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American Flyers Memorial (Polish –Soviet War 1919-1920)

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Details:

Near the northwest corner of the cemetery adjacent to the graves of three Americans.

Monument


A statue of a winged airmen representing the American aviators who flew during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920; the aviator holds a shield with the symbol of the Kościuszko Squadron, the 7th  Polish  Air Escadrille. The statue is about 8 feet high. 

 

The American Flyers Memorial (sculptured in 1925) at the Łyczakowski Cemetery  (Cemetery of the Defenders) in Lviv. Both the memorial and the graves were destroyed during Soviet times in 1969; after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the monument was rebuilt in the 1990's.

 

 

Polish 7th Air Escadrille, better known as the Kościuszko Squadron, was one of the units of the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. A group of American pilots embraced the Polish cause and volunteered for service with the Polish forces. Sixteen Americans joined  7th Squadron. The Americans included Merian C. Cooper, a former U.S. Air Service pilot in France and POW in a German camp, and Cedric E. Fauntleroy, an experienced WWI pilot who had served on the Western Front.

 

The squadron emblem, a distinctive Polish four-cornered cap and crossed scythes on a field of thirteen stars, combined powerful Polish and American symbols. The cap and scythes commemorated Kosciuszko's famous victory over the Russians in 1794, which owed much to the local peasantry's gallant charge, and the 13 stars represented the original American colonies.

 

In 1920 the Kościuszko Squadron made over 400 combat flights. Cedric Fauntleroy and Merian C. Cooper received Poland's highest military decoration: the Virtuti Militari.

 

Three American Isolated Burials (ISOBs) are located adjacent to  the monument:  LT Graves; CPT Kelly; and, LT MacCallum

Monument Text:

The text on the monument is in Polish and translates:

 

"TO AMERICAN HEROES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR POLAND 1919-1920" 

 

 

The text on the smaller monument (epitaph) above the three graves is in Polish and translates:

 

 

For American killed when defending Poland in 1919-1920 - Officers Pilots of the Tadeusz Kosciuszko Fighter Squadron: Edmund P. Graves – lieutenant - born 1891 Boston, MA, shot down 22 XI 1919 in Lwów, Arthur H. Kelly – captain - born 1890 Richmond, VA, shot down 16 VII 1920 near Łuck, G. MacCallum – lieutenant - born 1890, Detroit, MI, shot down 31 VIII 1920 near Lwów.

 

Commemorates:

People:

Merian C. Cooper

Cedric Fauntleroy

Edmund Pike Graves

Arthur H.  Kelley

T.V. McCallum

Units:

Kosciuszko Squadron

Polish 7th Air Escadrille (Kosciuszko Squadron)

Other images :