Note: This item is currently in storage.

On May 26, 1917, the 1st Reserve Aero Squadron was formed, becoming the nation’s first air reserve unit. Among its earliest members was Private John E. Tynan, who deployed with the squadron to Issoudun, France, in September 1917. While there, the squadron was re-designated as the 26th Aero Squadron, and Tynan was commissioned as an officer and became a Nieuport pilot.

Casualties among pilots were common during World War I, though miraculously, Tynan very narrowly managed to avoid his own brush with death. He continued to serve with the 26th Aero Squadron in France until the end of the war.

Caption: “Bullet hole through windshield of my Nieuport over Chateau Thierry, France, November 1918 -- happily at a 90 degree angle.”

Click here to return to the Featured World War I Artifacts