On 21 November, an additional 65 men were assigned to the 49th Squadron, and the unit entrained in San Antonio bound for Garden City, Long Island, New York.

The squadron disembarked the ship the next day and marched to the Liverpool railway station where a train took them to Winchester, Hampshire, on the south coast of England.

The flight officers wee ordered to the Third Air Instructional Center, Issoudun Aerodrome, France for combat training.

Lt Buford engaged the enemy aircraft got on the tail of the Rumpler and fired a long machine-gun burst.

The squadron attacked the enemy aircraft, seeing one begin to burn and falling in a straight nose dive and crashing to the ground.

[6][8] After the Armistice, members of the squadron began taking leave in France, with the organization standing down, although some cross-country flights were made.

On 6 December orders were received from First Army for the squadron to report to the 1st Air Depot, Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome to turn in all of its supplies and equipment and was relieved from duty with the AEF.

[9] Personnel at Colombey were subsequently assigned to the commanding general, services of supply, and ordered to report to one of several staging camps in France.

There, personnel waited for scheduling to report to one of the base ports in France for transport to the United States and subsequent demobilization.

[9] During its time in Combat, the 49th Aero Squadron downed 25 enemy aircraft, losing six pilots killed, wounded, or missing.

DSC: Distinguished Service Cross; SSC: Silver Star Citation; KIA: Killed in Action[12] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency