This is a museum qquality reproduction of an extremely rare WWI 88th Areo Squadron pilots pin. The 88th fought on the Western Front during WWI. The 88th Aero Squadron was a Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The symbol of the squadron is a kicking mule still in use today. The idea of an Army mule came form Maj Johnson based on his alma mater after the squadrons first victory. He wanted the mule to be kicking as if it was stubborn and defiant. They even purchased a live mule from the French garbage collector who serviced their field. For a mascot. The original pin was made in France during the war. The photo is of the men of the squadron.
The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the III Corps, United States First Army sector of the Western Front in France, providing battlefield intelligence. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron was assigned to the United States Third Army as part of the Occupation of the Rhineland in Germany. It returned to the United States in June 1919 and became part of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921, being re-designated as the 88th Squadron.
The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 436th Training Squadron, assigned to the 7th Operations Group, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
The pin is brass with a silver plate.