Frank Leaman Baylies

He fought above France after rescuing wounded men under fire

Frank Leaman Baylies began his war carrying wounded soldiers, then became one of the leading American-born fighter pilots serving with France. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 23 September 1895, he attended local schools and Moses Brown School in Providence before working in his father's business.

In February 1916 he volunteered for the American Field Service while the United States remained neutral. He drove ambulances with Section One on the Western Front and later with Section Three in the Balkans. The work exposed him to artillery fire and difficult casualty evacuations, and brought his first Croix de Guerre.

Baylies enlisted in French aviation in May 1917. After training at Avord, Pau and Cazaux, he earned his pilot's brevet in September. He joined SPA.73 in November and transferred the following month to SPA.3, one of the celebrated Storks squadrons. Flying SPAD fighters, he began scoring confirmed victories in February 1918. By June he had twelve official successes, including shared victories, during a period of intense aerial fighting over the Western Front.

His courage was tested on the ground as well as in the air. After enemy fire disabled his aircraft in March, he brought it down between the opposing lines and escaped to French trenches. He continued flying rather than seeking a safer appointment. French recognition included the Médaille militaire and the Legion of Honour, in addition to his repeated war-cross citations.

On 17 June 1918 he was killed in aerial combat near Rollot in the Oise, aged twenty-two. The offer and acceptance of an American commission did not end his operational association with his French squadron. Initially buried near the battlefield, he was later reinterred at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial near Paris, among other American volunteers who had served French aviation.