share those memories with the public. At the time, many of the early unit members were still alive, and attended the event. Most famous of the members was the CEO of IBM at the time, Tom Watson, Jr.
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The Minuteman in Peace and War: A History of the National Guard, Jim Dan Hill, Forward by George Fielding Eliot, (Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company, 1964. This book contains many of the references found throughout the website.
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