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109th Airlift Squadron
The 109th Airlift Squadron (109 AS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 133d Airlift Wing located at Minneapolis–Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, Minnesota. The squadron is equipped with the C-130H Hercules.
The 109th AS is the oldest unit in the Minnesota Air National Guard, having over 90 years of service to the state and nation. It is a descendant organization of the World War I 109th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917. It was reformed on 17 January 1921, as the 109th Observation Squadron, being the first of 29 National Guard aviation squadrons to receive federal recognition following World War I.
The 109th Airlift Squadron traces its origins to the 109th Aero Squadron, being organized on 28 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The men of the squadron were from almost every section of the United States, recruited largely though the Columbus Barracks, Ohio and the Recruit Depot at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. At Kelly Field, the squadron was put into indoctrination training, with drills, hikes, guard duty, fatigue work and other things that are done in military training camps. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 109th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 24 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made. The squadron left Garden City on 7 December 1917 in a train bound for St. John's, Newfoundland, arriving on 10 December. There, it boarded the SS Tuscania, and proceeded across the Atlantic and arrived at Liverpool, England on 26 December. It then moved by train to the English Channel port of Southampton, where it waited at a Rest Camp for several days before crossing to Le Havre, France on 28 December. It again waited for transportation at Le Havre before finally arriving at the Replacement Concentration Center, AEF, St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918.
On 17 January 1918, the squadron was again moved, this time to Romorantin Aerodrome, in central France. There, along with the 75th Aero Construction Squadron and the 116th Aero Squadron, it was part of the first regular detachments of Americans to be stationed at the airfield. It was quartered in French barracks at the Camp de Bluets, on the outskirts of the town of Romorantin. Members of the squadrons were at once put into construction work to develop the Air Service Production Center No. 2. Work was performed in erecting buildings and also the construction of a railroad line into the camp next to the airfield. After several weeks of basic construction at the camp, much of the work was transferred to Chinese laborers who began to arrive and the Americans were placed in charge of details of these workers. On 1 February, the designation of the squadron was changed from the 107th to the 802d Aero Squadron.
The squadron was reassigned to the Transportation Division, Air Service on 20 February, its work becoming the construction of the first vehicle repair shop on the field, installing machinery. Large qualities of vehicles had begun to arrive, and the men were put to work in their assembly. Automobile trucks, trailers, tractors and over vehicles were continually arriving damaged from the front and this equipment was either salvaged or repaired. Some squadron members were assigned to duty with the Railway and Marine Sub-Divisions and assisted in the operation of the narrow-gauge line between Romorantin and Pruniers. Also, as part of the Transportation Division, many of the men were detailed for Convoy Duty. At one time or another, every man in the squadron did duty as a driver of some kind of motor vehicle. This work consisted in conveying truck trains loaded with various kinds of materiel, supplies and equipment from the various Base Ports along the coast and the supply depots in France to places along the front from Belgium to the American sector in Alsace-Lorraine. During the early spring of 1918, a large detachment of men from the 802d was sent to Orly Field, near Paris. For several months, these men were attached to several French Army units as truck drivers, and in this capacity, made frequent trips to the Front and were often under enemy fire. Also, the detachment around Paris was constantly subject to German air raids directed at Paris, and many of the men were in Paris when the "Grand Bertha" long range artillery was using the Eiffel tower as an aiming point.
Many of the men narrowly escaped death while being in and around Paris at the time, as well as the convoy duty to the front and back to Orly. When the great German drives threatened to smash the lines north of Paris in March and later in the summer of 1918, members of the squadron did their bit in moving troops, hauling ammunition and supplies to the front, while others worked at the depots loading trucks and being prepared to help in the evacuation of Paris if necessary.
When the American Army halted the Germans' big drive at Chateau Thierry, for many days members of the 803d assisted in moving troops and supplies to the front lines and in transporting the wounded to the rear. On this and numerous other occasions they also helped the civilian population in escaping from the battle lines.
During the summer of 1918, members of the squadron not assigned to convoy work were kept busy at Romorantin repairing and assembling vehicles. On many occasions the men worked day and night to fill rush orders from the front for equipment. During October 1918, almost all members of the squadron, with the exception of 40 men retained for convoy duty, were reassigned to the airplane shops at Romorantin. In these shops, the men assisted in the assembly of Dayton-Wright DH-4 "Liberty" planes, recently arrived by ship from the United States.
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109th Airlift Squadron
The 109th Airlift Squadron (109 AS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 133d Airlift Wing located at Minneapolis–Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, Minnesota. The squadron is equipped with the C-130H Hercules.
The 109th AS is the oldest unit in the Minnesota Air National Guard, having over 90 years of service to the state and nation. It is a descendant organization of the World War I 109th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917. It was reformed on 17 January 1921, as the 109th Observation Squadron, being the first of 29 National Guard aviation squadrons to receive federal recognition following World War I.
The 109th Airlift Squadron traces its origins to the 109th Aero Squadron, being organized on 28 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The men of the squadron were from almost every section of the United States, recruited largely though the Columbus Barracks, Ohio and the Recruit Depot at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. At Kelly Field, the squadron was put into indoctrination training, with drills, hikes, guard duty, fatigue work and other things that are done in military training camps. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 109th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 24 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made. The squadron left Garden City on 7 December 1917 in a train bound for St. John's, Newfoundland, arriving on 10 December. There, it boarded the SS Tuscania, and proceeded across the Atlantic and arrived at Liverpool, England on 26 December. It then moved by train to the English Channel port of Southampton, where it waited at a Rest Camp for several days before crossing to Le Havre, France on 28 December. It again waited for transportation at Le Havre before finally arriving at the Replacement Concentration Center, AEF, St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918.
On 17 January 1918, the squadron was again moved, this time to Romorantin Aerodrome, in central France. There, along with the 75th Aero Construction Squadron and the 116th Aero Squadron, it was part of the first regular detachments of Americans to be stationed at the airfield. It was quartered in French barracks at the Camp de Bluets, on the outskirts of the town of Romorantin. Members of the squadrons were at once put into construction work to develop the Air Service Production Center No. 2. Work was performed in erecting buildings and also the construction of a railroad line into the camp next to the airfield. After several weeks of basic construction at the camp, much of the work was transferred to Chinese laborers who began to arrive and the Americans were placed in charge of details of these workers. On 1 February, the designation of the squadron was changed from the 107th to the 802d Aero Squadron.
The squadron was reassigned to the Transportation Division, Air Service on 20 February, its work becoming the construction of the first vehicle repair shop on the field, installing machinery. Large qualities of vehicles had begun to arrive, and the men were put to work in their assembly. Automobile trucks, trailers, tractors and over vehicles were continually arriving damaged from the front and this equipment was either salvaged or repaired. Some squadron members were assigned to duty with the Railway and Marine Sub-Divisions and assisted in the operation of the narrow-gauge line between Romorantin and Pruniers. Also, as part of the Transportation Division, many of the men were detailed for Convoy Duty. At one time or another, every man in the squadron did duty as a driver of some kind of motor vehicle. This work consisted in conveying truck trains loaded with various kinds of materiel, supplies and equipment from the various Base Ports along the coast and the supply depots in France to places along the front from Belgium to the American sector in Alsace-Lorraine. During the early spring of 1918, a large detachment of men from the 802d was sent to Orly Field, near Paris. For several months, these men were attached to several French Army units as truck drivers, and in this capacity, made frequent trips to the Front and were often under enemy fire. Also, the detachment around Paris was constantly subject to German air raids directed at Paris, and many of the men were in Paris when the "Grand Bertha" long range artillery was using the Eiffel tower as an aiming point.
Many of the men narrowly escaped death while being in and around Paris at the time, as well as the convoy duty to the front and back to Orly. When the great German drives threatened to smash the lines north of Paris in March and later in the summer of 1918, members of the squadron did their bit in moving troops, hauling ammunition and supplies to the front, while others worked at the depots loading trucks and being prepared to help in the evacuation of Paris if necessary.
When the American Army halted the Germans' big drive at Chateau Thierry, for many days members of the 803d assisted in moving troops and supplies to the front lines and in transporting the wounded to the rear. On this and numerous other occasions they also helped the civilian population in escaping from the battle lines.
During the summer of 1918, members of the squadron not assigned to convoy work were kept busy at Romorantin repairing and assembling vehicles. On many occasions the men worked day and night to fill rush orders from the front for equipment. During October 1918, almost all members of the squadron, with the exception of 40 men retained for convoy duty, were reassigned to the airplane shops at Romorantin. In these shops, the men assisted in the assembly of Dayton-Wright DH-4 "Liberty" planes, recently arrived by ship from the United States.