California State Militia and National
Guard Unit Histories
115th Observation Squadron
The History of the 115th Observation Squadron,
40th Division Aviation, dates from March 25, 1924, when General
R.E. Mittelstaedt, Adjutant General of the State of California,
addressed in a letter to the Militia Bureau, Washington, D.C.,
stating that the time to organize an Air Service Unit in California,
was at hand, and that the office of the Adjutant General was
willing and anxious to proceed with its formation, providing
the Militia Bureau would authorize the same.
In reply to the Adjutant General's letter,
the Militia Bureau, on April 5, 1924, authorized the immediate
organization of the 115th Observation Squadron, 40th Division
of Aviation.
When the 115th Observation Squadron, 40th
Division Air Service, was formed in 1924, the Unit held its meetings
at Clover Field, Santa Monica,
using Reserve Equipment planes for flying. Later on, the Squadron
met at the National Guard Armory and also at the University of
Southern California. In 1925, several months after its organization,
the Squadron moved to permanent quarters at Griffith Park, Los
Angeles.
Distinguished visitors were frequent guests
of the 115th, including Colonel T.F. Lahm, Air Officer of the
9th Corps Area at the Presidio, who flew in and inspected the
camp. General R.E. Mittelstaedt, Adjutant General of California,
spent a day reviewing the maneuvers. Friend W. Richardson, the
Governor of California, visited the Squadron and was the guest
of honor at a luncheon given by the Officers of the Aviation
Unit. Colonel William "Billy" Mitchell, formerly Assistant
Chief of the air service, also visited the unit and was a welcome
guest owing to the fact that many of the Officers of the 115th
Observation Squadron had served under Colonel Mitchell at the
front. Colonel Mitchell praised the unit highly on their accomplishments,
and was especially pleased with the layout in the Operations
room and with the type of Missions that were carried out.
On June 3, 1931, the 115th Squadron participated
in the National Air Corps maneuvers. Each airplane of the 115th
Squadron that participated in the maneuvers had flown approximately
one hundred hours including time from Griffith Park, Los Angeles,
to Dayton, Ohio, and return. Chief of Staff of the United States
Army, General Douglas MacArthur, commended the officers of the
Aviation unit of the California National Guard, for the efficient
manner in which they performed the work that was assigned to
them during the National Air exercises at Dayton. The unit demonstrated
a high degree of training and morale which placed them on an
equal footing with the National Air Corps. The Chief of the Militia
Bureau, W.H. Waldron, also expressed his personal gratification
for the cooperation of the unit which assisted so greatly in
making the maneuvers a complete success and especially for the
manner in which the safety maneuvers were carried out.
In 1940, the 115th was mobilized and sent
to Sherwood Field in northern San Luis Obispo County. The field
was named for Captain George Sherwood, the first commander of
the 115th Observation Squadron of the California National Guard.
Sherwood was killed in 1935 while flying civilian mail near Burbank,
ironically crash-landing in a cemetery. The squadron was the
first military group to occupy Sherwood Field. According to Dan
Krieger, writing in War Comes to the Middle Kingdom, the
115th was comprised of many photographers from southern California,
some associated with the movie industry in civilian life. Sometimes
Hollywood starlets would be brought to Paso Robles to entertain
the troops.
Movieland expertise was evident in the
115th's winning entry in the 1941 Pioneer Day parade, a train
complete with masked robbers who staged attacks on the locomotive
along the parade route. One member of the 115th organized a baseball
team to play against a local girls' team. He requested ten baseball
bats from Warner Brothers Studio. When the studio mistakenly
sent one hundred bats, the surplus was used as fuel for a post-game
barbecue.
But it was not all fun and games for the
one hundred-plus enlisted men and twenty-some officer-pilots.
They continued training in observation and air reconnaissance
as well as participating in flour-bombing and target-towing exercises
with the recently completed Camp Roberts.
The early years of the air arm of the
California National Guard demonstrated a high degree of professionalism
and esprit d'corps. World War II saw the 115th fly patrol missions
along the California coastline. Eventually, the organization
provided its members to other elements of the Army Air Corps
which helped build the mightiest Air Force in the world. Members
of the 115th served in New Guinea and eventually concluded their
wartime service flying light observation aircraft in the China-Burma-India
theater of operations.
Today, the lineage of the squadron is
carried on by the 115th Airlift Squadron, 146th Airlift Wing,
Channel Island Air National Guard Base
To view a pictorial history of
the 115th Observation Squadron, CLICK
HERE
