Raoul Lufbery Collection

Born Gervais Raoul Lufbery on March 14, 1885 in Chamalières, Puy-de-Dôme, France. At the age of one his mother died so his father left him in the care of his French grandparents until he left at the age of 17. He served in the United States Army from 1907 to1909. Lufbery would join the Foreign Legion as a mechanic at the beginning of World War I, later receiving his pilot wings in 1914. He was attached to the Lafayette Escadrille, an American flying squadron. He was very successful against the enemy, shooting down at least 17 German planes. On May 19, 1918 with enemy planes coming closer to the airfield for the 94th Pursuit Squadron, Lufbery rushed into the air without performing his usual pre-flight check. Soon his plane took a direct hit from the enemy. In order to escape the burning plane, he jumped, was impaled on a fence post. He died instantly. Lufbery received full military honors at his funeral and is interred at the Lafayette Memorial du Parc de Garches, the shrine honoring the Lafayette Escadrille, just outside Paris, France.

Biographical information courtesy of:

American Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/lufbery.htm http://www.nationalaviation.org/lufbery-raoul/