House Honors Centennial Celebration Of 105th Attack Squadron Of The Tennessee Air National Guard

Photo: Old 105th Squadron Building

Photo Credit: 118th Wing

Published April 22, 2021

By William Haupt III [Tennessee Watchdog Journalist, Columnist, Author, and Citizen Legislator]

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring the 105th Attack Squadron of the Tennessee Air National Guard on its 100th anniversary serving the Volunteer State.  

The roots of the 105th Attack Squadron reach back to World War I, when the Aero Squadron of the American Expeditionary Force was formed at Kelly Field, Texas in 1917.   

Veterans of the 105th Aero Squadron living in Nashville in 1919 gathered to organize an air element of the Tennessee National Guard. 

The unit received federal recognition on Dec. 4, 1921 and was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 30th ‘Old Hickory’ Division. The squadron’s insignia still includes a figure of President Andrew Jackson ‘Old Hickory’ on horseback.   

The 105th was called to active duty in 1940 and became a ready source of trained personnel and seasoned pilots when our nation entered World War II.  

The 105th supported the Berlin and Cuban missile crises, national and state civil disturbances, the Vietnam War, and Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Volant Oak, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. 

It is assigned to Berry Field Air National Guard Base, Nashville, Tennessee and was previously equipped with the C-130H Hercules aircraft.  

The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 105th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917.  

It was reformed on 4 December 1921, as the 105th Observation Squadron, and is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. 

About the Author:

William Haupt III is a retired professional journalist, author, and citizen legislator in California for over 40 years. He got his start working to approve California Proposition 13. His work also appears in The Center Square, The Western Journal, Neighbor Newspapers, KPXJ 21 (Shreveport, LA), Killeen Daily Herald, Aberdeen American News, InsideNova, Kankakee Daily Journal, Monterey County Weekly, Olean Times Herald, The Greeneville Sun and more.