Lafayette Operational Journal

[Dej]

Haven't seen this posted here yet.

 

Those as don't frequent The Aerodrome may like to know that the first volume of the Esc. Lafayette's daily operating journal is up at the Internet Archive in facsimile and text form. Link Here (facsimile version) . A fascinating document... on a besoin de français, naturellement!

[DukeIronHand]

What a amazing find - very nice!

 

Now if I only spoke French...sigh

[RAF_Louvert]

.

 

Oh my Lord! I have visited the Smithsonian website countless times in the course of doing research and I have never found this. Thank you Dej for pointing us towards this treasure. I have downloaded the PDF version into my own library and looked through the first several pages. While my French is beyond poor, the reading still gave me chills. This is it! Thenault's own daily log of events in the Escadrille Américaine, written as it was happening. To see all those names we know so well and to know they were penned at the time of their exploits. It brought a tear to my eye...seriously.

 

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[Bullethead]

Magnifique! Merci beaucoup!

[Herr Prop-Wasche]

What an exciting discovery! I also wish my French was up to par.

[Hasse Wind]

That's great. Too bad I don't speak French.

 

War diaries and such are often (not always) exciting reading and really bring you close to the events of those days. Generally speaking, they are much more reliable sources than any memoirs written years after the events took place.

[Herr Prop-Wasche]

I guess you can try Google translate for a rough translation.

[Dej]

In case you've not checked, Volume 2 10/09/1917 - 26/02/1918 now available... http://archive.org/d...cadrilleN124j00

[Von Paulus]

I wish I had a better French.

But with some effort I can read... slowly.

Thanks, dej.

[Beanie]

Excellent - Thank you