Billy Mitchell, The 3D Attack Group and the Laredo Project of 1923‪.‬

On Wednesday, October 28, 1925, the court-martial of Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell convened in the Emory Building, a facility across from the northwest corner of the U.S. Capitol. Over the next two months, the court-martial became the biggest media event in the nation, one of the great trials in Twentieth Century American history. Day after day, the legal proceedings dominated headlines as Mitchell's defense attorney, Congressman Frank Reid, put the Department of War's management of air power on trial rather than the defendant himself. Throughout the trial and despite bitter testimony by opponents--like U.S. Army Generals Charles Summerall, Hugh Drum, and Dennis Nolan-Mitchell presented an optimistic, often up-beat demeanor. In spite of everything, he appeared to enjoy himself--as Billy usually did when in the limelight. (1) Testimony by one Howard G. Rath, however, provoked a different response. Rath had seen extensive combat with the Air Service's first bombardment unit, the 96th Aero Squadron, during World War I. He had flown on the 96th's initial combat mission on June 12, 1918, and served as a flight leader and operations officer before stepping up to the staff of the 1st Day Bombardment Group in mid-October. (2) On September 13, during the St. Mihiel offensive, he led three Breguet bombers through a formation of fifteen German pursuits, successfully striking the unit's target. Only Rath's aircraft survived and the lieutenant received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the nation's second highest decoration for valor. Ordinarily, Mitchell had close relations with his combat airmen. They liked him, and he respected them. But Rath's testimony as a rebuttal witness for the prosecution revealed that he had parted ways with Billy Mitchell. He contradicted the general on the effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire, testifying that it posed a deadly threat to aircraft, and charged that during the St. Mihiel attack Mitchell had ordered the 96th to bomb under horrific conditions, forcing the fliers to face unacceptable hazards. Half of the squadron's missions had to be canceled, Rath asserted, and many of those flown should never have been attempted. Aircraft had crashed and men had died without reason, and Rath blamed Mitchell for these losses. (3)