World War I in the Sky: The Pilots & Personalities of the 28th Aero Squadron

Featuring Robert A. Kasprzak, Major USAF (Retired) and president of the Military Heritage Chapter (Ohio Region) of the League of World War I Aviation Historians, Dayton

World War I was the first major conflict fought after the advent of the airplane. What started out as aerial reconnaissance quickly evolved into a deadly contest between squadrons of heavily armed bi-planes seeking to dominate the skies over the trenches of the Western Front. By the time the U.S. entered the fray in 1917, the warring parties of Europe already had several years of experience perfecting air combat. The new U.S. air squadrons had a lot of catching up to do. Retired U.S. Air Force Major Robert Kasprzak will discuss the origins of one such squadron, the 28th Aero Squadron, and the action its members experienced over France during the last year of the war. His presentation will include interviews of actual pilots, highlights of other pilots’ lives before, during and after the war, and a show and tell of artifacts from the period.