Constructed from olive cotton twill, this tunic is fitted with a set of "U.S." and Air Service pins on either side of the collar, a gold bullion set of pilot's wings on the left breast, silver finished 1st lieutenant bars on the shoulders, a single gold bullion Overseas Service ribbon on the left cuff, and a black-on-orange embroidered patch featuring a cowboy on a bucking bronco on the left shoulder. The interior is lined with brown cotton twill, with an inside pocket tag from the House of Knuppenheimer addressed to a Dudley Hale. Hale (seen in records as Dudley L. Hale and Herbert Dudley Hale, Jr.) is on-record as a combat airman with the 88th Aero Squadron. Established in 1917, the 88th (also known as the 88th Observation Squadron) was active over Chateau-Thierry, Vesle, and St. Mihiel, and flew in support of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive; Hale is specifically noted in records (photocopy provided by consignor) as having been with the 88th during Meuse-Argonne. An American born in Paris in 1892, Hale is noted as a descendant of a Senate chaplain and famed Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale. At the outbreak of World War One, prior to American entry, Hale served as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service, earning the Croix de Guerre. Returning to America, he joined the Army, participating in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa before taking a post with the Signal Corps. Receiving an education at Cornell, he served as an enlisted man with the 34th Aero Squadron before receiving a commission and being moved to the 88th. During the occupation, he was posted at 7th Army Corps Headquarters. Following a brief stint with the Relief Administration of Russia, he spent the inter-war years in advertising and film production, serving as the first president of the Association of Film Writers and producing documentaries for the State Department, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, passing on in November of 1956. Also included is a loose single 2nd lieutenant bar noted by the consignor as having been found in the right breast pocket of this tunic.

Very good, with some creasing of the collar and minor handling marks overall.