williamthawii

See notes under:

earlyaviators.com/ethaw.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Thenault "Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault ... was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille - the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots."

The Lieutenant would likely be Lt. Alfred de Laage de Meux. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille

artolog and swanq: thanks for the link to the other photos and the background information. We will update the record.

Elliott Cowdin, Norman Prince, William Thaw were among the American aviators who were part of the Lafayette Escadrille, an all-American squadron for the French air service: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille Thaw: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thaw_%28aviator%29 Prince (died 1916): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Prince

Elliott C. Cowdin: ralph.smith.angelfire.com/Flying_Corps/Pilots/ElliottCowd... They returned on December 23, 1915 on the Holland-America liner Rotterdam for an eight days' leave (according to New-York tribune., December 24, 1915, Page 2, with similar photo).

See also

Thanks to all of you for your great research. We'll straighten out the names in the caption and add some of the information to the record the next time we update.

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

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.

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

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

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