World War I The New Jersey Air National Guard origins date to 5 June 1917 with the establishment of the
5th Aviation School Squadron at
Langley Field, Virginia. In September 1917 it was re-designated as the
119th Aero Squadron. The squadron was not deployed overseas during World War I, and after the
1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The
141st Aero Squadron (Pursuit) was an
Air Service, United States Army pursuit squadron, and part of the
American Expeditionary Force deployed to France. It was assigned to the
4th Pursuit Group, VI Corps, Air Service,
Second United States Army, AEF near the end of
World War I. The 141st was involved in 13 combats, the only pursuit squadron of the VI Corps, Air Service, Second Army to do so, and was credited with shooting down two enemy aircraft. Its combat commander,
Hobey Baker, was a famous hockey and football star at
Princeton before the war. It was said, Hobey preferred
Ivy League men in his unit, preferably from Princeton. Indeed, he painted the aircraft in his squadron in Princeton colors: Orange and Black. Captain Hobey Baker was killed on December 21, 1918 when he took a SPAD XIII up for one last ride. The SPAD developed engine trouble while taking off and Baker died when the aircraft crashed soon thereafter. On 8 September 1973 By order of the Secretary of the Air Force, the 141st Aero Squadron (Pursuit), demobilized on 19 July 1919 was reconstituted and allotted to the State of New Jersey. It was ordered consolidated with the 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron. The consolidated unit was designated as the 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron and was extended federal recognition by the National Guard Bureau same date.
New Jersey National Guard The
Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, liable for immediate state service. If
federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the
Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units. The squadron was reactivated in 1930 when it was reorganized as the
119th Observation Squadron,
New Jersey National Guard, at Metropolitan Airport, Newark, New Jersey as an air arm of the 44th Division Aviation and received federal recognition in January 1930. In 1934, aircraft of the 119th Observation Squadron were dispatched to the scene of the "
Morro Castle", a ship burning off the coast of
Asbury Park, New Jersey. Many hours were spent flying over the ship and adjacent water assisting in the direction of rescue efforts and locating survivors. The 119th Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 16 September 1940 as part of the buildup of the
Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II.
New Jersey Air National Guard On 24 May 1946, the
United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President
Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the
National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units. The modern New Jersey ANG received federal recognition on 9 February 1947 as the
119th Fighter Squadron at
Newark Airport. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the New Jersey Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act ==See also==