George Marter "Buck" Crawford was one of the first American volunteer pilots to join the Kosciuszko squadron who flew and fought for Poland against the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of World War One. From the book "Flight of Eagles" by Robert F. Karolevitz and Ross S. Fenn, Brevet Press, 1974: "First came Lt. George Marter Crawford, who had returned to Paris from his assignment with the American Relief Administration in the Baltic region. A trim six-footer, "Buck" Crawford was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and had been a Lehigh University fullback before his enlistment in the Air Service in May of 1917. After preliminary ground training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was sent to Mineola Field, Long Island, for flight instruction, and, upon earning his wings, he was among the first U.S. aviators ordered to France. Like Merrian Cooper and Cedric Fauntleroy, he was assigned to the training center at Issoudon prior to his transfer to a combat squadron. On September 12, 1918 -- on an observation flight in support of the St. Mihiel drive -- his plane was forced down in German territory, and Crawford was taken prisoner (exactly two weeks before Cooper was captured)." The post-WW1 Polish squadron of American pilots called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron, named after the Polish patriot of the American Revolution, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who volunteered his military and engineering skills to America's fight for freedom before returning to Poland to do the same. The Kosciuszko Squadron of pilots were repaying a debt they felt was owed to Poland for Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
[bio submitted by Mark (Find-a-Grave member #47274205]
[bio submitted by Mark (Find-a-Grave member #47274205]
George Marter "Buck" Crawford was one of the first American volunteer pilots to join the Kosciuszko squadron who flew and fought for Poland against the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of World War One. From the book "Flight of Eagles" by Robert F. Karolevitz and Ross S. Fenn, Brevet Press, 1974: "First came Lt. George Marter Crawford, who had returned to Paris from his assignment with the American Relief Administration in the Baltic region. A trim six-footer, "Buck" Crawford was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and had been a Lehigh University fullback before his enlistment in the Air Service in May of 1917. After preliminary ground training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was sent to Mineola Field, Long Island, for flight instruction, and, upon earning his wings, he was among the first U.S. aviators ordered to France. Like Merrian Cooper and Cedric Fauntleroy, he was assigned to the training center at Issoudon prior to his transfer to a combat squadron. On September 12, 1918 -- on an observation flight in support of the St. Mihiel drive -- his plane was forced down in German territory, and Crawford was taken prisoner (exactly two weeks before Cooper was captured)." The post-WW1 Polish squadron of American pilots called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron, named after the Polish patriot of the American Revolution, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who volunteered his military and engineering skills to America's fight for freedom before returning to Poland to do the same. The Kosciuszko Squadron of pilots were repaying a debt they felt was owed to Poland for Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
[bio submitted by Mark (Find-a-Grave member #47274205]
[bio submitted by Mark (Find-a-Grave member #47274205]
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