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This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. participation in World War I. It was in 1917 that Gen. John Pershing and his American Expeditionary Force embarked onto the shores of France to begin training and readiness into what became known globally as The Great War. As America entered World War I, new technologies from the Industrial Age were introduced into combat. These became overwhelming combat force multipliers to those who mastered their lethality; one such asset was the introduction of the aero-plane. The aero-plane soon became adapted by war planners to serve in a variety of missions ranging from aerial observation to long-range bombing missions deep behind enemy lines. By 1915, the Germans developed bombers that terrorized Paris and by 1917 Germany's Goth bombers were crossing the English Channel and successfully bombing London. To counter this new emerging threat, the war department reached out to the coastal artillery and elected Brig. Gen. James Shipton to be the first chief of the Anti-Aircraft Service. Shipton soon departed for France where he stood up the first American Anti-Aircraft School Sept. 26, 1917, while in theater with the AEF.
Original class of 1917
The first course of 25 coastal artillery officers, received their anti-aircraft instruction from French officers. After completing their training, this first group of officers served as cadre for the artillery section of the American AA School. Two more sections of instruction were soon added to the school: a...