georgesthenault

K. Rockwell, Capt. Thenault, Wm. Thaw, N. Prince (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• 2 older comments, and then…
• Dave Miller said:

  The Lafayette Escadrille, American volunteer pilots who flew combat missions for France before the US entered World War I.

• Art Siegel said:

  Georges Thenault (1887-1948), commander of the Lafayette Escadrille - "the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Thenault
  
  On Norman Prince (at right in photo): "Captain Georges Thenault, the Escadrille's commander, credits Norman for conceiving the idea of bringing together his countrymen with some of those of the French Foreign Legion in a squadron of flyers to be initially known as the Escadrille Américaine."
  (Wikipedia article puts Prince's date of death as October 15, 1916.
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Prince
  See notes under , taken in December, 1915 just before the founding of the squadron.

• Dave Miller said:

  Art Siegel Quite right. Thanks for picking up my error.

• Art Siegel said:

  A related group photo, with a negative date of 6/26/16.
  From Kiffin Yates Rockwell's (1892-1916) page at the Virginia Military Institute site:
  "Rockwell was accepted by the Service Aeronautique, began flight training in September 1915 and in April became one of the founding pilots in the squadron initially known as the Escadrille Americaine (later called the Lafayette Escadrille). In May 1916, while on patrol at the front, he became the first American pilot to down an enemy plane. Rockwell subsequently flew dozens of patrols and fought in many air battles, gaining fame for his skill and courage. His final combat took place on September 23, 1916, when his Nieuport was downed by the gunner in a German Albatross observation plane. Rockwell was first buried in the cemetery at Luxeuil-les-Bains, France, where there is still a marker; his remains were later moved to the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial at Marnes-la-Coquette."
  www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=12371

• Pete (LOC P&P) said:

  artolog: thanks for researching the names and background information on these men. We will update the record.