the american fliers of the eagle squadrons, which had begun fighting ten months before the attack on pearl harbor, were taken into the u.s. army air forces to form the 4th fighter group (fg)- based upon viii fighter command order of 12 september 1942. this viii fighter command order originated based upon the recommendation and urgent requirements provided by brigadier general hunter and his usaaf staff at raf bushey hall. an official joint raf/usaaf ceremony was conducted at raf north weald, near to the town of epping, essex, at noon, tuesday, 29 september 1942. it was held after a typical brisk english rainstorm that left a misty, overcast sky and wet grounds for the remainder of the day. the ceremony was held adjacent to the airfield administration building on the concrete parking area. present at this ceremony included usaaf leaders brigadier general frank o'driscoll hunter and major general carl a. spaatz, brigadier general ira c. eaker, u.s. and english war correspondents, air marshal harold edwards (rcaf officer), along with air chief marshal sir sholto douglas, raf. the ceremony officiated both the commissioning of the 4th fighter group under the command of colonel edward w. anderson (manhattan, kansas) usaaf, and the establishment of the airfield as a new airbase of the 4th fighter group. with such ceremonies presentation of awards are usually conducted. along with colonel anderson, brigadier general hunter stepped forward and awarded these combat-experienced american pilots. squadron commander william james daley (hemphill, texas) was made a major in the usaaf and given his usaaf pilot wings, commencing command of the 335th fs that afternoon. the two other squadron commanders promoted to major and given their usaaf pilot wings of the usaaf were carroll warren mccolpin (buffalo new york) of the 336th fs, and gregory agustus "gus" daymond (great falls, montana) of the 334th fs. the remaining 31 american pilots received their usaaf wings, as well.