To bolster Franco-American relations, the staff of the 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing came up with the idea of changing the wing insignia. The new design incorporated the Statue of Liberty with the words, "Statue de la Liberté". On July 4, 1954 the mayor of the nearby town of Chaumont bestowed the honorary title of the "Statue of Liberty Wing" upon the 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing.

Throughout Europe the wing became known as the "Statue of Liberty Wing” or just the “Liberty Wing” for short. It is the only USAF unit with both an official name and a numerical designation.

The above photo shows a large delegation of officials attending the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty replica on July 4, 1956 at Chaumont Air Base.

In the photo on the left, General Robert M. Lee (April 13, 1909–June 29, 2003) is 4th from the left.

The story is told that "not long after the wing proudly took on the title of The Statue of Liberty Wing, the wing's comptroller discovered the factory that had produced the actual Statue of Liberty was only 25 miles from Chaumont. In fact, one of the actual molds still existed. The factory agreed to cast a three-meter replica of the statue for $1,700. The wing raised the funds by raffling off a 1956 French Ford Versailles sedan."

The statue was cast from an original Frédéric Bartholdi mold. Bartholdi was the French architect who designed the Statue of Liberty. The monument still exists today on Chaumont Air Base.

In November 1953 General Robert M. Lee was assigned to command both the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4ATAF) and the Twelfth U.S. Air Force in Europe. The former constituted the largest tactical air force in Allied Command Europe, consisting of all the United States, French and Canadian air forces in Europe. The Twelfth U.S. Air Force became the first United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) to be declared available to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for defense of allied European countries. Throughout the Cold War the USAFE maintained readiness for a large-scale conflict in the European arena at all times.

In June 1956 command of the two air forces was separated. General Lee retained command of the 4ATAF. When he returned to the United States in July 1957, he became commander of the Ninth Air Force, Tactical Air Command, with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

Robert Merrill Lee
(13 Apr 1909–29 Jun 2003; 94 years old)
Burial: United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado, USA
Find A Grave Memorial

This edition of the 48th Fighter Wing Heritage Pamphlet includes a history of the wing and base as well as the heritage and heraldry of the wing, its groups, and its squadrons. Each organization is divided into the following categories:

Lineage:
Chronological record of activations, redesignations, inactivations, etc. Assignments: List of organizations to which the unit has been assigned.

Assigned Units:
List of units that fall or fell under the wing/groups.

Stations:
List of stations at which the organization has been located.

Commanders:
Chronological list of the commanders.

Honors:
List of organizational honors broken down by service streamers, campaign streamers, armed forces expeditionary streamers, decorations (such as Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards), and bestowed honors.

Aircraft:
Chronological list of aircraft assigned, if applicable.