06. The magnificent nineteen

Paris was raging with joy. It was July 14th, 1919. On this day, the great anniversary of France’s victory in the world war was celebrated. The idea of ​​organizing a squadron of American pilots was born in a street cafe of Paris. Marian Cooper met with an old comrade, Cedric Faunt-le-Roy. Cedric was very pleased with the meeting the more that he was convinced that Cooper was shot down by the Germans. “I learned that Faunt-le-Roy is also to serve in the Polish Astronomical Corps, but as a civilian expert for a high salary. Immediately afterwards, he rejected this offer and decided to serve the same as the rest of us, that is, for a regular Polish officer’s salary, which was then around $ 10 a month. However, the fundamental idea of Faun-le-Roy was to create a Fighter Squadron that would fight for Poland. “Will I be able to join your organization?” I asked. “Let’s organize it together” said Faunt-le-Roy. That was the beginning of the 7th Fighter Squadron named after Tadeusz Kościuszko. They managed to mobilize a few American risk takers and set out on the front for a distant Poland.
There were eight enthusiasts in the first volunteer squad. In addition to Cooper and Faunt-le-Roy, there were:

• George Marter Crawford
• Kenneth O. Shrewsbury
• Edward C. Corsi
• Carl H. Clark
• Edwin Lawrence Noble
• Arthur H. Kelly

In total, 19 Americans flew in the Kościuszko’s squadron. None of them was of Polish descent.