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Updated: June 23, 2025
Perhaps, dreaming of the Iron Cross and his Gretchen, he took a chance and then swift death and a grave in the shell-strewn soil of Douaumont. Generally the escadrille is relieved by another fighting unit after two hours over the lines. We turn homeward, and soon the hangars of our field loom up in the distance.
The Storks Escadrille, which arrived in February, very promptly punished these aërial brigands, by a police policy both rapid and severe.
Fifteen Americans are or have been members of the American Escadrille, but there have never been so many as that on duty at any one time. Before we were fairly settled at Bar-le-Duc, Hall brought down a German observation craft and Thaw a Fokker. Fights occurred on almost every sortie.
It was on a cool, starlit evening, early in September, 1916, that I first met Drew of Massachusetts, and actually began my adventures as a prospective member of the Escadrille Américaine.
By a happy chance mention was made of a recent newspaper article of some of the exploits of the Escadrille, written evidently by a very imaginative journalist; and from this the talk passed to the reputation of the Squadron in America, and the almost fabulous deeds credited to it by some newspaper correspondents.
"Oh, so you're the two aviators from the Lafayette Escadrille," commented the commanding officer, or the C.O., of the newly formed American squadron, as Tom and Jack, drawing themselves up as straight as they could, saluted when he looked over their papers and their log books. These last are the personal records of aviators in which they note the details of each flight made.
The memory of the first sortie we made as an escadrille will always remain fresh in my mind because it was also my first trip over the lines. We were to leave at six in the morning. Captain Thenault pointed out on his aerial map the route we were to follow. Never having flown over this region before, I was afraid of losing myself.
The captain has called on us to act as guards on the next trip. You see we are like torpedo boats of the air with our swift machines. We have the honour of being attached to a bombardment squadron that is the most famous in the French Army. The captain of the unit once lost his whole escadrille, and on the last trip eight lost their lives. It was a wonderful fight.
Four of the battleplanes were from the American escadrille. They were piloted respectively by Lieutenant de Laage, Lufbery, Norman Prince, and Masson. The Germans were taken by surprise and as a result few of their machines were in the air. The bombardment fleet was attacked, however, and six of its planes shot down, some of them falling in flames.
They learn that they are witnessing the return of the American Escadrille composed of Americans who have volunteered to fly for France for the duration of the war to their station near Bar-le-Duc, twenty-five miles south of Verdun, from a flight over the battle front of the Meuse.
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