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In 1917, during World War I, the U.S., British, and Canadian governments entered into a reciprocal agreement to train military pilots for combat duty. Foreign troops trained in Texas during the winter and in Canada in the summer. Camp Taliaferro in Tarrant County, consisting of three air fields, provided training facilities for members of the Royal Flying Corps and U.S. forces from October 1917 to November 1918. Each field accommodated an average of 2,000 men. Royal Flying Corps expertise and skilled instructors enabled large numbers of Americans to receive excellent flight training in a short time. During the months British and Canadian troops were stationed in Fort Worth, 39 officers and cadets were killed during flight training. Eleven of the men were buried at the three air fields; in 1924 the Imperial War Graves Commission purchased a plot at Greenwood Cemetery for reinterment. A monument was later erected at the site, which now has twelve graves since a veteran who died in 1975 requested burial here with his friends. The Royal Flying Corps, although in Texas for only a short time, had a beneficial and lasting influence on aviation in this country. (1992) |
