United States. First War Aef 1St Marine Aviation Force In France Patch

Composed of four pieces of felt in white, blue, red and yellow, sewn in place to a brownish-green wool base, measuring 145 mm (w) x 130 mm (h), incorporating three holes in the wool base but does not affect the felt pieces. Extremely fine.

Footnote: The first major expansion of the Marine Corps' air component came with America's entrance into the First World War in 1917. Wartime expansion saw the Aviation Company split into the First Aeronautic Company which deployed to the Azores to hunt U-boats in January 1918 and the First Marine Air Squadron which deployed to France as the newly renamed 1st Marine Aviation Force in July 1918 and provided bomber and fighter support to the Navy's Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group. By the end of the war, several Marine Aviators had recorded air-to-air kills, and collectively they had dropped over fourteen tons of bombs. Their numbers included 282 officers and 2,180 enlisted men operating from eight squadrons, with Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot being the first Marine Corps aviator to earn the Medal of Honor, for action against the Luftstreitkräfte air arm of Imperial Germany on October 8, 1918. In 1919, the 1st Division/Squadron 1 was formed from these units and still exists today as VMA-231.