After the outbreak of World War I, Americans sympathetic to the Allied cause offered their service to France as ambulance drivers and soldiers in the French Foreign Legion. By 1915, many of these volunteers began to lobby the French government to create a squadron composed of American pilots. After careful deliberation the French agreed, and on April 20, 1916 the first unit constituting American flyers was placed on front-line duty. These aviators fought  in the Battle of Verdun and the Somme Offensive, establishing a reputation for daring maneuvers and highly effective skills during these epic conflicts.

More than 200 Americans flew with French squadrons during the course of the war. Men who were considered part of this elite flying group came from diverse backgrounds, including authors of fiction, a professional polo player, All-American football players, an FBI special agent, and a U.S. ambassador, to name a few. Of this number, only 38 were assigned to the Lafayette Escadrille. (The term escadrille means squadron in French.) The rest served in other French flying units. Collectively, all Americans in the French Air Service, known as the Service Aéronautique, were considered to be part of the Lafayette Flying Corps, an unofficial designation. Many of these aviators transferred to American squadrons once the U.S entered the war in April 1917.

After  the Armistice, Lafayette Flying Corps veterans worked with American and French leaders to build a memorial dedicated to those who flew with the Service Aéronautique. The memorial would also serve as a final resting place for many of those who lost their lives during the war.   

Dedicated in 1928, the memorial cemetery consists of an ornate central arch, half the size of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with a French inscription on the façade, and an English translation on the rear. The central arch is flanked by wings on either side that include open hallways  terminating in end pavilions. A reflecting pool runs the length of the structure. Behind the memorial is a semi-circular terrace that forms the roof of the crypt below. Stained-glass windows in the crypt depict the major battles of the Western Front.

In the memorial crypt are 68 sarcophagi, one for each of the aviators of the Lafayette Flying Corps who lost their lives during World War I. Forty-nine of these aviators are entombed in the crypt along with two of their French commanding officers. The remainder rest in other locations, or their remains were never recovered

The monument above the sarcophagus honors the 200-plus American volunteer pilots, including the first African American combat ace, Eugene Bullard, who flew 20 missions with French squadrons and brought down two enemy aircraft, for their contributions during the early days of combat aviation.

By the early 21st century, decades of delayed maintenance to the memorial had led to structural damage, water intrusion and corrosion that required large-scale repair. Understanding its significance in the history of American military aviation, ABMC, through an agreement with the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Foundation and the French government that included financial support, led restoration efforts in 2015 and 2016, in time for the 100th anniversary of the formation of the squadron. In January 2017 ABMC officially assumed ownership and responsibility for the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery, making it the 9th commemorative World War I cemetery administered by the agency.

Listing of those honored at the

Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery, Marnes-la-Coquette, France

Members of the Lafayette Flying Corps Entombed in the Cemetery:

1. Leif Norman Barclay

2. James Henry Baugham

3. Frank Leaman Baylies

4. James Alexander Bayne

5. Philip Phillips Benny

6. Vernon Booth, Jr.

7. Felix Brocard (French Officer)

8. Andrew Courtney Campbell, Jr.

 9. Oliver Moulton Chadwick

10. Cyrus Foss Chamberlain

11. Charles Wesley Chapman, Jr.

12. Roger Harvey Clapp

13. Phelps Collins

14. Philip Washburn Davis

15. James Ralph Doolittle

16. Meredith Loveland Dowd

17. Sidney Rankin Drew, Jr.

18. Stuart Emmet Edgar

19. Dinsmore Ely

20. Eric Anderson Fowler

21. Edmond Charles Clinton Genet

 22. Norman Grieb

23. Andre Gundelach

24. Robert Marshall Hanford

25. Warren Tucker Hobbs

26. Ronald Wood Hoskier

27. Harry Firmstone Whelan Johnson 

28. Theodore de Kruijff

29. Edward J. Loughran

30. Gervais Raoul Lufbery

31. Douglas MacMonagle

32. James Rogers McConnell

33. William Henry Meeker

34. Walter Bernard Miller

35. Alan Hammond Nichols

36. Henry Brewster Palmer

37. Paul Pavelka, Jr.

38. Alfred Digby Pelton

39. David Endicott Putnam

40. Samuel Wiggins Skinner, Jr. 

41. Dumareso Spencer

42. Frank Elmer Starrett 

43. William Hallett Tailer 

44. Elmer Bowden Taylor 

45. Hugh Terres

46. George Thénault (French Officer) 

47. Charles L. Trinkard

48. Dudley Gilman Tucker

49. Stephen Mitchell Tyson

50. Benjamin Stuart Walcott 

51. Wallace Charles Winter

Members of the Lafayette Flying Corps Whose Names are Inscribed on the Wall of the Missing at the Memorial Cemetery:

1. Alan Newton Ash

2. Schuyler Lee

3. Manderson Lehr

4. Carter Landram Ovington

5. Donald Edward Stone

Members of the Lafayette Flying Corps Who are Commemorated at the Memorial Cemetery but Buried Elsewhere:

1. Julian Cornell Biddle 

2. Arthur Bluethenthal 

3. Victor Chapman

4. Linn Palmer Cookson 

5. Dennis Dowd

6. William John McKerness 

7. David McKelvy Peterson 

8. Norman Prince

9. Walter Davis Rheno

10. Kiffin Yates Rockwell 

11. Lawrence Scanlan

12. Joseph Volney Wilson 

13. Houston Woodward 

14. Walter Raymond York