Early American combat aviators memorialized

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Wagers
  • Det. 4, Air Force News Agency
PARIS (AFPN) --  Underneath the decorative arch of a recently refurbished monument built in 1928, several hundred American and French citizens as well as military personnel, tourists, and dignitaries came to pay their respects to 38 all-volunteer American aviators -- known as the Lafayette Escadrille -- who flew under the French flag against the central powers during World War I.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley summed up the motivations of the nation's first combat aviators by acknowledging the "debt of honor" that was owed to French generals Lafayette and Rochambeau who successfully aided George Washington in winning the American Revolutionary War.

"These young (Escadrille) airmen intuitively understood not only the need to serve but also the larger significance of their valiant service at this hour on the world stage," said General Moseley who spoke to a solemn crowd following an impressive flyover of French M-2000 Mirages and U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles across an overcast sky. "The airmen of the Lafayette Escadrille fought well, clearly and firmly establishing the lethality and offensive spirit of combat aviation."

Also attending the regal and colorful ceremony was retired Air Force Master Sgt. Edward Prince, a third-generation cousin of Escadrille aviator Norman Prince who was killed on a mission Oct. 15, 1916. Sergeant Prince, who was stationed at a U.S. Air Force base in Evreux, France, in the 1960's as a communications specialist, didn't learn of his distant cousin's accomplishments until his brother shared the news he'd learned from researching family history.

"I was shocked and surprised when my brother told me about Norman," Sergeant Prince said.

"He was educated at Harvard and came from an ultra wealthy family, and with all he had going for him, there was no readily apparent reason for him to go off to Europe and get involved in the war," he said, "but he did and he paid the ultimate sacrifice."

Sergeant Prince then echoed the same sentiments recently shared by Chief of Staff Moseley about the importance of remembering.

"Someone recently told me that when someone has passed away, they never really die if we continue to remember them," Sergeant Prince said.

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