Flying for France: With the American Escadrille at Verdun was written by one of the original members of the group, James R. McConnell. As expected, the book includes thrilling descriptions of air battles, mostly over the Verdun battlefield in 1916.
But it also includes information about the pilot's daily routine, and the careful and gradual way that the pilots were trained. The detailed information about the training helped the general reader understand the high skill level of the pilots.
But this training information was also valuable for prospective enlistees. Flying for France was published in February 1917, just two months before the United States entered the war. Along with the formal training information, McConnell also wrote about the actual details of flying combat.
A sense of adventure helped motivate Americans to become French fighter pilots. McConnell wrote:
There seems to be a fascination to aviation, particularly when it is coupled with fighting. Perhaps it's because the game is new, but more probably because as a rule nobody knows anything about it. Whatever be the reason, adventurous young Americans were attracted by it in rapidly increasing numbers.Flying for France was written while McConnell was recovering from injuries suffered in battle. He refers to the group as the American Escadrille. The group was re-named the Lafayette Escadrille in late 1916, at the request of the U.S. State Department (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 10, 1916).
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| James R. McConnell |
He then joined the American Ambulance Corps in France and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for heroism in battle. He then became an original member of the Lafayette Escadrille, which started flying in battle in the spring of 1916, when McConnell was 29.
Flying for France, which was excerpted in the November 1916 issue of The World's Work magazine, gives the reader a close look at the different personalities of the American flying group, who adopted a lion cub as a mascot and named it Whiskey.
The most moving parts of Flying for France are McConnell's tributes to three of his fellow fighter pilots who were killed in action (Victor Chapman, Norman Prince, Kiffin Rockwell). McConnell noted that both the French military and French civilians showed the highest respect for these fallen pilots during memorial services.
Sadly, McConnell became the fourth member of the Lafayette Escadrille to get killed in action. On March 19, 1917, he was shot down behind German lines (Washington Post, April 2, 1917). It was just one month after the publication of Flying for France, and three weeks before the rest of the United States joined the battle against Germany and its allies. It was also five days after McConnell's 30th birthday.
Once you know about McConnell's death, the book has a darkly inspirational feeling, as you read the words of a man who, because of strong personal beliefs, willingly lived on the edge of death.
But McConnell left an important legacy in Flying for France, both for readers in 1917 and readers in the 21st century. The book includes excerpts from letters that McConnell wrote, including this note of hope:
How does the war look to you—as regards duration? We are figuring on about ten more months, but then it may be ten more years. Of late things are much brighter and one can feel a certain elation in the air. Victory, before, was a sort of academic certainty; now it's felt.
Flying for France was published around February 16, 1917, when its recent publication was announced in that day's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Front page headlines in that day's Inquirer included:
- WILSON WILL DEMAND IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF AMERICAN PRISONERS / Prompt Decision on Germany's Part Necessary as Move Is to Take Force of an Ultimatum / Continued Holding of Seaman Captured by Raider Will Constitute Overt Act, Official Washington Believes
- Kaiser Sees Victory Through Submarines
- 6 MORE VESSELS SENT TO BOTTOM BY GERMAN U-BOAT / All Craft Are British, Largest Being Cilicia, 3750 Tons / American Citizen Among Those Landed From One Ship—Suffer Exposure
Online versions:
Newspaper information from Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/)
James R. McConnell photograph from Flying for France
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