Warriors With Wings The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille

212 Pages·1966·28.018 MB·English

by  Edward Jablonski

WARRIORS WITH WINGS
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC.
A Subsidiary of Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc.
Publishers• Indianapolis• KansasCity• NewYork
WARRIORS
WITH WINGS
The Story ofthe Lafayette Escadrille
BY EDWARD JABLONSKI
illustrated with photographs
COPYRIGHT © 1966 BY EDWARD JABLONSKI
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FraST EDITION
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 66-16030
Preface 7
1. YoungEagles 11
2. Escadrille Americaine 23
3. ". There Will the Eagles
. .
Be Gathered ..." 41
4. Learning to Imitate Birds 59
5. First Kill 69
6. Verdun 77
7. Enter Luf 95
8. "... ForLafayette .. 113
9. The Oberndorf Mission 123
10. Changes at Cachy 135
11. ''ThisWar May Kill Me..." 143
12. The Last Knights 157
13. Ace of Aces 183
14. End of the Great Adventure 195
For
JOHNF. BARTEL ANDJEAN
—
(Bay City CentralHigh School, Class of'41 and'42)
PREFACE
Although a half century has passed since the Lafayette Escadrille
firstflew intoaction, thestoryofthemenwho formed itand their
selfless principles, courage and dedication remains timely. There
is always need for men who are capable of seeingahead, valorous
and devoted to a cause. Ofcourse, following the terrible waste of
life, the hypocrisies, the blunderings and betrayals of trust of the
First World War, causes, altruism and even patriotism became
almost passe.
Still, this did not affect the motivations of the men who gave
or were willing to give their lives because they believed that
civilization itself was facing extinction.
7
WARRIORS WITH WINGS
8
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If the men of the Lafayette Escadrille were the first Americans
to become air fighters, they were also the first imbued with that
broader patriotism: a devotion to all of humanity. However
much their efforts were exploited by their leaders and their
sacrifices denied by postwar "peacemakers" (who were really out
for revenge and plunder), what this unique band of Americans
accomplished can never be cheapened. What they gave was hon-
estly and freely given.
Their "work," as they called it, was as dangerous as it was
romantic and therecan be no denying thatmanychose itbecause
of the adventure, glory, danger and exhilaration in knowing
that they were doing something that no men had ever done be-
fore them. In this sense they were pioneers; that the science of
aviation advanced tremendously during 1914-1918 is now a mat-
ter of history.
It is also historical fact that aviation played a small role in
the outcome of the First World War. Neither aircraft nor the
strategy of its use in war was developed highly during a war com-
manded primarily by men whose military thinking remained
safely on the ground and deep in the nineteenth century. The
Second World War would prove the early pioneers correct in
their belief in the impact of air power. This near-orphan, this
military misfit, would from 1939 to 1945 demonstrate what a ter-
rible weapon had been forged in the skies over France two dec-
ades earlier.
Aside from their contribution to the advance of aviation, the
development of what would become known as air power, the
men of the Lafayette Escadrille, most of them at least, would
demonstrate the meaning of American character. They were
an attractive band. Not even Hollywood could have gathered to-
—
gethersuchacastofcharacters and theiradventuresdefyfiction.
Only thirty-eight Americans served with the unit known as
the Lafayette Escadrille, which in time grew into the larger La-
fayette Flying Corps. This is the story of the original escadrille,
not of the entire corps. There is an important distinction be-