A near-duplicate view of the Mather Field airmen formation, this photograph offers a slightly wider composition that reveals the training installation's barracks buildings in the background. Among the assembled airmen stands one figure in a distinctive one-piece flight or work suit, a reminder of the varied roles, from pilots to ground crew, that made up a WWI-era Army Air Service squadron. Mather Field's rapid construction and staffing in 1918 reflected the urgent wartime need to train American aviators for the front. Project: 218714