The Lafayette Escadrille
The Lafayette EscadrilleThe information hereunder is taken from a flyer issued by the Fondation du Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette in the 1970s.
The Fondation du Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette, established in 1930 by William Nelson Cromwell, as Fondateur, has for its purposes:
a) to assure the retention and permanent upkeep of the monument erected by the Association du Mémorial de 1'Escadrille Lafayette in the park of St-Cloud on the land granted by the French Government to the said Association, for the purpose of keeping alive in the hearts of men the spirit which inspired the members of the Escadrille Lafayette and the Flying Corps, all Americans, all volunteers for the universal cause of Liberty under the Flag of France before their Country's entrance into the Great War,
b) to provide for suitable and appropriate religious observance in this place,
c) to educate the youth of France, of America and other nations in the history of their respective countries and of each other's country, by mean of public addresses, publications and otherwise.
The dedication of the memorial designed by M. Alexandre Marcel, chief architect of the French Government, took place on July 4th, 1928. The Memorial consists of a triumphal arch, inscribed with the names of the sixty-eight members of the Lafayette Escadrille and the Lafayette Flying Corps who were killed during World War I, and the battles in which they fought; and a crypt, which is the last resting place of the pilots who gave their lives to the Allied cause and of their French commanders Général Brocard and Lieutenant-Colonel Thénault.
End of information from a flyer issued by the Fondation du Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette in the 1970s.
The Memorial is located in 92430 Marnes-la-Coquette, France.
If you are taking the train, go to the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris. Take any train which stops at the station of "Garches-Marnes-la-Coquette". (NB: Not all trains stop there by any means, so check carefully !). It's approximately a twenty-minute train ride from Paris. The Memorial is about five hundred meters (1/2 kilometer) from the "Garches-Marnes-la-Coquette" station. You reach the Memorial through the Parc de Villeneuve-l'Etang, near the Institut Pasteur.
If you're driving, leave Paris via the Pont de Saint-Cloud and take the road directly to "Garches" ... and the Memorial, which is on the "wrong" side of the road when you're coming from Paris. You'll have to make a U-turn and backtrack about two hundred meters.
If you've decided to take the motorway/freeway (A13 - Autoroute de Normandie), get off at the first exit (Versailles - Vaucresson) after the Tunnel de Saint-Cloud. At the top of the off-ramp, turn right. Go to the end of the road and turn right. Continue driving back toward Paris until you see the entrance to the Parc de Villeneuve-l'Etang, on your right.
In no way should this site be considered the official website of the Fondation du Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette. What appears to be the "official" website is here.
If you want more information about the Mémorial, please contact the Fondation directly at:
Fondation du Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette
34, avenue de New York
75016 Paris
France
[Lafayette Escadrille - 11 November 2000]
