9781422280164

that in essential ways it embodied the national spirit. Whereas the standing armies of Eu- rope were often instruments of oppression wielded by all-powerful monarchs, the National Guard represented democracy in action. The American citizen’s right to bear arms had been enshrined by the U.S. Constitution of 1787—but it went hand in hand with a responsibility to bear them in defense of the country. George Washington was an early admirer of the militias, and Abraham Lincoln also prized them, considering them to be the essential and incorruptible protectors of his sacred goal of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” So deeply was this principle etched into the U.S. identity that, for a long time, the country resisted the idea of having any sort of standing army at all. Times changed, however; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, U.S. commitments overseas increased, and military technology grew in sophistication and complexity; the need for full-time specialist soldiers was now ac- cepted. Accordingly, the regular army gained in importance; even so, its expansion was gradu- al. National Guard units represented 40 percent of U.S. forces in World War I (1914–1918) and were involved in every major action of World War II (1939–1945). Into the Air In World War I, new technologies posed new challenges. The strength of militias had previously lain in their amateurism—ordinary citizens standing shoulder to shoulder in defense of their homeland. Now, however, war had no place for unsophisticated soldiers. The potential costs of incompetence were just too great—for the soldiers, as well as for their comrades and country. Improved artillery, machine guns, gas, and tanks—such innovations transformed the face of frontline fighting. None, however, proved so significant as that of aviation. It was reservists who led the way in the development of U.S. military aviation. The first planes to see action did so in what was seen as a secondary support role as “eyes in the sky.” Between World War I and World War II, no fewer than 29 observation squadrons were set up—all under the command of the National Guard. As the importance of air power

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