Upon Dr. Edmond Gros’s certification of his faithful service to France, each Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps pilot would then become the recipient of the Lafayette Flying Corps service certificate. This handsome document measured approximately 17” x 19” and was individually numbered to each pilot. Click HERE to see a larger version of this certificate.

The Lafayette Flying Corps
From the start of the War, hundreds of young American men and women driven by idealism or a sense of adventure or both joined the Allied cause. They served as soldiers or nurses or ambulance drivers.

The vision of aviators, the knights of the air, attracted many to the French and British air services. Then as the reputation and the glamour of the Lafayette Escadrille grew, many of these aspiring airmen wanted to join the famous squadron. However, by early 1916, the Escadrille, officially N.124, had its full complement of pilots, all American volunteers.

As a result, the French Air Service assigned the later volunteers to other squadrons. However, wishing to recognize their volunteer status and their being American, these airmen were designated as members of the Lafayette Flying Corps.

The Flying Corps was not a single unified squadron, but rather American volunteers serving throughout the Service Aeronautique. The Lafayette Escadrille was the only unit in French service made up solely of American pilots.

269 Americans comprised the Flying Corps. Other Americans earned their wings with the French and were then transferred directly into the American Air Service.

By the end of the War, American pilots in French Service could claim 199 confirmed victories. The prestige of the Lafayette Escadrille and the Flying Corps attracted many imposters in the postwar days. A survey of newspaper clippings made by the Escadrille veterans in 1933 showed that more than four thousand American veterans claimed to have served with these two famous units.

These American Pilots flew with French operational escadrilles other than “Escadrille Lafayette” and many of them later transferred to a U.S. branch of service.

Abbott, Wainwright, Sgt.
Pittsburgh, PA

Adams, John R., Cpl.
Jersey City, NJ

Ash, Alan N., Sgt.
Urbana, IL

Bach, James J., Cpl.
Paris, France

Baer, Paul F., Cpl.
Ft. Wayne, IN

Barclay, Leif N., Sgt.
New York, NY

Batchelor, Henry A. III, Cpl.
Saginaw, MI

Baugham, James H., Sgt.
Washington, NC

Baylies, Frank L., Sgt.
New Bedford, MA

Bayne, James A., Cpl.
Grand Rapids, MI

Benney, Philip P., Cpl.
Pittsburgh, PA

Benoit, Leo E., Sgt.
Attelboro, MA

Biddle, Charles J., Sgt.
Andalusia, PA

Biddle, Julian C., Cpl.
Ambler, PA

Blake, Charles R., Cpl.
Westerly, RI

Blumenthal, Arthur, Sgt.
Wilmington, NC

Boggs, Ellison C., Sgt.
New York, NY

Booth, Vernon Jr., Sgt.
New York, NY

Bouligny, Edgar J., Sgt.
New Orleans, LA

Brady, Lester S., Cpl.
Lock Haven, PA

Brown, Jasper C., Cpl.
New York, NY

Buckley, Everett T., Sgt.
Kilbourne, IL

Buffum, Thomas B., Cpl.
New York, NY

Bullard, Eugene J., Cpl.
Columbus, GA

Bullen, William G., Sgt.
Chicago, IL

Bush, Philip N., Sgt.
Schenectady, NY

Byers, Louis L., Cpl.
Philadelphia, PA

Campbell, H. Gordon, Sgt.
Denver, CO

Cassady, Thomas G., Sgt.
Spencer, IN

Chadwick, Oliver M., Cpl.
Lowell, MA

Chamberlain, Cyrus F., Sgt. Minneapolis, MN

Charton, Louis, Sgt.
New York, NY

Chatkoff, Herman L., Sgt.
Maplewood, MA

Clapp, Roger H., Cpl.
New York, NY

Caleb, James C. Jr., Sgt.
Buffalo, NY

Collins, Phelps, Sgt.
Detroit, MI

Connelly, James A. Jr., Adj. Philadelphia, PA

Cook, Alan A., Adj.
Canandaigua, NY

Corsi, Edward J., Sgt.
Brooklyn, NY

Cotton, John R., Cpl.
Chicago, IL

Crehore, Austen B., Sgt.
Westfield, NY

Dock, George Jr., Sgt.
St. Louis, MO

Donzé, Robert L., Sgt.
Santa Barbara, CA

Dowd, Meredith L., Cpl.
Orange, NY

Drew, Sidney R. Jr., Cpl.
New York, NY

Duffy, Nathaniel, Sgt.
Buffalo, NY

Edgar, Stuart E., Cpl.
Nutley, NJ

Eldredge, Donald H., Sgt.
South Bend, IN

Ely, Dinsmore, Sgt.
Winnetka, IL

Eoff, Robert G., Cpl.
Christiansburg, VA

Fairchild, Edwin B., Adj.
Manila, P. I.

Ferguson, Fearchar I., Sgt.
New York, NY

Forster, Henry, Sgt.
Milton, MA

Glover, Clarence M., Sgt.
New York, NY

Grey, Charles G., Sgt.
Chicago, IL

Gundelach, André, Sgt.
Chicago, IL

Guy, David, W., Sgt.
St. Louis, MO

Hitchcock, Thomas Jr., S/Lt.
Westbury, NY

Hobbs, Warren T., Cpl.
Worcester, MA

Hoeber, Robert B., Sgt.
Nutley, NJ

Horton, Dabney D., Sgt.
Paris, France

Huffner, Jean, S/Lt.
Paris France

Hughes, Earl W., Sgt.
Detroit, MI

Jacob, Sereno T., Sgt.
Westport, CT

Johnson, Harry F., Cpl.
South Bethlehem, PA

Johnston, Archibald, Sgt.
Pittsburgh, PA

Jones, Charles M., Sgt.
Redbank, NJ

Judd, David E., Sgt.
Brookline, MA

Kerwood, Charles W., Sgt.
Bryn Mawr, PA

Kinsolving, Charles M., Sgt.
Washington, DC

Kruijff, Theadore de, Cpl.
New York, NY

Kyle, George M., Cpl.
Los Angeles, CA

Larner, G. de Freest, Cpl.
Washington, DC

Lee, Schuyler, Cpl.
New London, CT

Lehr, Manderson, Sgt.
Albion, NE

Lewis, David W., Cpl.
Brooklyn, NY

Littauer, Kenneth P., Sgt.
New York, NY

Loomis, William F., Cpl.
Bedford, MA

Loughran, Edward J., Sgt.
Desoto, KS

McAllister, Thomas F., Sgt.
Grand Rapids, MI

McCall, George A., Sgt.
Philadelpha, PA

McKee, Herschel J., Sgt.
Indianapolis, IN

McKerness, William J., Sgt.
Wallingford, CT

McMillen, James H., Sgt.
New York, NY

Molter, Bennett A., Cpl.
Wausau, WI

Moore, Robert L., Sgt.
Denison, TX

Moseley, George C., Cpl.
Highland Park, IL

Nichols, Alan H., Sgt.
Palo Alto, CA

Nordhoff, Charles B., Cpl.
Los Angeles, CA

Ovington, Carter L., Sgt.
Paris, France

Paden, David S., Sgt.
Evanston, IL

Parker, Austin G., Sgt.
Helena, MT

Pelton, Alfred D., Sgt.
Montreal, Canada

Pollack, Granville A., Sgt.
New Orleans, LA

Ponder, William T., Cpl.
Mangum, OK

Putnam, David E., Sgt.
Brookline, MA

Rand, Rufus R. Jr., Adj.
Minneapolis, MN

Randall, John F., Sgt.
Meriden, CT

Reno, Leonard M., Sgt.
Chicago, IL

Rheno, Walter D., Sgt.
Vineyard Haven, MA

Rocle, Marius R., Cpl.
New York, NY

Rotharmel, Kenneth A., Cpl.
Miami, FL

Rounds, Leland L., Sgt.
New York, NY

Saxon, Harold Y., Sgt.
Washington, DC

Shaffer, Walter J., Sgt.
Dauphin, PA

Shoniger, Clarence B., Cpl.
New York, NY

Sinclaire, Reginald, Adj.
Corning, NY

Sitterly, Glenn, Adj.
Spring Valley, IL

Spencer, Dumaresq, Cpl.
Highland Park, IL

Stanley, Alfred H., Adj.
Elmira, NY

Stearns, Russell F., Cpl.
Pawtucket, RI

Stehlin, Joseph C., Sgt.
Brooklyn, NY

Stickney, Henry E., Sgt.
Rutland, VT

Stone, Donald E., Cpl.
New York, NY

Sullivan, Upton, Sgt.
Philadelphia, PA

Taber, Leslie R., Cpl.
Auburn, NY

Tailer, William H., Sgt.
Roslyn, NY

Taylor, Elmer B., Sgt.
Cedar Grove, NJ

Thompson, Clifton B., Cpl.
Hyde Park, MA

Trinkard, Charles, Cpl.
Ozone Park, NY

Tucker, Dudley G., Sgt.
New York, NY

Turnure, George E. Jr., Sgt.
Lenox, MA

Tyson, Stephen M., Sgt.
Princeton, NJ

Van Fleet, William C. Jr., Sgt.
San Francisco, CA

Veil, Charles H., Sgt.
East Palestine, OH

Walcott, Benjamin S., Cpl.
Washington, DC

Wass, William E., Sgt.
Brunswick, ME

Wellman, William A., Sgt.
Cambridge, MA

Wells, Frank W., Sgt.
Syracuse, NY

Whitmore, Herman, Cpl.
Haverhill, MA

Whitmore, John J., Sgt.
New York, NY

Wilcox, Charles H., Sgt.
Pasadena, CA

Wild, Marcellus E., Sgt.
Rochester, NY

Willard, George G., Cpl.
Chicago, IL

Wilson, Joseph V., Cpl.
Wheeling, WV

Winslow, Alan F., Sgt.
River Forest, IL

Winslow, Carroll D., Sgt.
New York, NY

Winter, Wallace C., Cpl.
Chicago, IL

Woodward, Houston, Cpl.
Philadelphia, PA

Worthington, Warwick D., Sgt.
Paris, France

Wright, Harold E., Sgt.
Brooklyn, NY

York, Walter R., S/Lt.
Somerville, MA

Zinn, Frederick W., Sgt.
Battle Creek, MI

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