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ALVIN TREADWELL November sixth was marked by the loss of one of our ›ight commanders—Lieut. Treadwell. Our patrols dived on three Fokkers Lieuts. Mell, Treadwell and Matheson each becoming engaged to combat at close range with an enemy plane which in each case proved to be far more maneuverable than the Spad. —Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919 into a low-lying fog Alvin Hill Treadwell came from a well-to-do family. His father Aaron was originally from Redding, Connecticut, the son of a farmer. Aaron went to college and became a professor, teaching ‹rst in Ohio and then settling at the prestigious Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where his son was raised. Alvin was a gifted student in high school. In an age when young men had to create their own entertainment, Alvin was a member of the Boys’ Glee Club, the president of his class, and for three years a member of the debating team. Alvin was on the football team, editor in chief of the Apokeepsian yearbook, on the track team, and won a prize for his essay “Equal Suffrage for Women.”1 His academic and athletic skills, along with his father’s position at Vassar, all but assured him that he was going to be able to attend an Ivy League university. In Alvin’s case, his choice was Yale. In May of 1917 he left Yale for the war. He attended the training camp at Madison Barracks, New York, and shortly thereafter applied for a transfer to aviation school. He took ground training at Cornell University . Alvin went to France in September after his basic ›ight training and received his commission as a ‹rst lieutenant on March 2, 1918. His last summer was a summer of war. From May on, Alvin was assigned to combat duty. He ›ew with the French Escadrille 154 and on 24 August 8, 1918, downed a German plane, his ‹rst. He transferred into the 213th Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Service on August 18.2 Alvin’s victories did not end when he began ›ying for the Americans . He had two more con‹rmed victories while in the 213th Aero. His ‹rst was on September 29, 1918, when he downed a German ‹ghter near Bantheville, France. By October 3, his leadership skills had been demonstrated enough that he was placed in command of the First Flight. As one of his peers described him, “‘Treadie,’ as we all call Alvin, is the best man in the squadron. You know he would be. Of course he has been a ‹ne pilot ever since he led all of us cadets into ‹nishing preliminary training at Tours, but that has not counted for much as have his personal qualities. Here at the front he led us all in the eagerness with which he went at this work, again and again, and on this last trip, making patrols for which we was not scheduled, merely because he wanted to be in the thick of it all as much of the time as possible. He was extremely conscientious about ful‹lling our orders, as he was about all the rest of his soldier’s life. I never saw such a conscience. He was brave almost to recklessness as far as he was concerned, yet very cautious for the safety of the patrols he led, as careful for their safety as he could be and yet carry out his orders.”3 On October 10, Alvin proved he was not afraid of a ‹ght. “While leading a patrol of four machines at an altitude of three thousand meters , Lieutenant Treadwell observed two American observation planes hard pressed by nine of the enemy. Disregarding the enemy’s advantage in number and position he immediately attacked, whereupon the enemy immediately retired.”4 On October 29, Alvin displayed incredible bravery against another enemy machine, this time a two-seater observation airplane near Bayonville . He dove on the aircraft and pumped two hundred rounds into it, hitting and either wounding or killing the observer, who hung limp in the cockpit. The pilot dove low, within ‹fty meters of the ground, to try and break off the pursuit that Treadwell maintained. At such a low altitude , and ›ying over German-occupied territory, Alvin was subject to ground ‹re from anyone in the vicinity. Despite the risks, he chased the plane until his motor began to give him problems.5 The mission...

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