Go, Get 'Em !

William Augustus Wellman enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in 1917, with the aim of being trained as a pilot in the French air service. Following the successful completion of his training, he was posted to Escadrille N.87, on 3 December 1917. The squadron was stationed at Lunéville in the Alsace-Lorraine sector of the Western Front. Over the next four months, Wellman proved to be one of the more successful members of the squadron, claiming a number of enemy aircraft shot down, for which he was mentioned in French communiqués and received the Croix de Guerre with two Palms. He was also promoted to Maréchal des Logis. He was shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 21 March 1918, and although he survived the experience, his injuries were such that he was given an honourable discharge from the French air service, his war over. Following his return home to the United States, he wrote and published his wartime memoirs, Go, Get ‘Em ! This is a reprint of that same book.