Meet the Foggiani

When the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, a group of Americans flying fighter planes for the French, known as the Lafayette Escadrille, had already been in combat for a year. They quickly became well-known heroes then and for more than 100 years since.

In contrast and largely unknown were the 500 Americans sent to fly bombers in Italy, who contributed to victories against the Central Powers in 1918. They were called the Foggiani and are the subject of a new exhibit at the Airbase Arizona Flying Museum that opens Sept. 17, 2022.

A donation to the museum in 2021 led to a research effort by officials at Airbase Arizona Flying Museum and five Arizona State University students to determine the history behind the Foggiani unit, its role in World War I, and contribution to military aviation.

A four-panel exhibit summarizing the unit’s history is the final result of this work. The original artifacts that inspired the project are on display as well.

The artifacts, about 300 original photographs and an Italian flight qualification document, were donated by Arizona resident Valerie Bierlein, a granddaughter of Lawrence Joseph, who flew in the unit in 1917 and 1918.

When it received the donation, the museum approached Arizona State University and initiated an internship program. A team of five students provided substantial assistance in research and curation of the historic items over a year, working on the project under the mentorship of the museum staff.

As fragile, rare, primary sources of the era, digitization of the photographs and documents was a high priority, which facilitated the ability to handle stable copies of each item for study and research, museum officials said.

The students, most of whom were enrolled in history or aviation programs at ASU, directly contributed to accurate captioning of photographs, reconstruction of the history of the Foggiani unit and its role in World War I, and composition of proposed story lines for use in the final exhibit.

Airbase Arizona Flying Museum, a unit of the Commemorative Air Force, has operated from Falcon Field (KFFZ) in Mesa, Arizona, for more than 44 years. A non-profit organization, the museum provides educational support to schools and universities, exhibits and speaker programs, a national tour program, and living history flights.