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great great uncles wwi lafayette escadrille grouping


neilhg
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got thease from my great uncle thease belonged to my great great uncle who was a Maj. in the lafayette escadrille in wwi his name was raymond "king" kelly

after the war he flew airshows and was crippled after he crashed he died in his 50's i belive not kids or wife. also not pictured is a american legion beret that reads american legion aviation post chicago illinos also somewhere we have his aviation helmet and goggles

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post-20584-1311038083.jpgpost-20584-1311038065.jpghis swagger stick and info

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

its not for sale but does anyone have any idea on what this is worth?

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its not for sale but does anyone have any idea on what this is worth?

 

That trunk appears to be from his time with the "Aviation Service" as the US Army flight branch was known then.

 

To determine value you first need documentation to establish that he was in the Lafayette Escadrille. There is a roster of members who survived the war,: I did not see his name on it, but I have trouble scanning small print.

 

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its been hard toresearch theres some celeberty with the same name

 

as for the list i dident see his name but i am certain he was in it is it possible they missed him?

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What a great grouping of family history artifacts you have there. I really love the look of the trunk! Thanks for sharing...

 

JD

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as for the list i dident see his name but i am certain he was in it is it possible they missed him?

 

 

Could be they missed him, but family stories can also get diverted along the way so it would be worth doing the research to pin down his WWI service.

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Could be they missed him, but family stories can also get diverted along the way so it would be worth doing the research to pin down his WWI service.

alright thank you

 

 

thats funny how you said they can get diverted that side of the family was quite humble i had a great uncle in the oss in wwii who did two solo combat jums in sicily and italy and all he told us was he was a paratroper.

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alright thank you

thats funny how you said they can get diverted that side of the family was quite humble i had a great uncle in the oss in wwii who did two solo combat jums in sicily and italy and all he told us was he was a paratroper.

 

What happens is that people add innocent embellishments over the decades. For instance, someone may have been told that an ancestor flew in France in WWI. Well, they hear about the famous unit of Americans flying for the French and associate that with their ancestor. So even if this is never going to be sold, do his memory a favor and track down as much written info as you can about his service.

 

Now remember too, there was the Lafayette Escadrille Squadron and the larger Lafayette Flying Corps and they are often confused.

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What happens is that people add innocent embellishments over the decades. For instance, someone may have been told that an ancestor flew in France in WWI. Well, they hear about the famous unit of Americans flying for the French and associate that with their ancestor. So even if this is never going to be sold, do his memory a favor and track down as much written info as you can about his service.

 

Now remember too, there was the Lafayette Escadrille Squadron and the larger Lafayette Flying Corps and they are often confused.

 

 

 

do you know where i can get info on the Lafayette Flying Corps?

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do you know where i can get info on the Lafayette Flying Corps?

 

A google search should turn up quite a bit: this may have been one of the most researched units of WWI.

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  • 7 years later...
Skysoldier80

Now that is an awesome WWI Family Grouping.

 

I second doing the research to get everything down. A year ago I started digging into a family story about my Grandfather's Uncle who was supposedly in the Waffen SS during WWII (Grandpa's Dad served in German Army in WWI and immigrated to the US in 1922). After the research, I found that it was not the Uncle (who did serve in the 22d Luftlande Division), but it was my Great Grandmother's (Grandpa's mother) sister's son who was still in Germany who was the WSS guy. I just happened to be given the Funeral Card and photos of him.

 

So I share stating the research is fun and will uncover some family mysteries.

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  • 1 year later...
Croix de Guerre
On 7/18/2011 at 9:13 PM, neilhg said:

his aviators leather neck

 

 

 

 

 

 

his heather suspenders and belt

 

 

 

 

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That is his "Sam Browne" Officers belt and cross strap.  

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Croix de Guerre

If you have his middle name or initial that would be helpful or any information such as where his was born or his parents name.

 

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Very nice! In a 1919 from Oak Park, Illinois article, it states that he was assigned to the Lafayette Escadrille and was an ace.  It would be interesting to know the truth.

 

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General Apathy
On 7/14/2020 at 2:23 AM, Croix de Guerre said:

Screen Shot 2020-07-13 at 8.22.52 PM.png

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Hi Croix de Guerre,  you mention skating, here is a photograph on Alamy showing a Raymond King Kelly if we have the same person.

 

regards lewis.

 

.fullsizeoutput_592a.jpeg.e58804d76467674ea16aab68da18001d.jpeg

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Croix de Guerre

I am afraid he appears to be another one of those people who felt a need to inflate or fabricate their service.  I have not been able to locate any record of him serving with the US military or the French air service much less being a member of the Lafayette Escadrille.  If he had shot down six EA as he claims there would be loads of documentation about him and his exploits. 

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manayunkman

This is a very interesting read.

 

So we have a race car driver who claims he was a WW1 ace but really isn’t?

 

No record of US military service in WW1?

 

 

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The Rooster

Is'nt it possible his records were destroyed in the fire ?

Is'nt that a picture of him above in a uniform on the deck of a ship ?

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