During his command of Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron One in 1925, Commander Theodore Gordon Ellyson (the Navy's first aviator) and his wife Helen signed squadron Christmas cards that were mailed to other individuals and commands within the Navy. Note the insignia of the squadron that features a winged bomb beneath two torpedoes that reflect the ordnance dropped by the squadron's aircraft. Like many of the early naval aviators, Ellyson's life ended tragically in an aircraft accident. He died on a flight between Norfolk, Virginia, and Annnapolis. Maryland on his 43rd birthday, 27 February 1928.
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