|
 |
Gervais
Lufbery
|
| Country: |
United States |
| Born: |
14 March 1885 |
| Place of Birth: |
Chamalieres, France |
| Deceased: |
19 May 1918 |
| Rank: |
Major |
| Service: |
French Air Service
United States Air Service |
| Units: |
VB106, N124 (FAS)
94th Aero (USAS) |
| Victories: |
16 |
|
|
| Born in France, Lufbery emigrated
to the United States with his family when he
was six years old. When the war began, he was
back in France where he quickly enlisted in the
French Air Service. Serving first as a mechanic
and then as a reconnaissance pilot, he soon moved
on to single-seat fighters. Lufbery spent almost
four years in the French Air Service and the
Lafayette Escadrille before joining the United
States Air Service as an instructor. Idolized
by his subordinates and revered by his peers,
he was killed in action as he attempted to down
a German Rumpler north of Nancy. Hit by enemy
fire, his Nieuport 28 suddenly flipped over and
Lufbery was seen to fall from the aircraft. The
following day, in an impressive funeral that
was witnessed by hundreds and recorded on film,
Lufbery was buried in the cemetery at the Sebastopol
Hospital. In the village of Maron, near the Moselle
River, a bronze tablet marks the place where
he fell. Lufbery's remains were later moved to
Lafayette Memorial du Parc de Garches in Paris. |
|
|
|
|
