Coming June 15th! This pint glass honors Framingham’s most famous WWI veteran, Arthur Raymond “Ray” Brooks, whose story is featured in our latest exhibition, An American Town in World War I. Brooks was Framingham’s only World War I Flying “Ace,” a distinction given to an aviator who had 5 or more confirmed downed enemies.
After graduation from MIT in 1917, Ray enlisted in the Army and was one of 300 recruits selected for flight training. He deployed in March of 1918, joining the 139th Aero Squadron. In August of that year, he was transferred to the 22nd Squadron and promoted to flight leader. It was with the 22nd that Brooks would really gain distinction, taking down his first enemy plane, and gaining “Ace” status within 4 weeks.
It was common for the aero squadrons to adopt a nickname and design an accompanying insignia. The 22nd Squadron’s nickname, “The Shooting Stars” was a clever play on words, not only calling to mind flying celestial bodies, but also their mission as a fighter squadron, which was to shoot down enemy aircraft. Brooks himself was credited with designing the squadron’s shooting star insignia, which was painted on the side of each of the squadrons’ planes worn as a pin on their flying tunics. We’ve recreated this logo on our pint glass.
After the war, Brooks advocated for the formalization of an American Air Force and an increase in production of American air planes. Brooks continued to fly commercially, and eventually became Chief Pilot for Bell Labs, where he helped develop air-to-ground communication systems. He was the last living American Ace from WWI, dying in 1991 at the age of 95.
If you want to learn more about Ray Brooks and his service in World War I, visit An American Town in World War I at the Framingham History Center’s Edgell Memorial Library, open Wednesday – Saturday, 1 PM – 4 PM through April 2019.