Born March 31, 1894, in Ossining, New York. Son of Varian and Clara Williamson Banks. Educated Ossining schools, Holbrook School, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one year. With Franklin Motor Car Company, Syracuse, New York. Joined American Field Service, June 30, 1917; attached Transport Section 526 to November 18, 1917. Enlisted U. S. Air Service, December 2, 1917, St. Maixent. Trained Tours and Issoudun. Commissioned Second Lieutenant, May 18, 1918. Killed in automobile accident, October 30, 1918, near Nancy. Buried, Cimetière du Sud, Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle.

"What if he does not come, you say?
Ah, well! My sky would be more gray.
But through the clouds the sun would shine
And vital memories be mine,
God's best of manhood is, I know,
Not 'will he come,' but 'did he go.'"

THIS simple sentiment by the father of Richard Banks speaks the spirit with which these parents bore the loss of their son whose name appears on the immortal list of those who gladly gave their lives for their country. The boy expressed his own patriotism in the following letter, written after two strenuous months of camion service in France:

"From the first, this camion service, even when I was at home, was not my idea of serving my country best.. I am doing a bit, but not my bit. I've seen enough flying over here to realize its dangers, but duty first, and nothing will satisfy me in the execution of that duty but the highest service I can render. I may never qualify for a pilot, which would break my heart, but I would at least have the satisfaction of having hitched my wagon to a star."

That he did qualify satisfactorily is evidenced by the fact that but five months intervene between his enlistment in aviation and the dating of his commission. On November 18, 1917, he received his honorable discharge from T. M. U. 526 and the camion service, with which he had served since July 30th, and a fortnight later took the oath as a cadet in the air service. After much weary waiting at St. Maixent, he received his commission as Second Lieutenant on June 11, 1918, effective from May 18.

How galling this waiting was to him can best be told in Banks' own words: "And with all this going on, here we are waiting. It surely is hard. The only consolation that we have is that we are needed, and are working hard. But when you think of the gallant British and French being slaughtered this very minute, and we in this war just as much as those poor devils, enjoying life, light, and sunshine, it does n't seem right."

Before Banks could realize his ambition of active service over the front lines, a truck in which he was riding crashed over a cliff to the bottom of a twenty foot gorge, --- and a brave life was snuffed out.

A few excerpts from letters of friends tell how they mourned the loss of "Dick" Banks. "I am truly stunned by the news you sent me about Dick, whom I loved as a brother," wrote his chum. "'It can't be true' has run through me a hundred times. The disappointment and the sense of immeasurable loss is overpowering. It is not so hard to die for one's country, I feel, for such a death does much to help the loved ones left behind; but to die by accident for one's country is hard.

"Dick had a far finer patriotism and realized the bigness of the thing while we worked together more than I, for I was seeing only my own little job. And I shall cherish always his letters from the camion section. He was always eager to throw himself against the invader and despoiler and help avenge wanton destruction. Had Dick not been delayed in training camps, he would have made a name for himself in the sky, for he had the ability, the nerve, and the wonderful spirit."

Tribute from Memorial Volume of the American Field Service, 1921