At the age of 24, Victor Emmaneul Chapman joined the French Foreign Legion in September 1914 shortly after his graduation from Harvard and subsequently fought in the trenches at Frise, Amiens, and Bas until April 1916 when he was among a group of Americans fighting with the French authorized by the government of France to become a founding member of the Escadrille Americaine. Because the United States was officially neutral and that designation was offensive to the Axis Powers, it was quickly changed to the Escadrille LaFayette at the suggestion of the American government.
After flight training by the French, the group, under French command, was soon in air combat. On 23 June 1916, 6 days after receiving a head wound in combat, Chapman was making an off duty flight to deliver fruit to a hospitalized injured member of the squadron when he saw at a distance 3 of their planes flying toward Verdun. Apparently not wanting to pass up an opportunity to engage the enemy with his friends, he turned to follow them.
Soon after crossing into German territory, the 3 Americans encountered five German fighter planes. After a brief combat, the outnumbered Escadrille Lafayette pilots withdrew to the French lines. Victor Chapman, still trying to catch up, apparently did not see their departure from the dogfight and they were unaware of his plane. Chapman thereafter found himself alone with the 5 germans and his plane was shot down behind the German lines near the ruins of the French village of Beaumont.
A body initially presumed to be that of Victor Chapman was recovered after the war but his dental records didn't match with the remains. Yet, for some unknown reason the body was placed in a grave bearing his name in the American cemetery at Suresness. It was only when preparations were being made to move the remains to the Escadrille Lafayette Memorial Tomb in Versailles that the identification error was officially recognized.
Victor Emmanuel Chapman was the first member of the Lafayette Escadrille to die but his place of honor alongside his squadron mates in the Memorial Tomb will forever remain empty.
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