61 
Thus did Goddard become the common denominator who linked insepar 
ably all of us who have had the vision to realize ( and the gratitude 
to admit) that those experiences were ennobling and marvelous 
A search of records covering the early stages of aerial night 
photography convinced me that relatively little developmental activity 
took place before May, 1919. This date marks the sudden awakening of 
Night Photography from its state of dormancy, for it coincides with the 
entrance upon the scene of a young Army Air Service flying officer who 
was blessed not only with a strong will and a burning ambition, but 
who combined a vivid imagination with uncanny foresight. From the 
time of his appointment as Officer-in-Charge of all photographic 
research and development in the Engineering Division at McCook Field 
in Dayton, Ohio, George Goddard changed the shapes and guided the destinies 
of many research and development tasks, but none with greater influence 
or impact than that of Aerial Night Photography. Haunted by the thought 
than an enemy could, and probably would, move under cover of darkness, 
and recognizing the intelligence advantage were such moves to be photo 
graphed, he concieved the idea of creating an artificial "sun". Thus 
was the photoflash bomb "born" in the mind of its creator - Lt. George W. 
Goddard (Figure 32). For the next three decades, many other interesting 
characters shared with Goddard the development of his new-fangled device. 
More often than not, they found themselves cast in starring roles in a 
never-ending series of dramas ranging from near-tragedy to light comedy.... 
One such account conerns a night mission during the early 1940's 
Goddard was in the air dropping flash bombs. Several of his engi 
neers, including Gail Borden and Amron Katz, were watching proceedings