George Franklin Babbitt

“ Americans, who at the beginning of the World War, before their own country had abandoned its attitude of neutrality, volunteered for military service on the side of the Allies, in the fighting ranks of the foreign legions, especially in the aviation service, which called for efficiency and courage in individual combat that recalled the heroism and devotion of the ancient days of chivalry. The inspiring example of these early American volunteers may be said to have given the first impulse to the popular uprising which ultimately led to our country’s active participation in the war. ”

“ Alluding to the occasion of the telling of this story, William Roscoe Thayer, who presided at the dinner, said when the tidings of Norman’s death came from France: “I shall never forget that Christmas night at the Tavern Club when Norman sat next to me and told me many details of his service and then arose and gave that wonderfully simple, impressive story. To have had such a service and to die fighting for the cause which means the defense of civilization—what nobler career could he have had? I can think of no one who more thoroughly enjoyed the life of continuous peril which he led. ”

“ The French Government transmits to you expressions of its deep and sorrowful sympathy on the occasion of your son’s glorious death. In my name as Military Attaché representing the French Army in the United States, I desire to say that his death has been for all his French comrades a cause of profound grief. It is with the greatest admiration that we have seen all [73] these gallant young Americans risking and giving their lives for the cause of France. ”

“ I was then promptly supplied with a new machine. A change of aeroplanes by an aviator in action in France is like a cavalryman changing his horse. If there is anything the matter with the animal, even if it is only a corn, a new one is at once forthcoming. [20] There is no suggestion of parsimony or niggardliness in giving out the supplies necessary for efficient fighting.
“On another occasion, when we were making a raid on the railway station at Douai, which was about twenty-five kilometres within the enemy’s lines, we started with a squadron of some twenty machines. ”

“ He was a twentieth century Lafayette, a modern knight errant whose statue will yet grace the capital of France. Prince? Yes, a Prince indeed—‘sans peur et sans reproche.’”
Many other thoughtful and tender messages came from others, friends and strangers, at home and abroad, testifying their commingled sorrow and admiration. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge telegraphed from Washington this tribute:
“Nothing could have been more gallant than his life—nothing finer than his death in a great cause, dear to his heart.” ”

“ It is never quite agreeable to be shelled up in the air or elsewhere, and those who make the boast of liking it do not tell the exact truth.
“To illustrate how well the French military aviation service is organized and supplied with machines, let me tell you of my experience at the front in Lorraine, where one day I had the misfortune to break one of the wings of my machine. ”

“ Considering these predominant traits of Norman’s character, as well as his achievements, I conclude that he could hardly have wished for a nobler fate than that which finally befell him on a battlefield of France.
Speaking for Norman’s mother I would say in her behalf:
“Light sorrows speak—great grief is dumb.”
A mother’s grief for the loss of a dearly beloved son is too deep to find adequate expression in words. ”

“ There are ten American pilots with us in the French service and twelve others in training with their number constantly increasing. Some day soon we will all be united in one escadrille—an Escadrille Américaine—that is my fondest ambition. ”

“ One day six German machines, fully equipped, bombarded Nancy and our aviation field. To retaliate, my squadron was sent out to bombard their field on the same afternoon. We started with thirty machines to a designated rendezvous and fifty minutes later, after getting grouped, we proceeded to our ultimate destination. I had a very fast machine, and reached the German flying field without being hit. When about to let go my bombs and while my observer was aiming at the hangars of the Germans my machine was attacked by them—one on the left and two on the right. ”

“ The services, which were conducted by a French regimental chaplain, were attended by a large representation of the Allied military divisions, including French and English officers of high rank, as well as a full representation of the American Escadrille and pilots from the [11] neighboring aviation camps. During the funeral, instead of the customary firing of cannon as a salutation to the dead, a squadron of aeroplanes circled in midair over the field in honor of the departed aviator, showering down myriads of flowers. ”

“ The messages of sympathy and appreciation were as numerous and universal as they were fervent and sincere. They found expression in the press, in the pulpit and in the forum, and the name of this hero came to be accepted as a fitting symbol of patriotism and self-sacrifice. [72] Few of these messages were more tender and appreciative than those which came from Norman’s comrades in the aviation service in France. Commanders and subordinates were alike in this respect. A message from the comrades gathered at his bedside when he died said:
“Norman passed peacefully away this morning. ”

“ He cared nothing for the privileges of wealth, even though they might be within his reach, and he envied no man his success in whatever honorable lines he might elect for himself. His ambition was to achieve something worth while and he gave all his energies to the accomplishment of that purpose. ”

“ Even when he passed through the harrowing experience of having a wing shattered, the first thing he did on landing was to busy himself about getting another fitted in place. No one thought Prince was mortally injured in the accident, but the next day he went into a coma; a blood clot had formed on his brain. Captain Haaf, in command of the aviation groups of Luxeuil, accompanied by our officers, hastened to Gerardmer. Prince, lying unconscious on his bed, was named a second lieutenant and was then and there decorated with the Legion of Honor. ”

“ Norman Prince died on the 15th of October. His body was brought back to Luxeuil and he was given a funeral similar to Rockwell’s. It was hard to realize that poor Norman had gone. He was the founder of the American Escadrille, and every one in it had come to rely on him for inspiration. He never let his spirits drop, and he was always on hand with encouragement for others. I do not think Prince minded going. He wanted to do his part before being killed and he had more than done it. ”

“ Victor was as brave as a lion and sometimes he was almost too courageous,—attacking German machines whenever and wherever he saw them, regardless of the chances against him. I have written to Mr. Chapman—a rather difficult letter to write to a heart-broken father. [35] Victor was killed while attacking an aeroplane that was coming against Lufberry and me. Another unaccounted for German came up and brought Victor down while he was endeavoring to protect us. A glorious death—face à l’ennemi and for a great cause and to save a friend!
Your affectionate son,
Norman. ”

“ Dear Freddy,—Arrived here at the Front last Tuesday piloting two Voisins appareils de bombardement. On the way we bombarded observation balloons, railway centers, poudrières, aviation camps and other locations of Boche activity—but not towns or cities or other localities where the lives of helpless women and children might be endangered. We are in the section where all the French advances have lately been made. The vertical guns of the Boches are particularly annoying to us. ”

“ The weather has been very rainy and windy [33] here for a week, which is to be expected, during the month of February. We are losing no time, however.
Those Lewis guns, if there is any way of getting hold of a dozen, would be much appreciated by us here. The more you can get for us the better, but I realize that it may be impossible even for you to get hold of any.
How are the horses? Don’t overdo the schooling!
I hope you and Mamma are enjoying Aiken. The main thing is to care for your health.
With love to Mamma, who, I trust, is not too anxious about Freddy and me. ”

“ Our planes had only machine guns with which to defend themselves, while the Germans used regular fighting machines. This aerial engagement resulted in four of our machines coming back riddled with bullets, my lieutenant being hit in the leg.
“I was fortunate enough that day to escape the range of the German flying machines by going farther north and passing through the clouds, though I was shelled from a long distance all the way. I succeeded in dropping my bombs on a railroad station, one of which I saw explode in a bunch of freight cars in the railroad yard. ”

“ He was a grandson of Frederick O. Prince, an eminent citizen of Massachusetts and a Mayor of Boston, and of George H. Norman, a distinguished citizen of Newport, Rhode Island. He was born August 31, 1887, at Pride’s Crossing, Massachusetts, receiving his early education under private tutors in this country and in Europe and completing his preparation for college at Groton, where he passed five happy and helpful years. He was graduated, with honors, at Harvard College in the class of 1908, taking the academic course in three years and receiving a cum laude with his degree of Bachelor of Arts. ”

“ Few of his comrades had rendered more active service. He was as ambitious as he was intrepid and resourceful.
On the morning of Thursday, October 12, Norman and other members of his Squadron were assigned to convoy a French bombarding fleet in an aerial raid on Oberndorf, a German [9] arms and munition center located in the Vosges near the plains of Alsace. While circling over the town, they came in close contact with a formidable array of German aircraft, and a terrific encounter ensued in which shot, shell-fire, and skillful manœuvering disabled many of the machines on both sides. ”

“ Darkness was rapidly coming on, but Prince and Lufberry remained in the air to protect the bombarding fleet. Just at nightfall, Lufberry made for a small aviation field near the lines, known as Corcieux. Slow-moving machines, with great planing capacity, can be landed in the dark, but to try to feel for the ground in a Nieuport, [62] which comes down at about a hundred miles an hour, usually means disaster. Ten minutes after Lufberry landed, Prince decided to make for the landing field. ”

“ He even kept his presence of mind, and gave orders to the men who had run to pick him up. Hearing the hum of a motor, and realizing that a machine was in the air, Prince told them to light fires on the field. ‘You don’t want another fellow to come down and break himself up the way I’ve done,’ he said.
“Lufberry went with Prince to the hospital in Gerardmer. As the ambulance rolled along Prince sang to keep up his spirits. He spoke of getting well soon and returning to service. It [63] was like Norman. He was always joyous and energetic about his flying. ”

“ In this collision his machine was overturned and wrecked and he was thrown violently to the ground. On being rescued by his comrades, it was found that both his legs were broken and, as was subsequently found, he had sustained a fracture of the skull. He was carried to the neighboring hospital at Gerardmer, where for a time he manifested the undaunted courage that he had always shown under adverse conditions, cheerfully requesting the attending surgeons who were setting the bones of his [10] broken legs to be careful not to make one shorter than the other! ”

“ They have got two out of six of the pilots of our Escadrille since our arrival. One got down within our own lines; the other fell within the lines of the Boches—whether he was killed or not we do not know.
(Eight miles from the German trenches.)
Been here a week and have become quite accustomed to being shot at. We go out every [28] day and the salutations we get from the Boches are rapid and continuous when we are over their lines. The Boches here have more vertical guns to aim at us—more to the mile of front than anywhere else. ”

“ While we were there about three hundred young men were in training, and at last accounts, there were over five hundred pupils practicing in aviation, using at least two hundred modern machines. We remained there a month. As a rule it takes about forty-eight days to turn out a military aviator, qualified and fitted to obtain the civil and military licenses required. ”

“ I was sent with two or three members of my squadron to bombard a station where ammunition was being unloaded. It takes about forty minutes for a machine heavily loaded with bombs to get to a sufficient height to cross the lines. The minimum height at which we crossed was about seven thousand feet. I saw my comrades [18] cross ahead of me and noted they were being heavily shelled by the enemy. ”

“ As the full capacity of a Nieuport machine allows but a little more than two hours in the air the avions de chasse were forced to return to their own lines to take on more gasoline. The Nieuports having refilled their tanks, went up to clear the air of any German machines that might be hovering in wait for the returning raiders. Prince found one, and promptly shot it down. Lufberry came upon three and he promptly disposed of them. ”

“ He deeply regretted that his own country was not yet actively enlisted on the side of the Allies and that he was not permitted from the beginning to represent his Government as well as his country in the fighting lines, but this disappointment did not diminish his enthusiasm as an American volunteer soldier giving his services for a cause that he believed to be that of his country and of the world. In one of his letters he wrote enthusiastically:
“Everything goes well. ”