United States of America. WW1 M1917 Jacket of the Signal Corps, Air Service (USAAS)

The United States Army Air Service (USAAS) was the air branch of the U.S. Army during the First World War and represented the first American air organization with a clearly defined structure and mission. It emerged after the U.S. entered the conflict, at a time when the country had limited aeronautical development: very few aircraft, insufficient personnel, and scarce infrastructure. Through an accelerated expansion and training program—largely carried out in France and the United Kingdom—the Air Service reached, by late 1918, more than 190,000 personnel and nearly 2,000 operational aircraft.

In combat, its units served as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), participating in reconnaissance missions, artillery observation, tactical bombing, and pursuit operations. Notable actions took place in Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, where the Air Service closely coordinated with ground forces. Although small compared to Allied air arms, its performance helped shape early U.S. air doctrine and laid the foundation for future autonomy, evolving first into the U.S. Army Air Corps (1926) and later into the independent U.S. Air Force in 1947.

The wool tunic retains all its original buttons, including the two collar discs (the generic “US” and the Signal Corps emblem). On the left sleeve it bears the round tricolor insignia of the United States Army Air Service, used between 1918 and 1919. The same sleeve also features the sewn rank of Sergeant.

On the left side of the chest are ribbon bars for the following medals: the United States Foreign War Veterans Medal, the 1777–1917 Commemorative Medal (Washington, Lafayette & Wilson), the 1914–1918 Croix de Guerre, and the French Medal of Recognition. These are American and French decorations from the First World War.

Original U.S. uniform from the First World War.