PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – The 94th Fighter Squadron based out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis is one of the oldest units in the Air Force with a long history and traditions dating back to WWI. Recently, members of the squadron honored that history when they traveled to France to reinter Capt. Hamilton Coolidge, a WWI Ace from the 94th Aero Squadron who was shot down 106 years ago near the village of Chevieres.
The purpose of the reinterment was to protect his remains, which were at risk due to erosion from the river near his original burial site. During the reinterment ceremony, members of the 94th, the Coolidge family and senior leaders in attendance were invited to take pieces of the plane’s wreckage and place them in a basket that was lowered into the grave. The Gesture symbolized the enduring connection between Coolidge’s legacy and the modern-day warfighters of the 94th Fighter Squadron.
This segment of The Hampton Roads Show is sponsored by McDonald’s of Hampton Roads and Northeast North Carolina.