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  • The Oregon Air Guard’s First Thanksgiving

    Happy Thanksgiving!  The first Thanksgiving Day celebrated by Oregon’s first military aviation unit, the 123rd Observation Squadron (today’s 123rd Fighter Squadron) was on Thursday, November 27, 1942. It was a first not only for the 123rd Observation Squadron, but in a sense for the nation as well. 

  • An Oregon “Guest” of the Luftwaffe

    History can be a complex subject, finding the evidence of days gone by in documents, artifacts, images, interviews and such.  Even when one is familiar with the details of a given aspect of history, it’s common for new details to emerge.  History is not a static thing, and a surprising amount of

  • A Cyclone-Roaring December 7: The 123rd Observation Squadron Goes to War

    You may hear the thunder of the 123rd Fighter Squadron’s jet engines on takeoff from Portland Air National Guard Base, a sign of readiness.  But on this December day in 1941 that sound was a roar, the roar of a nine-cylinder Wright R-1820-57 Cyclone 9 radial engine of 1,060 horsepower for a