Produced by Paul Hollander Juliet Sutherland Linton Dawe Charles Franksand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamFLYING FOR FRANCEWith the American Escadrille at VerdunBYJAMES R McCONNELLSergeantPilot in the French Flying CorpsIllustrated from photographs through the kindnessof Mr Paul RockwellToMRS ALICE S WEEKSWho having lost a splendid son in the French Army has given to a greatnumber of us other Americans in the war the tender sympathy and helpof a motherCONTENTSIntroduction By F C PCHAPTER  I Verdun II From Verdun to the SommeIII Personal Letters from Sergeant McConnell IV How France Trains Pilot Aviators  V Against OddsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSJames R McConnell _Frontispiece_Some of the Americans Who are Flying for FranceTwo Members of the American Escadrille of the French Flying ServiceWho Were Killed Flying For FranceWhiskey The Lion and Mascot of the American Flying Squadron inFranceKiffin Rockwell of Asheville NC Who Was Killed in an Air DuelOver VerdunSergeant Lufbery in one of the New Nieuports in Which He Convoyed theBombardment Fleet Which Attacked OberndorfINTRODUCTIONOne day in January 1915 I saw Jim McConnell in front of the CourtHouse at Carthage North Carolina Well he said Im all fixed upand am leaving on Wednesday Where for I asked Ive got a job todrive an ambulance in France was his answerAnd then he went on to tell me first that as he saw it the greatestevent in history was going on right at hand and that he would bemissing the opportunity of a lifetime if he did not see it TheseSand Hills he said will be here forever but the war wont and soIm going Then as an afterthought he added And Ill be of someuse too not just a sightseer looking on that wouldnt be fairSo he went He joined the American ambulance service in the Vosgeswas mentioned more than once in the orders of the day for conspicuousbravery in saving wounded under fire and received the muchcovetedCroix de GuerreMeanwhile he wrote interesting letters home And his point of viewchanged even as does the point of view of all Americans who visitEurope From the attitude of an adventurous spirit anxious to see theexcitement his letters showed a new belief that any one who goes toFrance and is not able and willing to do more than his shareto giveeverything in him toward helping the wounded and sufferinghas nobusiness thereAnd as time went on still a new note crept into his letters thefirst admiration for France was strengthened and almost replaced by anew feelinga profound conviction that France and the French peoplewere fighting the fight of liberty against enormous odds The newspirit of Francethe spirit of the Marseillaise strengthened by agrim determination and absolute certainty of being rightpervadesevery line he writes So he gave up the ambulance service and enlistedin the French flying corps along with an everincreasing number ofother AmericansThe spirit which pervades them is something above the spirit ofadventure that draws many to war it is the spirit of a man who hasfound an inspiring duty toward the advancement of liberty and humanityand is glad and proud to contribute what he canHis last letters bring out a new pointthe assurance of victory of ajust cause Of late he writes things are much brighter and onecan feel a certain elation in the air Victory before was a sort ofacademic certainty now it is feltF C PNovember 10 1916FLYING FOR FRANCECHAPTER IVERDUNBeneath the canvas of a huge hangar mechanicians are at work on themotor of an airplane Outside on the borders of an aviation fieldothers loiter awaiting their aërial charges return from the sky Nearthe hangar stands a hutshaped tent In front of it severalshortwinged biplanes are lined up inside it three or four young menare lolling in wicker chairsThey wear the uniform of French army aviators These uniforms and thegrimlooking machine guns mounted on the upper planes of the littleaircraft are the only warlike note in a pleasantly peaceful sceneThe war seems very remote It is hard to believe that the greatest ofall battlesVerdunrages only twentyfive miles to the north andthat the field and hangars and mechanicians and aviators and airplanesare all playing a part thereinSuddenly there is the distant hum of a motor One of the pilotsemerges from the tent and gazes fixedly up into the blue sky Hepoints and one glimpses a black speck against the blue highoverhead The sound of the motor ceases and the speck grows largerIt moves earthward in steep dives and circles and as it swoopscloser takes on the shape of an airplane Now one can make out thered white and blue circles under the wings which mark a Frenchwarplane and the distinctive insignia of the pilot on its sides_Ton patron arrive_ one mechanician cries to another Your boss iscomingThe machine dips sharply over the top of a hangar straightens outagain near the earth at a dizzy speed a few feet above it and losingmomentum in a surprisingly short time hits the ground with tail andwheels It bumps along a score of yards and then its motor whirringagain turns rolls toward the hangar and stops A human formenveloped in a species of garment for all the world like a diverssuit and further adorned with goggles and a leather hood risesunsteadily in the cockpit clambers awkwardly overboard and slidesdown to terra firmaA group of soldiers enjoying a brief holiday from the trenches in acantonment near the field straggle forward and gather timidly aboutthe airplane listening openmouthed for what its rider is about tosayHell mumbles that gentleman as he starts divesting himself of hisflying garbWhats wrong now inquires one of the tenants of the tentEverything or else Ive gone nutty is the indignant replydelivered while disengaging a leg from its Teddy Bear trouseringWhy I emptied my whole roller on a Boche this morning point blankat not fifteen metres off His machine gun quit firing and hispropeller wasnt turning and yet the darn fool just hung up there asif he were tied to a cloud Say I was so sure I had him it made mesorefelt like running into him and yelling