An American Pursuit Pilot in France: Roland W. Richardson's Diaries and Letters, 1917-1919

Richardson, a small-town young man attempting to make his way in the Air Service and to find his manhood in war, epitomizes the story of American youth in the Great War. Richardson was imbued with an interest in things mechanical, notably the machines of the air, but on the other hand, he was a romantic knight-errant. Though he describes in detail his aerial combat, his account of the Air Service's training in France is even more valuable.Richardson helped build the Air Service training center at Issoudun, where he met Quentin Roosevelt and Eddie Rickenbacker. He then underwent preliminary and combat flight training before assignment at Orly as a ferry pilot, which he heartily disliked because he wanted combat. He received his wish, becoming a combat pilot over the Western Front. Finally, he described his slow return home after the Armistice.Carl M. Becker is the author of 'An American Pursuit Pilot in France: Roland W. Richardson's Diaries and Letters, 1917-1919' with ISBN 9780942597646 and ISBN 0942597648.