First Airmail Service
In the spring of 1918 the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Army began regularly scheduled airmail service between Washington and New York through Philadelphia. Army Lieutenant George L. Boyle, the inexperienced young army pilot chosen to make the first flight from Washington, is shown here at the ceremony prior to takeoff on May 15. Even with a route map stitched to his breeches, Boyle lost his way and flew south rather than north. The second leg of the Washington–Philadelphia–New York flight, however, took off and arrived in New York on schedule–without the Washington mail.
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