Norman Prince is regarded as the
man who should be given credit for the Lafayette Escadrille as a
unit. It was he who gained permission from military authorities
to organize the Escadrille during World War I. Prince spent much
of his youth hunting in France and spoke the language fluently.
He felt the need to volunteer and help out the country he had so many
cherished memories of. With a goal of being accepted into the
British Flying Corps, Prince joined the Burgess Flying School in
Massachusetts in November, 1914 after graduating from Harvard
University. It was here that Prince met
Frazier Curtis who had attempted entrance into the Flying Corps but had
failed. The two of them are the first who thought of the idea to
form a squad of American volunteers to fight for the Allies.
Prince enlisted in the Foreign Legion on March 4, 1915 where he
eventually got himself transferred to aviation. For six
months Prince and Curtis continued to reach out to Americans living in
Paris. Their idea was that influential Americans might be able to
pull strings for them regarding the formation of an American unit
Unfortunately their efforts continued with no avail. For the next
eight months, Prince continued to fly at the front of the Foreign
Legion. He grazed death multiple times as seen through the gashes in
his helmet and jackets. Prince had a firm belief in his
immunity. He often looked for dangerous situations and
preferred to be challenged in fighting than to avoid
confrontation. Norman was envied by his fellow pilots as well as
his commanding officers who admired his courage.
Prince took leave to America and afterward he was
sent to meet up with Kiffin Rockwell and James McConnell, two other
Americans enlisted with the French Foreign Legion. They were sent
to the Reserve Group at Plessis-Belleville while awaiting the official
approval to form the Escadrille. In 1916, the Escadrille was
official and the first four pilots to report were Norman Prince, James
McConnell, Kiffin Rockwell, and Victor Chapman. Norman Prince
became an Ace shortly before the end of his flying career on October
12, 1916.
During a mission the pilots were made to fly all the way to Oberndorf with bombers. In need of fuel, the planes were forced to turn back at the Rhine. Lufbery and Prince followed the pilots in the rear, assuring that every pilot was protected. Darkness set on extremely quickly and it is increasingly difficult to land in the dark with a Nieuport, which is a fast landing plane. Lufbery made a bumpy, but safe landing and awaited the landing of Prince. Ten minutes later Prince preceded to spiral down to the meadow, leveling out just above the treetops. Due to the darkness he did not see the cable lines just above the trees. His landing geer caught on the cables, springing his plane into the ground, nose first. The plane toppled several times and Prince was thrown from the plane with both legs broken and internal injuries. Shockingly, Prince did not lose consciousness during the accident and he was even singing on his way to the hospital to keep up his spirits. He seemed confident in his recovery but fell into a coma the following day after a blot clot had formed on his brain. While in the coma he was named a second lieutenant and given the Legion of Honor. He died three days later on October 15, 1916. His body was later brought back to America from France in 1937 where he was reburied in a memorial chapel in the National Cathedral at Washington, D.C. (
During a mission the pilots were made to fly all the way to Oberndorf with bombers. In need of fuel, the planes were forced to turn back at the Rhine. Lufbery and Prince followed the pilots in the rear, assuring that every pilot was protected. Darkness set on extremely quickly and it is increasingly difficult to land in the dark with a Nieuport, which is a fast landing plane. Lufbery made a bumpy, but safe landing and awaited the landing of Prince. Ten minutes later Prince preceded to spiral down to the meadow, leveling out just above the treetops. Due to the darkness he did not see the cable lines just above the trees. His landing geer caught on the cables, springing his plane into the ground, nose first. The plane toppled several times and Prince was thrown from the plane with both legs broken and internal injuries. Shockingly, Prince did not lose consciousness during the accident and he was even singing on his way to the hospital to keep up his spirits. He seemed confident in his recovery but fell into a coma the following day after a blot clot had formed on his brain. While in the coma he was named a second lieutenant and given the Legion of Honor. He died three days later on October 15, 1916. His body was later brought back to America from France in 1937 where he was reburied in a memorial chapel in the National Cathedral at Washington, D.C. (
The Pilot
Identification Card of Norman Prince
A pilot card of Norman Prince, number 11 of 48 pilots.
The tomb at the memorial chapel in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
A pilot card of Norman Prince, number 11 of 48 pilots.
The tomb at the memorial chapel in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.