L'Escadrille Lafayette Flying Corps Association, 1927-1960.

There has been a great deal of confusion attributed to the two names, the Lafayette Escadrille and the Lafayette Flying Corps. The Lafayette Escadrille was a unit established on April 15, 1916, made up of thirty-eight Americans and four French aviators who flew in French planes, with French mechanics, and French uniforms. The squadron suffered heavy losses, but its core group of 38 was rapidly replenished by other Americans arriving from overseas. So many Americans volunteered that the "Lafayette Flying Corps" was formed. Disbanded in February, 1918, the Lafayette Escadrille was transferred to the United States Army Air Service as the 103rd Aero Pursuit Squadron. The Lafayette Flying Corps was never a unit per se, rather it was a name used to describe all of the American pilots, including the Lafayette Escadrille pilots, who flew for the French during World War I. After the war the pilots kept in contact with one another and by 1928 an organization of former members of both Escadrille and Flying Corps pilots was created and named "L'Escadrille Lafayette Flying Corps Association." The Association's first and major project was the dedication, on July 4, 1928, of a memorial on French soil to honor those pilots who lost their lives in France. The Association became an official and representative voice of the pilots that was to last through the early 1960's. It was specifically involved in Congressional issues concerning the status of the pilots and the benefits received personally and by their survivors. Charles H. Dolan, who was the last survivor of the Lafayette Escadrille and a very outspoken member of the Association, died on December 31, 1981. The USAFA Library has a separate, small manuscript collection, #SMS 64, containing 21 linear feet of certificates, awards, photographs, manuscripts, speeches and oral histories pertaining to Dolan's career in the military and the Lafayette Escadrille.

From the description of L'Escadrille Lafayette Flying Corps Association collection, 1927-1960. (US Air Force Academy). WorldCat record id: 269354272