Ceremony honors American airmen who flew for France in WWI

By The Associated Press
April 20, 2016

MARNES-LA-COQUETTE, France (AP) — A parade of jets and vintage aircraft roared across the sky outside Paris on Wednesday, honoring the American fighter pilots who flew for France during World War I.

The commemoration marked the centenary of the formation of the Lafayette Escadrille on April 20, 1916, by a group of American airmen who — almost a full year before the U.S. entered the war — decided to join the fight against the Germans.

“We are gathered here today to remind ourselves that, 100 years ago, France and the United States stood together against the enemies of the free world,” French lawmaker Jean-Marc Todeschini told a crowd of airmen and dignitaries gathered at Marnes-la-Coquette, where the group was first formed.

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