The Douglas O-46A depicted was flown by members of the 102nd Observation Squadron based at Miller Field, Staten Island, New York, during the 1930's. The O-46A three-man crew included a pilot, an aerial photographer/observer, and a gunner. The 102nd Observation Squadron was commissioned on 22 March 1921; five World War I aces were among its members. The unit was assigned to the 27th Aviation Division of the New York National Guard. Forty years later on 15 Oct 1940 (over thirteen months before Pear Harbor) the squadron was Federalized and served in the Pacific theater in World War II. Personal Significance: The 102nd was the first squadron to which I was assigned as a pilot after completing single engine flight training in Feb. 1943. Fifty-three years later (1996) I received an invitation to, and attended, a squadron reunion in New Orleans. As the reunion I learned that Thomas J. Watson, Jr., who became the President and CEO of the IBM Corp., had served as a pilot with 102nd. Coincidentally, I had worked for IBM for 25 years and was not aware of our shared association with the 102nd. At the reunion I decided to document and memorialize the service of the men of the 102nd by creating this painting and contributing it to the Air Force Art Collection.