I graduated under Curtiss, and after a long siege with my father obtained his permission to try for the Lafayette
Escadrille. As a stepping-stone I obtained an appointment in the American ambulance service and was on my way to France when three shrill whistles altered, in as many seconds, my entire scheme of life.
In December, 1916, concerns over the United States' neutrality led to the unit's name being changed to the Lafayette
Escadrille, in a veiled attempt to mask American involvement in the war.
Kiffin Rockwell, the Lafayette
Escadrille and the Birth of the United States Air Force by T.
"One was George Kull, who was in the La Fayette
Escadrille flight group in France because apparently the U.S.
Caption: French Fusiliers Commandos de i'Air on ceremonial duty with their FAMAS rifles at the Lafayette
Escadrille Monument in Paris; note that French troops normally have their bayonets mounted for parade duty.
The films included such war dramas as "Battle Cry" (with Van Heflin) and "Lafayette
Escadrille" (Clint Eastwood in a small role).
During those years, Hynes and his friends had imaginations "full of World War I flying images" that they had gathered from movies like Wings and Dawn Patrol, and from stories they had read about the Lafayette
Escadrille, and from pulp magazines like G-8 and his Battle Aces.
Among his topics are World War I begins, training in the French Foreign Legion, the creation of the Lafayette
Escadrille, passing the torch, the dawn of American air power, and the legacy of the Lafayette
Escadrille.
In April 1916 an entire fighter squadron,
escadrille N.124, was formed out of American volunteers, save for the commander, Capitaine Georges Thenault, and his deputy, Lieutenant Alfred de Laage de Meux.
Capitaine Brocard, commander of
Escadrille (squadron) N.3, the Storks, described Guynemer as "my most brilliant Stork." Less than a year later, Guynemer was promoted to captain and commander of the Storks squadron.
1949), Lafayette
Escadrille (1958), and We Were Soldiers (2002) link American GIs and baseball.
McConnell, Flying for France: With the American
Escadrille at Verdun (New York: Doubleday, 1917) pp.