93rd Bomb Squadron: history of the patch Published Oct. 26, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston 917th Wing Public Affairs Office Barksdale AFB, La. -- The process of getting a design for a group, wing or even squadron patch approved in the Air Force today is not an easy task. For whatever the reasons, development is usually fraught with disappointments and numerous re-designs before a final illustration is accepted. Primarily, the average Airmen doesn't know the origin of their own unit patch. They may know what it means, or stands for, which is usually part of a unit orientation, but not where its origins are based, or how the design came to be. As history would have it, today's 93rd Bomb Squadron was actually organized as an aero squadron at Kelly Field, Texas, on 21 August 1917. In late 1918, fighter aero squadrons were re-designated as pursuit squadrons. The 93rd Pursuit Squadron was assigned to England in October 1917 and then sent to France where they finished their combat training at Issoudon near Paris. In July 1918, the 93rd was sent to Vaucouleurs, France, where they saw combat as part of the 3rd Pursuit Group. They were renamed the 93rd Bombardment Squadron in WWII and later became the 93rd Bomb Squadron, which they are today. For the 93rd BS at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., their unit patch can be traced back to WWI and 1st Lt. Charles R. D'Olive, who became an Ace while assigned to the 93rd in WWI. The following are accounts from Lieutenant D'Olive's personal memoirs, donated to the 917th Wing for a historical display by Susan d'Olive Mozena, daughter of Lieutenant D'Olive. One day in 1918, after completing the adjustments to the two 30-caliber Vickers guns to converge on a target at 100 yards, Lieutenant D'Olive stood and watched as a 103rd Pursuit Squadron S.P.A.D. was wheeled into the area to have its guns lined up. "While standing there admiring the colorful Indian head insignia of the famous Lafayette Escadrille that the 103rd had adopted," Lieutenant D'Olive wrote. "I realized the other three squadrons in the 3rd Group, my 93rd, the 213th, and the 28th, were flying around naked without any attractive insignia of their own." According to Lieutenant D'Olive, after thinking it over for a while, he discussed his idea with a Major Huffer. "That's not a bad idea," Major Huffer said. "But, Bill Thaw will never let us use the Lafayette Indian head. Let's go over and see him about one of our own." Thaw explained that he had been thinking about insignia for the three squadrons, and said, "I'll tell you what we will do. We'll call the 3rd Group the Indian Head Group. You guys go ahead and design your own Indian head. I'll tell the 213th and the 28th to do the same thing, but none of you can have an Indian with as many feathers as the Lafayette Indian. The Lafayette is the chief." Lieutenant D'Olive recounted that Thaw stipulated each design must be approved by himself, and no squadron could paint Indians on its planes until that squadron had shot down a "hun." "Someone remembered that John Wentworth of the 94th Squadron, over in the 1st Pursuit Group, was quite an artist, so John designed the 93rd Indian, and I think he also designed the 213th and 28th Indians," wrote Lieutenant D'Olive. During that time, Neysa McMein, a famous artist who painted many Saturday Evening Post covers, and Dorothy Parker, writer and humorist were traveling "France" entertaining the troops. Elsie Janis, a dancer and musical comedy star was doing the same. "While Miss McMein was drawing cartoons and making portrait sketches of some of the fellows, she was using colored crayons. When her show was over, Wentworth had her use her crayons to color our Indian head," Lieutenant D'Olive wrote. "The 93rd Indian wore a necklace of bear teeth. It was planned for a pilot to have a German black cross painted over a tooth for each official victory." At 10:20 a.m. on September 12, 1918, 1st Lt. Charles R. D'Olive shot down the first German aircraft for the 93rd Pursuit Squadron in WWI. The 93rd Indian head was painted on Lieutenant D'Olive's number #24 plane and he followed that victory with four more kills over the next 6 days. Due to a clerical error on the official record, Lieutenant D'Olive was only credited for two kills instead of three on September 13, 1918, and fell short of the five aerial kills needed to be listed as an Ace. Many years later, during a review of his personal records, it was noticed that Lieutenant D'Olive's Distinguished Service Cross citation reflected three kills, from the engagement on September 13, 1918, where the official record tallied only two. His record was integrated, between the citation and the other records. In 1965, more than 47 years after the fact, Lieutenant D'Olive was finally declared a WWI Ace. For more than 91 years, the Indian head design from "The Great War" has been the basis for all 93rd squadron patches that have come after it. And that is the historic story of the 93rd Bomb Squadron's patch.