Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette (Lafayette Escadrille Memorial) Information

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials relating to the Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette including a portfolio, measuring approximately 10 by 13 inches, entitled, "The Lafayette Flying Corps Project for a burial garden and memorial." There is a drawing of the Lafayette Escadrille insignia on the cover and inside there is a black and white plan, in aerial view, for the memorial as well as a full-color, ground-level artist's rendering of the memorial and the surrounding grounds. Both drawings are signed by Alexandre Marcel. These drawings appear to be an early version of the proposed monument because the design is substantially different from the eventual finished memorial and features an obelisk type structure rather than an arch. The collection also contains a booklet about the Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette which includes a history of the Lafayette Escadrille as well as details on the memorial and how it was built and funded. The booklet, which measures approximately 7.5 by 10.75 inches, includes text in French and English along with numerous photographs. The booklet's cover features a drawing of an airplane with the Lafayette Escadrille's insignia on its tail shooting down an airplane with the German iron cross symbol on its wing along with a border featuring the names of various battlefields and a rendering of the Lafayette Escadrille's insignia at each corner.

Arrangement

Collection is in original order.

Biographical / Historical

Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette, in the Parc de Villeneuve-l'Etang near Paris, France, was dedicated on July 4, 1928. The memorial was designed by Alexandre Marcel, then the Chief Architect of the Government and Curator of the Historic Monuments of France. The decorative sculpture throughout the memorial was created by Marcel Renard and Ernest Dubois. Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette features an Arch of Triumph that is inscribed with the names of all members of the Lafayette Escadrille as well as the names of battlefields on which they fought. The Arch and its flanking colonnades also include various insignia of French and American squadrons as well as eagles, sculpted French and American flags, and medallions with portraits of the Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington. The Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette also features a crypt where the remains of 67 Lafayette Escadrille members are interred.