Victor Chapman
Victor Emmanuel Chapman (born April 17, 1890 in New York , † June 24, 1916 in Douaumont ) was a French - American pilot who achieved fame in the First World War .
Life
Chapman's mother died in 1898 when he was eight years old. He and his father moved to France soon after their death. It was there that Chapman acquired dual citizenship ( French and American ). Chapman was interested in the arts and writing. The inspiration often hit him in the middle of a battle. Many of the letters he wrote to his father were written under these circumstances.
His father remarried when Chapman was a teenager . He later returned to the United States in the 1900s to graduate from Harvard University . After graduation, Chapman returned to Europe , where he spent time in France and Germany . During this time he became more and more interested in architecture and became an expert in the field.
When World War I broke out, his father and stepmother moved to London . Chapman chose to stay in France and eventually joined the Foreign Legion in August 1914 . He was sent into the trenches where he found little of interest. Even as the battles raged around him, he felt uninvolved. During the trench warfare, he made friends with four men: a Polish fighter known only as "Kohl" and three Americans: Alan Seeger , Henry Fansworth and David King . The three Americans watched as Kohl was killed by a bullet while they were traveling together.
After Kohl's death, Chapman and two other of his friends, Norman Prince and Elliot Cowdin , were given the opportunity to become fighter pilots. Chapman was captivated by aviation and so he was eventually transferred to the army aviators of the French army. There he attended an aviation school for a short time and eventually became a pilot.
Chapman flew many missions for the French Air Force's Escadrille La Fayette . On June 17, 1916, he was in action over Verdun when he was attacked by four German aircraft. He suffered a head injury but was able to land his plane safely. However, after a subsequent operation, he completely recovered from the injury. He learned that Clyde Balsley had also been wounded. Balsley wanted to pick some oranges from a tree, apparently unconsciously had entered German territory and was wounded by enemy fire.
Chapman heard the story and immediately filled a basket with oranges to take to Balsley's. On June 24, 1916, on the way to Balsley, his plane was attacked again and shot down. Sergeant Chapman was killed in the crash and was the first American pilot to be killed in the war.
Chapman received many medals and awards during his military career. A book was later published containing the letters to his father. The title is Letters from France and helped make him even more famous after his death.
literature
- Arch Whitehouse: Flieger-Ase 1914-1918 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1970, pp. 35-42.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chapman, Victor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chapman, Victor Emmanuel (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French-American pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 17, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 1916 |
| Place of death | Douaumont |