Tag Archives: Punitive Expedition

Former Trustee, Ken W. Emery, Dies at 87 in Columbus Feb 9

IN MEMORIAM

              Kenneth W. Emery *

Ken William Emery was an early member of the FASF Board of Trustees and its official local Columbus, Historian.

The FASF has just learned that Ken died this past Wednesday, the 9th of February, at his Columbus, New Mexico home.  He was 87.

Before retiring, Ken was a Cultural Resource Research Archaeologist. His avocation was US History.

Accordingly, he almost naturally spent countless hours thoroughly researching the operations of the US Army’s First Aero Squadron (FAS) during its campaign out of Columbus – and of its 11 young pilots’ lives.

By the time he had completed his studies, it was if Ken had become one of their closest friends, insofar as he knew so much detail about each of their lives . . . both in and out of the Army Signal Corps’ Air Service.

After retiring from Archeology, Ken and his wife, Sheila, regularly spent their summers living full-time in the Arizona wilderness near the old mining town of Globe, where they spent each day of the fire season manning a fire watch-tower in the Tonto National Forest for the USDA’s Forest Service.  The couple had met while fellow undergraduate students at New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University.  They also lived and worked in Syracuse, NY.

Sheila’s mother, Marjorie Thompson, had been an early American aviation pioneer and was a professional flight instructor before and during WWII.  Sheila passed away in 2020.

Ken was always actively volunteering and helping in Columbus Village affairs and served on the Village Historic Preservation Commission.  In addition to contributing articles to the First Aero Squadron’s early newsletter, the AERODROME, Ken also wrote stories for the New Mexico Desert Exposure monthly publication.  Ken had completed all his post-graduate work in Archeology and only needed his oral exam to obtain his Ph.D. However, and typical of Ken, his love of the outdoors was so great, that instead of becoming a full-time academic, he chose to work for the US Forest Service.

The following is most of the surviving video (15 min) clip of Ken addressing the October 2014 Annual Convention of the League of WWI Aviation Historians at Monterrey, CA in which he described the exploits of the small handful of early US Army aviators that manned the indomitable Curtiss Jenny biplanes in a combat enterprise that lead directly to the development of the world’s greatest Airpower some 30 years later, during WWII.

Ken is survived by four grown children:  Peter Emery of Farmington, NM; Holly Emery of San Jose, CA; Sasha Duffy of Santa FE, NM; and Andrew “Drew” Emery of Roslyn, WA.  Ken and Sheila had 7 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

*Photo courtesy of long-time FASF member, FASF Photographer, Dave Clemmer.

The below video clip is 15 minutes long.  It shows Ken addressing the Annual Convention of the League of WWI Aviation Historians in Monterrey CA in 2009.

 

It took them 104 years, but the Army finally flew back home !

In February of 1917, the intrepid pioneer pilots of the First Aero Squadron (FAS), stationed at Columbus for 11 months, were ordered back east to be transported to the raging inferno in Europe that became known as WWI.

Since that time, the Army Air Corps, later to be known as the Army Air Forces, fought and won our way through another World War, this time the second global conflict.

Shortly after WWII ended, in 1947, Congress formed the United States Air Force (USAF), an entirely new and independent branch of the U.S. Military, but it did not abandon the Army Aviation Branch.

When the USAF began to grow its ranks, the now much smaller Army Aviation Branch, likewise did not sit still but also began its own regrowth.  Today, it has more pilots, almost entirely ROTARY WING, aviators, than does the USAF, although its inventory of Fixed Wing assets remains quite small.

Not since February 1917, 104 years ago, has the US Army flown into or out of their historic airfield in the small border town of Columbus, NM.

However, last month, on Tuesday, the 14th of December, that all changed, when the 501st General Support Aviation Battalion, stationed at Biggs Army Airfield (adjoining Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas), was led into the old Army FAS Airfield at Columbus by its commander, Lt. Colonel Jonathan Guinn.

Colonel Guinn personally flew the number 1 Boeing CH-47 Chinook twin-rotor helicopter into the Airfield, immediately followed by the 2nd Chinook.  Upon landing, the heavy helicopters discharged some 60 young Army Aviators, who then walked from the Airfield into town, to explore their history in the two museums dedicated to the 1916 Punitive Expedition, which as most of you know, became to first instance of sustained combat flying by the fledging new Army flying squadron.

Here, below, you will see that historic event from last December unfold by way of videos of their arrival – – – and of their departure – – – along with many (78) photos of the Airmen and Women who took part in the event.

Click on the below photo’s centered boxed arrow to start the PowerPoint Show of the historic event, but remember, that, except for the opening and closing short videos, the other pictures will change to the next frame at regular intervals of  8 seconds per slide. Again, the entire show has 78 separate photos and two separate videos.

We suggest you use FULL-SCREEN for viewing since the photos are otherwise quite small.

 Should you want to stop the show at any point, simply use your computer’s space bar,  To restart the presentation, then tap the space bar once again.  Remember, the two end piece videos are just under 2:00 minutes each.  The entire show, if not paused, is only 14:16 long.

 

 

 

Aviator-Historian Chronicles the Birth of American Airpower

  Daniel G. Sharpes, Aviator, and Historian

New to that small cadre of aviation historians who have accurately and carefully chronicled the saga of the First Aero Squadron (FAS) is a gentleman – and aviator – from Albuquerque, NM, Daniel G. Sharpes.

We are happy to announce that Mr. Sharpes has become an active member of the FASF!

Dan has done his research exceptionally well, and his colorfully descriptive style makes it an enjoyable experience to jump back in time to when American Air Power was born, right here in Columbus, NM, exactly 104 years ago this coming March 16, 2021.

Let’s learn a bit about this new article’s author:

Born down the street from the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dan Sharpes applied his interest in aviation to supporting the X-29, C-17, and Airborne Laser programs as well as several R&D efforts. His Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in aero-engineering enabled him to study the aerodynamics of forward-swept wings and v-tails. Dan retired in 2019 from his military and civilian duties and is currently pursuing a history degree as well as offering flight instruction in his personal Cessna 172.

So, without further ado, let’s follow Dan’s story of the adventurous days of the First Aero’s introduction to actual warfare, on March 16, 1916 . . . you will find a special PDF  version of this story at the bottom of the page for easy downloading:

”The Failed Mission of the First Aero Squadron in Mexico”

By Daniel Sharpes

                  Webster, M.L. “Curtiss Flying Jennies Pursue Pancho Villa Across Northern Mexico,” (ref. 1)

In his January 2013 message to “Airmen and Airpower Advocates,” General Mark Welsh III wrote of how the United States Air Force provides “Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power” (ref. 2). But that has not always been the case. In the years before World War One, a time in aviation history that has long interested me, the initial deployment of U.S. military aviation revealed deficiencies that far outweighed capabilities. Though it was barely eight years after the Wright brothers made their first public flight, not only was it the airplanes of the First Aero Squadron that were put to the test but also the pilots, mechanics, and all the logistics needed to successfully augment Army operations outside the United States.

The squadron’s primary mission was “… to provide aerial reconnaissance for the six assigned cavalry regiments” (p. xi, ref. 3) of General Pershing’s Punitive Expedition. On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa had attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing 19, and President Woodrow Wilson gave orders to capture him dead or alive.

              Captain Benjamin D. Foulois (ref. 4)

Three days later, the First Aero Squadron, led by Captain Benjamin D. Foulois (Fuh-LOY), was on its way. Unfortunately, less than five weeks after entering Mexico, the First Aero Squadron limped back to the U.S. Of the eight planes that departed, only two returned and, after landing, Captain Foulois burned both to ashes. To explore why the mission ended this way I will look at seven factors: (1) Army and Congressional support, (2) the mission the squadron was called on to perform, (3) the officers and men of the squadron, (4) the aircraft of the squadron, (5) their operating environment, (6) the maintenance and logistical difficulties, and (7) the challenges of flying in Mexico.

Each aspect will contribute to explaining why the 1st Aero Squadron failed to provide the ordered reconnaissance support.

Support by the Army and Congress

What was the state of Army aviation in 1916 and how did it get that way? Todd Phinney, in “Airpower and Terrorism,” wrote,

“… in 1913, just three years prior to the Mexico campaign, when “[compared] to what other governments invested in their military air effort . . . the United States came in thirteenth in the world rankings.” (ref.5, p. 6)

Such a poor showing was due to a lack of support within the War Department (now the Department of Defense) and Congress. In his memoir, Foulois recalled,

“The War Department was in the process of estimating the budget for fiscal year 1916 when war broke out in Europe. An Army request for a little more than $1 million for the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps was submitted to Secretary of War Lindley M. Garrison, who promptly reduced the estimate by $600,000 and sent an estimate for $400,000 to the Congress. This was done at the same time that Germany appropriated $45 million; Russia, $22.5 million; France, $12.8 million; Austria, $3 million; and Great Britain $1.08 million. Even Italy had appropriated $800,000 for military aviation in its prewar budget. … The Congress … on March 4, 1915, only $300,000 was slated for military aeronautics.” (ref. 6, p. 118)

Further clipping the wings of the Aviation section were the staffing constraints put in place by Congress two years before Villa’s raid:

     The public’s view of the mission (ref. 7, p. 25)

“One of the most troublesome provisions of the Act of July 18, 1914, was that specifying that only unmarried lieutenants of the line under thirty years of age could serve in the aviation section. The result was that the section was being filled with young, inexperienced second lieutenants, leaving no one with age and experience to command an aviation organization. Still, another irrational proviso was one that required an officer on aviation duty to return to troop duty as soon as he was promoted to the grade of captain …” (ref. 6, pp. 118-9)

Supporters of Army aviation clearly understood the situation. This editorial cartoon was published in Aerial Age Weekly on the same day First Aero Squadron aircraft began to arrive in Mexico (ref. 7, page 25).

General Funston, who commanded General Pershing to take the First Aero Squadron into Mexico, is considering the U.S. Aviation Corps. From its neck hangs the sign, “Wings Clipped in Congress” and on its left leg is a ball and chain. Mexico’s volatility is represented by a simmering volcano and armed Mexicans can be seen along the ridge-line between the Rio Grande River and the volcano.

With support like this, the squadron faced an uphill struggle to succeed even before they arrived at Camp Furlong in Columbus, New Mexico.

The Mission

                                          The First Aero Squadron’s Area of Responsibility (ref. 3, p. xii)

“On 12 March, the Army ordered Foulois and the 1st Aero Squadron to deploy to Columbus in support of Pershing’s expedition” (ref. 8, p. 28). Seven days after Villa’s raid, Foulois and his deputy, Captain Townsend Dodd, made the first aerial reconnaissance by United States military aircraft ever made over foreign territory, the first of few successful missions. Orders came soon after that flight to deploy to Casas Grandes, about 125 miles south of the border.

This was the first of several deployments that would split up elements of the squadron, as shown in the map (ref. 3, p. xii). Each deployment required packing equipment and personal gear, driving on roads many today would consider rough even for off-road vehicles, setting up the squadron, and re-establishing operations. These moves, mandated to support the mission, kept any sort of consistent operational tempo from developing. The result was that efficient practices and procedures never had the chance to be established or mature.

This constant commotion is an important factor in understanding why the squadron failed in its mission.

The Officers and Men of the Squadron

To get reconnaissance information to General Pershing, Captain Foulois relied on 11 officers, 82 enlisted men, one civilian mechanic, and a medical officer with three hospital corpsmen. (ref. 6, p. 126). Not enough can be said in praise of the non-flying members of the squadron and their efforts to keep the airplanes in the sky. His officers, all pilots, were similarly dedicated. However, that could not overcome their aviation inexperience. If we were to judge Pershing and his pilots by today’s standards, at the time they left for Mexico, none would have passed a modern private pilot exam.

Their commander, Foulois, learned to fly using “… mailed instructions from the Wright Brothers in a Wright Model A (Signal Corps No. 1) biplane …” (ref. 3, p. 9).

Of the other eleven pilots, only one had night flying experience, a shortcoming that made itself known on the squadron’s first flight into Mexico.

Captain Foulois recalls:

“On the morning of March 19, I received telegraphic orders to move the squadron to Casas Grandes, a small town about 125 miles south of the border, for immediate service. By five-thirty that afternoon all eight planes were in the air headed for Ascension, about 60 miles to the south, where we planned to stay overnight. … By the time we reached Ascension, the sun had gone down and I could see only four planes in my formation. … By the time the fourth plane landed, it was dark.” (ref. 6, pp. 126-7)

That no other planes arrived at Ascension also speaks to their limited formation flying skills as several planes got separated from the rest. Planning and executing a cross country flight was another hard lesson not entirely learned by recent experience when, in the weeks before the Expedition, the squadron flew from Oklahoma to Texas. They got lost on the way.

Experience is the best teacher, but its lessons are often expensive and harsh. Fortunately, none of the aviators were seriously injured while deployed but the First Aero Squadron eventually lost all its planes.

The Aircraft of the First Aero Squadron

To give some perspective on the maturity of aviation, when the squadron deployed, not even eight years had passed since the Wrights made their first public flight in 1908. The industry in the United States hadn’t grown much since then for reasons outside the scope of this paper. That lack of maturity revealed itself in the planes they flew, Curtiss JN-3’s. One is on display at the Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico (ref. 9).

                               The JN-3 on display at the Pancho Villa State Park, Columbus, NM (ref. 9)

Numerous problems with the aircraft became obvious very quickly:

  • “Each plane carried a different type of compass …” (ref. 10)
  • They “… could not fly over the 12,000-foot-high mountains, nor could they withstand the gusty winds, rain, hail and snow that were prevalent in the area.” (ref. 10)
  • “Their wheels bogged down in the deep sand, and the hot, dry air quickly dried out the wooden planes. Especially troublesome were the propellers, which delaminated in the dry heat … and only a propeller laboriously carved from dried native wood proved successful. The pilots soon learned to carry a spare propeller, stored in a humidity-controlled box strapped to the side of the fuselage, on every mission.” (ref. 10)
  • On one flight from the city of Chihuahua, when “Lt Dargue attempted to (take off), the top of the fuselage came off and he was forced to land.” (ref. 11, p. 195)” On another flight, as “… they attempted to take off, the top of the fuselage blew off, damaging the rudder.” (ibid., p. 196)”
  • The engines were unreliable. It was not uncommon that they failed in flight and over ground that often resulted in landings better called controlled crashes.
  • The propellers, so essential to flight, soon became a flight risk. The hot, dry air dried out the glue holding the laminated wooden blades together, making them useless for flight. Another kind of failure occurred twice, the first “… almost resulted in tragedy when one blade of his plane’s propeller flew off, immediately throwing his machine out of balance. The excess torque nearly ripped the engine from its mounting with only a few wires below the machine holding it in place.” (ibid., p. 196).

                    What a First Aero Squadron propeller looks like after failing in flight (ref. 12, p. 781)

It should come as no surprise that, of the eight JN-3’s deployed from Camp Furlong, only two returned about 30 days later. On their return, Captain Foulois stripped them of all useful parts and then burned them to ensure no one would be able to fly them ever again. It’s no wonder he recalls in his memoir,

“Pershing … said that he would have no quarrel even if my officers had expressed public disapproval of the old wrecks we had to fly. “They have already too often risked their lives in old and often useless machines which they have patched up and worked over in an effort to do their share of the duty this expedition has been called on to perform,” he wrote.” (ref. 6, p. 134)”

Without airplanes, the First Aero Squadron could not have existed. But with the planes they had, even the few successes they experienced were not enough to call their mission accomplished.

The Weather

To say the environment in which they flew was brutal is an understatement. The planes, “…on account of their low power, could not climb fast enough in case of emergency, the Mexican atmosphere being so rare …” (ref. 7, p. 24f). Why was this? The density of the air at the altitudes they had to fly robbed the aviators twice. First, the propellers could not grab as much air as at the lower altitudes common in the U.S. This reduced the ability of propellers to create thrust. Then, the engines lost power as the reduced oxygen in that thin air meant less fuel could be burned. Hence, the engines could not make their rated horsepower.

Winds were another factor. They proved to be a threat to flight safety:

    Though this photo was taken in Columbus, NM, the winds were just as dangerous on the ground (ref. 3, p. 151)

 

“… one of the airplanes crashed on landing because of high winds, injuring its pilot and damaging the airplane beyond repair.” (ref. 8, p. 29f)

More than thin air and high winds worked against the JN-3’s. Foulois recalled these circumstances:

“I looked up just in time to see Lieut. Tom Bowen get caught in a vicious whirlwind just as he touched down and end up in a pile of splinters and cloth. He suffered a broken nose, cuts, and bruises; the plane was a total wreck.” (ref. 6, p. 128)

The dust in the air was so thick that the snow was actually brown by the time it hit the ground. … Between March 27 and 31 … we all encountered severe rain, hail, and snowstorms. By the end of our first ten days of operations, it was obvious that our six planes were incapable of fully performing the task assigned. Their low-powered engines and limited climbing ability with the necessary military load made it impossible to operate them safely in the vicinity of the mountains.” (ref. 6, p. 129)

The struggle of planes of the First Aero Squadron to fly in the high Mexican air made mission success just as much a struggle.

The Maintenance and Logistical Challenges

   A squadron machine shop at Satevo, Mexico (ref. 3, p. 130)

The dedication and ingenuity of the seven men needed to keep each plane flying cannot be praised enough. To protect against damage from the sun, “wetted canvas tarps (were) draped over the engine and its propeller for protection from the sun.” (ref. 3, p. 47). Invention overcame necessity as “… Curtiss did not design the propellers for a hot, dry climate … the squadron developed a method for manufacturing its own propellers on site. American aircraft companies later used those techniques for all future wood propellers.” (ref. 8, p. 31). One of the tricks they used was to develop, in the field, an Airplane Propeller Storage “Humidor” (ref. 3, p. x). Just as the humidors used by the Albuquerque Isotopes keep the baseballs from drying out, the squadron’s humidor preserved the propellers, at least for a little while.

To keep them flying, however, the mechanics needed spare parts but the supply line for those parts proved to be shaky. For one thing,

Loading supplies needed in Mexico (ref. 3, p. 109)

“As the Squadron planned to maintain its own supply lines during the operation, it was assigned 12 trucks and one automobile for transportation purposes. However, all of these vehicles soon fell prey to either the demands of the Quartermaster Corps or the guns of Mexican bandits.” (ref. 13, p. 190).

The aviators were able to work around this liability, ferrying supplies in the empty observer’s seat. Those supplies that didn’t fit in the forward cockpit were, as shown, tied to the outside of the planes! (ref. 14, p. 52)

Foulois described another of the difficulties:

“During the entire Mexican campaign, one of the most frustrating conditions under which we operated was the refusal of the Carranza government to let us use the railroads for transportation or visit the villages for supplies. The available motor-truck and pack-train supply were far from adequate, to put it mildly.” (ref. 6, p. 129)

Ingenuity and creative techniques are key to success but doing more and more with less and less does not result in being able to do anything with nothing. If an army marches on its stomach, airplanes fly with their parts. An unpredictable supply line compounded the squadron’s lack of success.

The Challenges of Flying in Mexico

Before any flight can occur, a pilot needs to know two things: where they are and where they are going. Again, Foulois wrote,

“We went down there to perform a service we knew nothing about, with no maps and with no knowledge of the situation whatsoever.”

Using their maps to plan a mission from San Geronimo, Mexico (ref. 3, p. 49)

The one map that there was of the area was next to useless. It was made by the Mexican Central Railroad in the late 1880s (ref. 8, p. 29). The First Aero Squadron adapted and overcame by putting the camera intended for reconnaissance to another use:

“Owing to the lack of topographical maps for Chihuahua, Mexico, the squadron’s aircraft photographed the terrain with aircraft-mounted Brock Automatic Aerial Cameras. These sequential, glass-plate negatives were enlarged and printed on paper; and then they were pieced tougher to form a mosaic map.” (ref. 3, p. 49)

 

Planning a Reconnaissance Mission, San Geronimo, Chihuahua, Mexico, April 1916 National Archives. Working in barely primitive conditions, they developed the negatives and printed maps in the field.

The Mexicans themselves presented another challenge. There were three groups, those fighting for Villa, those fighting for Carranza (who had asked President Wilson for help in capturing Villa), and the non-combatants. All of them opposed the American presence in Mexico. On a diplomatic flight to Chihuahua City, Foulois was captured and taken to jail by a mob who wanted to kill him. I leave it to the reader to learn of his adventure from his memoir (ref. 6). More than once mobs threatened to destroy aircraft that had landed away from their bases and on at least four occasions the ‘non-combatants’ used First Aero Squadron vehicles and their operators for target practice. Not only that, but the forces supporting Carranza were also seen as threats. One of the successful reconnaissance flights showed that rumors of his forces moving to attack a smaller US Army column were just that, rumors.

Hostility from those the US was trying to help has its modern parallel. Both then and now, it made success hard to achieve.

Conclusion

Todd Phinney, in his thesis, nicely summed up the situation of the First Aero Squadron:

“Untested aviation procedures, maintenance problems, crashes, a hostile climate, and an indigenous population proved formidable obstacles.” (ref. 5, p. 6).

These obstacles were so significant that on April 20th, Foulois and the squadron were ordered back to Columbus. After barely a month of operations, their mission was ended.

Though the First Aero Squadron did fail to consistently provide reconnaissance information to the Punitive Expedition, their failure led to significant positive outcomes:

  • “… the War Department and Congress increased the FY 1917 aviation budget from the initial April 1916 request of $1.2 million to $13.9 million, which the president signed into law on 29 August 1916.” (ref. 8, p. 32)
  • The technological shortfalls revealed in Mexico were documented and presented to aeronautical engineers and scientists at a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1917 (ref. 15). Those lessons learned were taken back to the airplane designers and manufacturers to improve the safety and performance of the next generation of aircraft.
  • The experience gained by the aviators and maintainers of the First Aero Squadron was applied less than a year later in France as part of the American Expeditionary Force.

There is no shame in failure but there is shame in failing to learn from it. The disappointments experienced by the First Aero Squadron were learned both by the Army and Congress. As a result, the banner of the First Aero Squadron can proudly be included as a part of an Air Force that today provides “Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power.”

 What is believed to be the original Standard for the First Aero Squadron (ref. 16)

Bibliography

  1. Webster, M.L. n.d. “Curtiss Flying Jennies Pursue Pancho Villa Across Northern Mexico,” Warfare History Network. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2015/07/23/curtiss-flying-jennies-pursue-pancho-villa-across-northern-mexico/?mqsc=E&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=warfare_history_full%20Warfare%20History%20Daily%20Military%20Games%20Warfare%20History%20Daily%20Military%20Games&utm_campaign=Games%20Commentary%207%2F23%2F2015.
  2. Welsh, Mark A., III. n.d. “Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America,” U.S. Air Force. https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/images/airpower/GV_GR_GP_300DPI.pdf.
  3. Deuble, John L., Jr. 2016. An Illustrated History of The 1st Aero Squadron at Camp Furlong Columbus, New Mexico 1916-1917. Signature Book Printing
  4. Quinn, Ruth. 2013. “American Military Aviation Takes Off with First Aero Squadron. This Week in History: 9 March 1916..” U.S. Army. March 1, 2013. https://www.army.mil/article/97537/American_Military_Aviation_Takes_Off_with_First_Aero_Squadron__This_Week_in_History__9_March_1916_/
  5. Phinney, Todd R. 2007. “Airpower versus Terrorism: Three Case Studies.” Air University Press, 2007. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13776.13
  6. Foulois, Benjamin D., and Carroll V. Glines. 1968. From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts The Memoirs of Major General Benjamin D. Foulois. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
  7. 1916, “First Aero Squadron to Mexico.” Aerial Age Weekly, March 20, 1916. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101048986168&view=1up&seq=24
  8. Schrader, Karl R. 2012. A Giant in the Shadows Major General Benjamin Foulois and the Rise of the Army Air Service in the World War I. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press
  9. New Mexico State Parks. 2015. “Welcome to Pancho Villa State Park.” Accessed 25 October, 2020. https://youtu.be/3XqgcWUwNxM
  10. Glynn, Gary. n.d. “1st Aero Squadron and the Pursuit of Pancho Villa.” History Net. https://www.historynet.com/mexican-expedition-1st-aero-squadron-in-pursuit-of-pancho-villa.htm.
  11. Hines, Calvin W. 1965. “First Aero Squadron in Mexico.” American Aviation Historical Society Journal, 10, no.2 (Fall 1965): 190-197.
  12. 1916. “Millions for Army Aviation,” Aerial Age Weekly, September 11, 1916. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101048986168&view=1up&seq=538
  13. Hines, Calvin W. 1965. “First Aero Squadron in Mexico.” American Aviation Historical Society Journal, 10, no.2 (Fall 1965): 190-197
  14. Smith, John J. and James J. Sloan, 1969. “The 1st Aero Sqdn., U.S.A.S.,” Journal of the American Aviation History Society, 14, no. 1: 52-54. https://www.aahs-online.org/journals/files/141051.pdf
  15. Clark, V. E., T. F. Dodd, and O. E. Strahlmann. “SOME PROBLEMS IN AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION.” SAE Transactions 12 (1917): 40-64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44716155.
  16. Aldrich, Nancy W. n.d. “The 1st Aero Squadron – A History.” First Aero Squadron Foundation. https://firstaerosquadron.com/articles/the-1st-aero-squadron-a-history/

For those of you who would like to either download or read the original PDF version of Dan’s narrative and be able to use the PDF’s navigating tools, we’ve included the PDF copy right below for your convenience.

Click to access the-first-aero-squadron-in-mexico-mission-unaccomplished-2.pdf

 

 

FASF Trustee Bill Wallace at his new Livestock Auction House

Trustee Bill Wallace III at main entrance to his office

When Bill Wallace III (at left) was first elected to the FASF Board of Trustees, he was the full-time manager, in Columbus, NM, of the CATTLEMEX corporation’s local cattle marshaling and Auction facilities on the Mexican Border a few miles South of Columbus.

But, some three years ago, Bill purchased a new home in Santa Teresa, NM, in the same private development in which another former Trustee and now Advisor, John Orton, lived.  This new home put Bill in much closer proximity to his new work place, the Santa Teresa Livestock Auction, located at the large U. S. Border Port of Entry at Santa Teresa, NM.

In another few months, Bill’s relatively new enterprise will celebrate if fourth year of successful business at the new facility.  Just today, Bill successfully auctions about 600 head of cattle to American cattlemen.  Most of the cattle auctioned by Bill’s business come from Mexico, while most of the buyers are American Ranchers and Cattlemen.  His average number of livestock being held at any given time is now approaching 1,000 head.  Bill’s operation is the largest such U.S./Mexican Border auction enterprise anywhere on our border with Mexico.

In constructing the new facilities, just as he had done at the CATTLEMEX operation in

   Dr. Grandin

Columbus, at Santa Teresa, Bill again had the internationally famous, Temple Grandin, PhD,  an animal/cattle behavioral scientist, design the cattle holding pens and chutes.  Dr. Grandin is well known for her ability to configure cattle handling facilities that minimize the stress that once posed such a traumatic experience to the cattle that were being processed.

Cattle Pens designed by Dr. Grandin

 

One immediately noticeable feature of Dr. Grandin’s designs is that there are no sharp corners nor straight fence lines.  Everything she fabricates for the livestock handling is composed of curves.  Here (at left) is and early example of what such Grandin pens look like.

 

Bill is a partner in the new operation at Santa Teresa and is its full-time manager.  This Trustee

L to R: Sr. Vega Vega, and Bill Wallace in Auction Hall

was raised in Mexico at the historic family ranch, Hacienda Rancho Corralitos, the very same ranch at which Bill’s great-grandfather once housed General Black Jack Pershing’s famous Buffalo Soldiers, during the same Punitive Expedition, which gave rise to the First Aero Squadron’s pioneering operation out of Columbus.  While your webmaster was visiting with Bill, yesterday, he was regularly interrupted by business cell phone calls, one of those calls is show in this post’s short (:47 second) video clip immediately below.

L to R: Mr. Vega bids goodbye to Bill.

Because Bill deals on a daily basic with both Mexican cattlemen and Americans, his bi-lingual language skill comes in more than  handy.  Because of the international nature of the FASF, we always endeavor to have a number of Trustees that are also fully bi-lingual.  Our other two Spanish speaking members are our Treasurer, Alma Villezcas, who, like Bill, is also from Casas Grandes, Mexico, and our retired professor of Cultural Anthropology, Dr. Kathleen Martín, our previous 1st Vice President.

                               Bill stands behind his Auction Auditorium and nearby his new corrals and chutes.

 

First Aero’s John Read Retires from NM State Parks Dept.

Today, only three days to go before retiring as Manager of New Mexico’s Pancho Villa State Park (PVSP) in Columbus, one of the FASF’s earliest and most active members and enthusiastic supporters, John Read (at left), was honored at a surprise celebration, held at his beloved Park in Columbus, the very spot which once housed U.S. Army troops under General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, during the famous Punitive Expedition of 1916 and 1917.  High resolution still photographs and video follow story down below . . .

Camp Furlong 1916-17 Recreation Hall

 

Today’s celebratory event was actually held in the very same “Recreation Hall” (at right) in which U.S. Army infantry, cavalry, and Signal Corps Aviation troops held their various recreational activities over a century ago.  The Army Fort and Garrison at Columbus became known as “Camp Furlong.”

 

Since arriving in Columbus, Mr. Read has maintained a continuous presence in all FASF activities, often helping the Foundation put on various presentations for the general public, and acting as one of its principle historical consultants.

General “Black Jack” Pershing

He supported and even hosted the very first public event put on by the FASF, when the United States Air Force (USAF) flew its then Deputy Historian, Dr. Roger Miller, out to Columbus to put on the group’s very first public History sell-out extravaganza.

It was New Mexico’s interesting employment opportunities and the excitement of the Southwest that initially drew the Reads from their home in Tampa, Florida to New Mexico. When John arrived at Columbus, in 2008, his first task was to become the Park’s new Heritage Educator.  Prior to his arrival in Columbus, John first worked as a Park Ranger at the Roswell NM State park. 

Although Read’s major during college was in the Sciences, and notwithstanding his years of teaching science in Florida, he nevertheless became a dedicated student of history, in particular the history of those events which surrounded Columbus during those years just prior to our entry into the “War to End All Wars,” better known today as WWI, in Europe.

Aside from his heavy workload at managing the New Mexico PVSP operation, John has still continued his love of Science, foraging into advanced theoretical physics concepts, such as Quantum Mechanics and String Theory, and he has also become in income producing YouTube presenter of New Mexico High Desert Exploration and Aventure Videos.

It was during that Punitive Expedition that the United States first engaged its fledgling, and as yet unproven Army First Aero Squadron, in sustained combat.  And, of course, it was this very history-making development in Columbus, over a century ago, that led to the small Mexican border town’s becoming the “Birthplace of American Air Power,” and the Rebirth Site of American Civil aviation, as well.

However, it was not just this history that captured Mr. Read’s interest, but the entire series of related historic events that arose out the Columbus engagement in that historic Punitive Expedition.

Let’s take a quick glance of some of John’s more notable contributions, which so greatly enhanced the PVSP’s status as a historical site and local landmark for visitors and history buffs:

  • He created 1st website for the Pancho Villa State Park Friends (Volunteer Docent) group
  • Expanded and helped re-organize for more effectiveness, the PVSP Friend’s Group
  • Obtained large donation of new historic Expedition Artifacts for display in the exhibit Hall
  • Got donations of numerous original 13th Cavalry Army Uniforms from the Expedition
  • Acquired large collection of impressively mounted new Photo Plaques re the Raid
  • Promoted + sold many FASF souvenirs to park visitors, to help PVSP Friends’ funding
  • Created and marketed numerous other Expedition and “Raid” gifts for tourists
  • Got for display a valuable US 48 star Flag used by the expedition in Mexico in 1917-17
  • Acquired from Pancho’s grandson (Mex. Atty) for display, aluminum death mask of Villa
  • Put on display an actual artillery shell found in Mexico from the Expedition’s action there
  • Got donation of  Bill Rakocy collection (SW Historian/Artist & Writer) exhibit for display
  • Sold numerous new donors to make exhibit donations to the Park for its prized collection
  • Coordinated historical education “Staff Rides” (Field Trips) for USA Sgt. Majors Academy
  • Regularly coordinated USA Sergeant Majors Academy “Staff Rides” (Field Trips) thru PVSP
  • Did research: why PVSP was named after the Mexican Revolutionary who raided the US*
  • Greatly expanded the Park’s fostering and promoting of large Antique Car Show each year
  • Managed and orchestrated huge “Raid Centenniall” extravaganza in 2016, which featured:
    • A large group of 13th Cavalry Reenactors from all across the United States
    • Had Actress/Singer Helen Patton, Gen. Patton’s granddaughter perform for FASF
    • Had Congressman/FASF member, Steve Pearce  present US Capitol Flag to the FASF
    • Arranged Special FASF Presentation to the overflow crowd of Centennial visitors
    • Otherwise coordinated hundreds of enactors and others for successful Centennia

Here, for your enjoyment, are some of today’s photos . . . click to see full high-resolution view

Some of guests line up to get their event lunch

Guests begin to assemble in the Camp Furlong Recreation Hall to hear John’s retirement ceremony

L to R in foreground: Park volunteers, Dave and Marlene Ferguson, Josephine Gosiak, Shirley and Steve Schou, and with their backs to cameral, PVSP Friends’ VIPs, Jeane and Bud Canfield

L to R facing camera and standing: FASF Aerodrome Editor, July McClure, John Read, and seated, Maria Rangel, FASF member, Ted Williams (turned toward John and a park volunteer) and Bud Canfield, long time FASF Advisor.

L to R: July McClure, John Read, Maria Rangel, Ted Williams, Bud and Jeane Canfield.

L to R above: Guest of honor, John Read and his wife, Elly Read.

New Mexico State Park employees and staff, along with guests, listen to event MC and Park Regional Manager, Evaristo Giron, as he descried John Read’s numerous achievements during his tenure as the PVSP manager.

               John and Elly Read listen to Mr. Evaristo’s praise of John’s many accomplishments as Park Manager.

L to R: Evaristo Giron tells crowd of some more of John’s achievements as John waves one of his thank you cards with its many grateful anc congratulatory signatures.

 FASF ALL! – – – and also PVSP Friends’ Group Officers: July McClure (Treasurer), Elly and John Read, Maria Rangel (Secretary), Todd Montes (President – & US Postmaster for Columbus), Bud and Jeane Canfield, early PVSP Friends’ Group officers and organizers.

Guest of honor, John Read, with his principal long-time support staff Park Rangers:, L to R: Junior Martinez and Martin Nunez.

               John  Read with long-time friend and one of FASF organizers and its Webmaster, Ric Lambart

A happy new retiree and his bride about to savor their hard earned new life without so much daily responsibilities.

                      John Read’s New Mexico State Park’s Recognition for Outstanding Service Commemorative Plaque.

  • CLICK HERE to see John Read’s treatise on the strange story behind park’s Pancho Villa name.

The below video of event is 15:55 in length:

 

Dr. Bouilly Discovers Rare Photo Of Twin Jenny at Columbus

                                                                             Twin Jenny at Columbus 1916

The above photo was recently located by the now retired and once very active Chief Historian for the U.S. Army’s Sergeant Major’s Academy located at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, Dr. Robert Bouilly, who has, over the years, kindly provided a number of rare and fascinating historic photos and other information about the First Aero squadron’s experiences at Columbus during the Punitive Expedition.  That Punitive Expedition is something about which Dr. Bouilly likely knows more than any other living professional Historian.

The photo is in the New Mexico Archives in Sante Fe, NM, and is part of the Palace of the governors Photo Archive.  One of the FASF’s own advisors, Dr. Roger Miller, remains the foremost expert on matters pertaining to the First Aero’s operations during that expedition.  His excellent and colorfully written Memorial Booklet to this event, A Preliminary to War, can be found right here, on this website.  Simply click on the preceding link to read the story.

Dr. Bouilly presenting his lecture, yesterday, at Columbus’ Pancho Villa State Park. He explained the little known incident of a number of Chinese Miners, along some who had helped General Pershing in Mexico, both groups of which were placed in a Refugee camp at Columbus, literally rescued by the greateful Pershing.

Here below are some other photos of this very rare twin-engined adaptation of the famous JN-4 Jenny.  Only a few of these unique airplanes were constructed.  They were tested in Columbus by the First Aero Squadron’s pilots, but found to be wanting in performance to such and extent that they were rejected, in terms of having any future with the U. S. Army.

                                        JN-4 Jenny converted into a twin-engined reconnaissance airplane.

These photos will give you a clear idea of what was done to the successful JN-4 in order to make it a twin-engined aircraft.  basically, you will notice that the engine and its cowling in front of the airplane was removed and replaced by another cockpit, one which was designed for either an observer of an aerial machine gunner.  The ship’s power was then derived from the placement on each lower wing, on either side of the fuselage, of the additional two engines.

 Another photo of the Twin Jenny. This conversion shows the old R-2 type of vertical fin at the rear.  It also has a completely different propeller style than does the photo immediately above.  The larger Rudder was installed in order to provide better lateral control in case of an engine failure while in flight.

                                   Another view of the Twin Jenny secured to an engine test platform.

This rare photo is thanks to the aviation Blog writer, Kurt Wheaton, who’s grandfather, Ivan, flew Jennys before and after WWI. Mr. Wheaton inherited hundreds of photos taken by His grandfather.  The ship to the far right above, is the rare Curtiss single-seat “Scout.”  To its rear, (L), between the two Curtiss ships, is the ubiquitous JN-4, itself, and the one behind it is the “Twin Jenny.” Later, during WWII Curtiss built a number “Scout” aircraft, but, while they bore the same name as the rare machiner above, they were totally differnt and modern military aircraft.

The Birth of American Air Power in Columbus: 1916 -1917

Remember to turn up your volume to hear the above video!

The United States Air Force flew Dr. Roger G. Miller to Columbus, New Mexico, to deliver this 58 minute presentation in commemoration of the Birth of American Air Power.  Dr. Miller’s fascinating slide show included many before unseen 95-year-old archival photographs taken in Columbus during the launching of America’s first sustained military aviation operation.

This Army aircraft engagement was part of the legendary “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico sent out of Columbus in retaliation for the nighttime March 9th, 1916 raid on the town by Mexico’s revolutionary General Francisco “Pancho” Villa and his troops.  Before Villa’s three hour attack was over, he had lost almost a quarter of his some 400 men to the fierce American gunfire that ensued from the local Army garrison’s soldiers, but many buildings had been burned to the ground by the invaders and 18 U.S. soldiers and civilians had been slaughtered.

Not only was the retaliatory Army campaign considered the launching of what is now the world’s greatest Air Power, but many give the military engagement credit for instigating what also became the leading civil aviation power in the world.  While the early Columbus aircraft deployment is best known for its military contribution, the subsequent entry of the United States into Europe’s  World War I had a great deal to do with the postwar explosion of civil aviation in the states as well.

Why?  Because the veritable Curtiss “Jenny” biplanes used out of the Columbus airfield were mass-produced by the United States and Canada for several years during WWI in order to train  thousands of young American and Canadian men to be military pilots.  The Great War was soon concluded in 1918, and because the thousands of Jennys were no longer needed, they were quickly sold by the government as surplus at the end of that deadly conflict.

Many young Army and Navy pilots, who were fortunate enough to come home intact from the bloody fields and skies above Europe, had fallen in love with the exciting experience of flying and they enthusiastically purchased the surplus biplanes for as little as $200.  It was these sturdy “Jenny” aircraft that quickly became the backbone of U. S. civil aviation, as they were soon profitably carrying “Airmail” for the Federal Government.  They were also flown all across the states from the Atlantic to the Pacific by the ex-military pilots in what has become known as the American “Barnstorming” era.

It was these same Barnstorming young pilots who gave thousands of Americans their first taste of flying aloft in their noisy open-cockpit machines, which in turn helped incite America’s love affair with powered flight.  It was only a matter of a few more years before some of these young aviators were able to convince the government to subsidize their use of newer and larger aircraft to carry passengers between cities.  Because there weren’t yet enough passengers willing to forgo their trips by the much safer railroads, the new “Airline” entrepreneurs cleverly also bid to carry the U.S. mail on their passenger planes.  It was this federal subsidy to carry the airmail that enabled the fledgling airlines to turn a profit.  Thus began what also soon became the world’s leading civil aviation “power.”

Dr. Miller’s presentation is a colorful and exciting introduction into that great historical military experiment which is considered to be the Birth of American Air Power.  Although the Wright Brother’s are universally given credit for the first successful powered flight in 1903, the United States quickly fell behind the Europeans in aircraft innovation and development.  In fact, while the veritable “Jenny” airplane made a fine flight training aircraft (over 8,000 of them were mass-produced), it proved no match for any of the military airplanes used in the Great War, resulting in the Curtiss Jenny biplane being restricted to non-combat pilot training in the United States and Canada.  When our pilots arrived to battle the Germans in that bloody conflagration, they were compelled to fly either the significantly superior French or British flying machines.

Soon after the end of hostilities on the Continent, however, things quickly changed, with the lessons of the “war to end all wars” taken to heart, American aircraft manufacturers sprung up around the country in a fierce competition to produce better, safer – and faster – airplanes. The U. S. soon leapt ahead of the European nations in its capacity to produce genuinely safe modern airplanes – – – for both civilian and military purposes.  And, with virtually no lapses, the United States has successfully maintained that position of world leadership in both aviation and its evolution into space flight.

This video would not have been possible without the great assistance and hours of effort put in by the following local Columbus FASF members:  John Read, now Pancho Villa State Park Chief Ranger; Allen Rosenberg (a founding member of the FASF!) and Larry Miller, who worked together doing the videography; former FASF Trustee and Secretary of the Board, Bud Canfield and his wife, Jeane, who handled all the catering for the entire event, and Wayne and Debbi Evans, who handled all the vehicle parking duties.  This presentation by Dr. Miller was the first public program staged by the FASF and it was a true sell out. The attendees soon filled the small auditorium and spilled out into the main Exhibit Hall. Last, but not least, of course, was the fascinating presention by our guest, Dr. Roger Miller, USAF Deputy Historian and the USAF, which made his visit possible.

THANKS AGAIN TO:

Roger, John, Allen, Larry, Bud and Jeane, and  Wayne and Debbi!