Field of Dreams - 2011 League of WWI Aviation Historians Conference - Post 8

Ken Emery - America’s First Foreign Air Campaign: the Punitive Expedition

From Columbus, New Mexico, and as a representative of the “First Aero Squadron,” Ken Emery told the story of the America’s first military air activity on foreign soil (Mexico) prior to the US joining WWI in 1916.

Under the command of General Pershing, these early aviators, through many misadventures attempted to aid the US Army during their incursion into Mexico – mostly flying Curtis Jennies.

Basically, everything, which could go wrong, did. Most of the aircraft on the mission were destroyed in various accidents, fires, and from what seemed to be paranoia of the pilots operating in a country where they did not speak the local language.

I am starting to wonder if the title of the conference should have been "Field of Curtis."