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Text originally published in 1963 under the same title.
Pickle Partners Publishing 2016, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Publishers Note
Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.
We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.
I FLEW WITH THE LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE
BY
EDWIN C. PARSONS
FOREWORD
Early in 1916, a year before the United States entered World War I, a handful of valiant Americans banded together as the Lafayette Escadrille to forge their mark in history in the skies over France. Be it for fame, adventure or patriotism, they stepped forward to meet the common enemy long before their own nation realized the true extent of the threat to world freedom.
Once the United States had entered the war and had begun to send totally inexperienced pursuit units to the front, many of the Escadrille pilots who were still alive proved invaluable in passing along to their countrymen the lessons learned while flying under the French flag. Although it is not possible to measure accurately the contributions of any single unit, such as the Lafayette Escadrille, to the successful termination of World War I, it is safe to say that many U.S. Air Service pilots owe their lives to those who had already learned the new science of war in the air through those bleak and dismal months of 1916 and 1917. The Lafayette Escadrille was a guiding hand extended which was gratefully clasped by many.
During their days with the Escadrille, some of these men met death, while others lived out the war; but each, in his own way, earned immortality for himself and the Escadrille. As long as there remains a man with a love for flying in his heart, or one who has experienced the indescribable thrill of passing along through the tranquil solitude of the firmament, the memory of the Lafayette Escadrille and of those who served it so nobly will endure.
This is the chronicle of an elite group of men, written by one of their own who survived the holocaust. The vivid account of battles in the air, the flush of success over a fallen foe, the sorrow from the loss of a comradeall of these carry the reader back across the decades to that exciting period of so long ago.
In essence, one does not read this bookhe lives it.
KIMBROUGH S. BROWN
Lt. Colonel, USAF
Director, USAF Museum
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
April, 1963
PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
Although this book was originally written and published over twenty-five years ago under the title of THE GREAT ADVENTURE, it has been nearly half a century since the experiences and events depicted in this book occurred. Naturally, there is no longer the romantic concept of knights of the air, fighting for mastery in individual combat. During the intervening years, only the clouds remain the same.
Those of us fortunate enough to have survived have witnessed tremendous strides made in military planes, armament and tactics; but inevitably, and doubtless necessarily with this progress, has come regimentation, and to a large extent, deprivation of individual initiative.
Unquestionably, however, there remains the same love of country, spirit of self-sacrifice and burning desire to conquer new worlds that actuated the thirty-eight young Americans who served in the Lafayette Escadrille.
In the two decades subsequent to World War I, thousands of words were written about the daring young eagles in French and American uniforms, who were almost always described as fighting victoriously in the skies over war-torn France. For the most part, these lurid accounts of fictitious air battles and men bore faint resemblance to the real thing. Due to the great publicity given the Lafayette Escadrille before the United States entered the war, the Escadrille and its pilots were given great prominence in these imaginative yarns, largely written by men who never heard a gun fired in anger.
We were, for the most part, enthusiastic young idealists with a dash of adventurous spirit, fighting in a new element for a country not our own, but fighting for what we thought was right. We flew crates then, but we thought they were all right, for we had no precedent to guide us. We fumbled our way through, learning by trial and often fatal error, setting our own pioneering precedents for those who would follow us in the years to come.
In the past few years, there has been a tremendous and amazing resurgence of interest in World War I aviation, not only on the side of the Allies, but on the side of our former enemies. Several aviation historical societies have been formed, with hundreds of dedicated younger men as members, deeply and sincerely interested in the facts of that historic period.
Fortunately, several books on World War I aviation have appeared in recent years, whose authors with one or two exceptions, have made exhaustive research for authentic material. However, it is virtually impossible to get the true flavor from bare facts unless an author were there, fighting with the Lafayette Escadrille and knowing its members intimately.
As this is written, there are six of us still alive. Because of our pride in the Lafayette Escadrille and its accomplishments, and with deep reverence for the memories of our comrades-in-arms, we feel that this is the time to retell the real story of the Escadrille, as written by one who flew with it.
Apologies are in order that space precludes more detailed coverage of many fine youngsters who fought so bravely; but we are proud of them all.
My special thanks are due the David-Stewart Publishing Company, the E. C. Seale and Company (publishers of this new edition) and Harry C. Block, Jr. of the Aviation Historical Society of Indianapolis, for their efforts in making the reprint of this book possible.
Rear Admiral, USN (ret)
Osprey, Florida
April, 1963
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