The Lafayette Escadrille
By Darryl James, November 25, 2024
A WW1 love story that stretches “across the pond…” A Texas farm boy volunteers to fly for the Lafayette Escadrille—a French-run squadron of eager American flyers, including the first African-American combat pilot, Eugene Bullard. The young aviators face “baptism under fire” and suffer heavy losses from dogfights with the Red Baron and better-trained German flyers. During advanced training in England, the Texas pilot found comfort in the arms of a British girl and fell in love. A pandemic affecting one-fifth of the world’s population decimates the Texan’s squadron and his girlfriend’s family, leaving a trail of loss and tragedy.
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Jack Muleshoe, a seventeen-year-old farm boy in West Texas, worked in his family’s fields with his younger brother when a gray Curtis bi-plane landed on their grass. The pilot, delivering mail, asked for a drink of water. Jack was enthralled with the plane and longed to be a pilot. He asked many questions and learned that the Army was the best place to learn to fly. When he turned eighteen, he convinced his father to take him to Lubbock to talk to an Army Recruiter.
Jack’s family didn’t want him to join the Army as war was brewing in Europe. Jack entered cadet training, and the Army commissioned him as a Second Lieutenant and sent him to flight school in Fort Worth. Jack was a natural pilot. He loved flying and excelled. The Army sent Lieutenant Jack Muleshoe to Gosport, U.K., for advanced flight training. There, he met Maria Blakley, an English café waitress. They fell in love.
The Army sent Jack France for combat training in the Lafayette Escadrille. They learned to survive under a “baptism by fire.” Only the best or luckiest pilots survived the harrowing dog fights in open cockpits with WW1 planes: British Sopwith Camels, British Spads, French Nieuports, German Albatrosses, and the famous German Fokker Triplane.
Lieutenant Muleshoe’s bravery and skill were evident as he achieved the first aerial “kill” in the new squadron and soon became its first ace with five aerial victories. His courage and determination were truly admirable.
Jack arranged a two-week leave, flew to Gosport, and surprised Maria Barkley with a diamond ring. She accepted his proposal but worried about his dangerous job and becoming another war widow.
Jack became a wing leader, and his team had several kills. He worked hard to keep his team alive from the more experienced German adversaries. The Germans accumulated many kills. The Red Baron led everyone with 80 aerial victories.
The devastating worldwide pandemic, which hit the world in 1918, was a grim reminder of the fragility of life. World War I claimed 16 million lives, but the pandemic was even more ruthless, killing 50 million people and affecting one-fifth of the world. It left a wake of heartbreak and devastation.
The virus was merciless, claiming the lives of Maria’s father and brother. At the war’s end, Maria’s mother, Martha, showed remarkable resilience as she joined Jack and Maria on their journey to West Texas. Despite her family’s devastation, Martha bravely faced the challenges of a new life in Texas―a land different from her home in England.
Jack’s family welcomed Martha and Maria to their West Texas ranch. The flat terrain, dry brown fields, and dust storms were so foreign to Martha that she felt alone and unhappy.
Maria was happily married to her prosperous rancher husband and his welcoming family, but she worried about her mother’s loneliness. Her mother soon finds love again, and the gloom consuming her life lifts.