Son of Dr. H. V. and Hansine O. Barclay. Early home, East Elmhurst, New York. Educated New York public schools. Two years in business. joined American Ambulance Field Service, November 24, 1914; attached Section Two until August, 1915. Three months leave in America. Re-enlisted Field Service November, 1915; attached Section Two to June 12, 1916. Enlisted French Aviation, June 26, 1916. Trained Buc, Avord, Cazeau, Pau, and Plessis-Belleville. Breveted, October 6, 1916; attached Escadrille N-82, April 12, 1917 Promoted Sergent May 31, 1917. Croix de Guerre with palm. Killed in aeroplane accident June 1, 1917, at Chaux, north of Belfort. Buried Chaux, Territoire de Belfort. American Cemetery, Belleau Wood.
AT the outbreak of the war in 1914, Leif Norman Barclay was in Norway visiting the country of his ancestors. Contact with this land that had bred heroes long before America was known to exist, fired his Norse blood and fixed his determination to serve under the Tri-color of France in the struggle that represented to him romance, adventure, and sacrifice --- life at its broadest and fullest. In November then of 1914 he joined the ranks of the American Ambulance, going into the field with Section Two, in which he served, except for a three months' furlough to the United States in 1915, until June of 1916. Immediately his term of enlistment expired Leif entered French Aviation. Delayed some weeks in reaching the front, because of an accidental pistol wound, after successfully passing through the schools, Barclay made up for lost time by going after the Huns with an enthusiasm and dash that electrified his companions. Captain Echard, his commander, said of him: "Impatient to distinguish himself in daring action, never permitting a day to pass without seeking battle, it was constantly necessary to restrain his zeal."
Harold Buckley Willis, the first member of the Lafayette Escadrille to be captured, and Leif's comrade in both Field Service and aviation school days, gives this striking account of him and his worth:
"The surviving poilus of the 1915 Bois-Le-Prêtre offensive of the 76th Division will certainly remember the genial 'blond' of 'les américains,' our comrade, Leif Barclay, long after the rest of us are forgotten. His cheery faculty of quickly putting himself on a footing of friendly intimacy with those bearded warriors was such that eventually he was known throughout the length and breadth of our eight mile front as 'Mon pot.'
"Leif shared with Vivian DuBouchet the distinction of being both one of the earliest and youngest volunteers for the American Ambulance Service, for he joined Section Two in the winter of 1914 at the age of nineteen. Newcomers to the section and later to the aviation schools and squadrons to which he was attached will always have a kindly remembrance of Leif for the trouble he took to help them learn the ropes and to teach them how to make themselves comfortable. At Buc, Avord, and Pau, Barclay did more than any of us to lend friendly aid to newly-arrived compatriots.
"Leif was one of the first Americans to be assigned to an entirely French pursuit squadron. This was no hardship, for his genial good-nature caused him to be welcomed with open arms into the French pilots' mess. The courage and audacity which had carried him, grinning, through smoke and éclats on bombarded roads did not fail him now. His eagerness to volunteer for special patrols early won the affection of his fellows and the respect of his superiors. His lieutenant stated that Leif was more pleased by an opportunity to make an extra sortie, than by a permission to Paris --- a feeling hardly typical of aviators in general.
"A pitiful accident over his home field, due to a structural fault in his plane, caused his death and prevented his making that great name for himself in the air which such fearless energy as his must otherwise ultimately have won."
Leif was one of those adventurous spirits for whom no other end could have been more fitting or inevitable---in the air, on duty, as he might have wished.
"He had proved his metal."
AT the outbreak of the war in 1914, Leif Norman Barclay was in Norway visiting the country of his ancestors. Contact with this land that had bred heroes long before America was known to exist, fired his Norse blood and fixed his determination to serve under the Tri-color of France in the struggle that represented to him romance, adventure, and sacrifice --- life at its broadest and fullest. In November then of 1914 he joined the ranks of the American Ambulance, going into the field with Section Two, in which he served, except for a three months' furlough to the United States in 1915, until June of 1916. Immediately his term of enlistment expired Leif entered French Aviation. Delayed some weeks in reaching the front, because of an accidental pistol wound, after successfully passing through the schools, Barclay made up for lost time by going after the Huns with an enthusiasm and dash that electrified his companions. Captain Echard, his commander, said of him: "Impatient to distinguish himself in daring action, never permitting a day to pass without seeking battle, it was constantly necessary to restrain his zeal."
Harold Buckley Willis, the first member of the Lafayette Escadrille to be captured, and Leif's comrade in both Field Service and aviation school days, gives this striking account of him and his worth:
"The surviving poilus of the 1915 Bois-Le-Prêtre offensive of the 76th Division will certainly remember the genial 'blond' of 'les américains,' our comrade, Leif Barclay, long after the rest of us are forgotten. His cheery faculty of quickly putting himself on a footing of friendly intimacy with those bearded warriors was such that eventually he was known throughout the length and breadth of our eight mile front as 'Mon pot.'
"Leif shared with Vivian DuBouchet the distinction of being both one of the earliest and youngest volunteers for the American Ambulance Service, for he joined Section Two in the winter of 1914 at the age of nineteen. Newcomers to the section and later to the aviation schools and squadrons to which he was attached will always have a kindly remembrance of Leif for the trouble he took to help them learn the ropes and to teach them how to make themselves comfortable. At Buc, Avord, and Pau, Barclay did more than any of us to lend friendly aid to newly-arrived compatriots.
"Leif was one of the first Americans to be assigned to an entirely French pursuit squadron. This was no hardship, for his genial good-nature caused him to be welcomed with open arms into the French pilots' mess. The courage and audacity which had carried him, grinning, through smoke and éclats on bombarded roads did not fail him now. His eagerness to volunteer for special patrols early won the affection of his fellows and the respect of his superiors. His lieutenant stated that Leif was more pleased by an opportunity to make an extra sortie, than by a permission to Paris --- a feeling hardly typical of aviators in general.
"A pitiful accident over his home field, due to a structural fault in his plane, caused his death and prevented his making that great name for himself in the air which such fearless energy as his must otherwise ultimately have won."
Leif was one of those adventurous spirits for whom no other end could have been more fitting or inevitable---in the air, on duty, as he might have wished.
"He had proved his metal."
Son of Dr. H. V. and Hansine O. Barclay. Early home, East Elmhurst, New York. Educated New York public schools. Two years in business. joined American Ambulance Field Service, November 24, 1914; attached Section Two until August, 1915. Three months leave in America. Re-enlisted Field Service November, 1915; attached Section Two to June 12, 1916. Enlisted French Aviation, June 26, 1916. Trained Buc, Avord, Cazeau, Pau, and Plessis-Belleville. Breveted, October 6, 1916; attached Escadrille N-82, April 12, 1917 Promoted Sergent May 31, 1917. Croix de Guerre with palm. Killed in aeroplane accident June 1, 1917, at Chaux, north of Belfort. Buried Chaux, Territoire de Belfort. American Cemetery, Belleau Wood.
AT the outbreak of the war in 1914, Leif Norman Barclay was in Norway visiting the country of his ancestors. Contact with this land that had bred heroes long before America was known to exist, fired his Norse blood and fixed his determination to serve under the Tri-color of France in the struggle that represented to him romance, adventure, and sacrifice --- life at its broadest and fullest. In November then of 1914 he joined the ranks of the American Ambulance, going into the field with Section Two, in which he served, except for a three months' furlough to the United States in 1915, until June of 1916. Immediately his term of enlistment expired Leif entered French Aviation. Delayed some weeks in reaching the front, because of an accidental pistol wound, after successfully passing through the schools, Barclay made up for lost time by going after the Huns with an enthusiasm and dash that electrified his companions. Captain Echard, his commander, said of him: "Impatient to distinguish himself in daring action, never permitting a day to pass without seeking battle, it was constantly necessary to restrain his zeal."
Harold Buckley Willis, the first member of the Lafayette Escadrille to be captured, and Leif's comrade in both Field Service and aviation school days, gives this striking account of him and his worth:
"The surviving poilus of the 1915 Bois-Le-Prêtre offensive of the 76th Division will certainly remember the genial 'blond' of 'les américains,' our comrade, Leif Barclay, long after the rest of us are forgotten. His cheery faculty of quickly putting himself on a footing of friendly intimacy with those bearded warriors was such that eventually he was known throughout the length and breadth of our eight mile front as 'Mon pot.'
"Leif shared with Vivian DuBouchet the distinction of being both one of the earliest and youngest volunteers for the American Ambulance Service, for he joined Section Two in the winter of 1914 at the age of nineteen. Newcomers to the section and later to the aviation schools and squadrons to which he was attached will always have a kindly remembrance of Leif for the trouble he took to help them learn the ropes and to teach them how to make themselves comfortable. At Buc, Avord, and Pau, Barclay did more than any of us to lend friendly aid to newly-arrived compatriots.
"Leif was one of the first Americans to be assigned to an entirely French pursuit squadron. This was no hardship, for his genial good-nature caused him to be welcomed with open arms into the French pilots' mess. The courage and audacity which had carried him, grinning, through smoke and éclats on bombarded roads did not fail him now. His eagerness to volunteer for special patrols early won the affection of his fellows and the respect of his superiors. His lieutenant stated that Leif was more pleased by an opportunity to make an extra sortie, than by a permission to Paris --- a feeling hardly typical of aviators in general.
"A pitiful accident over his home field, due to a structural fault in his plane, caused his death and prevented his making that great name for himself in the air which such fearless energy as his must otherwise ultimately have won."
Leif was one of those adventurous spirits for whom no other end could have been more fitting or inevitable---in the air, on duty, as he might have wished.
"He had proved his metal."
AT the outbreak of the war in 1914, Leif Norman Barclay was in Norway visiting the country of his ancestors. Contact with this land that had bred heroes long before America was known to exist, fired his Norse blood and fixed his determination to serve under the Tri-color of France in the struggle that represented to him romance, adventure, and sacrifice --- life at its broadest and fullest. In November then of 1914 he joined the ranks of the American Ambulance, going into the field with Section Two, in which he served, except for a three months' furlough to the United States in 1915, until June of 1916. Immediately his term of enlistment expired Leif entered French Aviation. Delayed some weeks in reaching the front, because of an accidental pistol wound, after successfully passing through the schools, Barclay made up for lost time by going after the Huns with an enthusiasm and dash that electrified his companions. Captain Echard, his commander, said of him: "Impatient to distinguish himself in daring action, never permitting a day to pass without seeking battle, it was constantly necessary to restrain his zeal."
Harold Buckley Willis, the first member of the Lafayette Escadrille to be captured, and Leif's comrade in both Field Service and aviation school days, gives this striking account of him and his worth:
"The surviving poilus of the 1915 Bois-Le-Prêtre offensive of the 76th Division will certainly remember the genial 'blond' of 'les américains,' our comrade, Leif Barclay, long after the rest of us are forgotten. His cheery faculty of quickly putting himself on a footing of friendly intimacy with those bearded warriors was such that eventually he was known throughout the length and breadth of our eight mile front as 'Mon pot.'
"Leif shared with Vivian DuBouchet the distinction of being both one of the earliest and youngest volunteers for the American Ambulance Service, for he joined Section Two in the winter of 1914 at the age of nineteen. Newcomers to the section and later to the aviation schools and squadrons to which he was attached will always have a kindly remembrance of Leif for the trouble he took to help them learn the ropes and to teach them how to make themselves comfortable. At Buc, Avord, and Pau, Barclay did more than any of us to lend friendly aid to newly-arrived compatriots.
"Leif was one of the first Americans to be assigned to an entirely French pursuit squadron. This was no hardship, for his genial good-nature caused him to be welcomed with open arms into the French pilots' mess. The courage and audacity which had carried him, grinning, through smoke and éclats on bombarded roads did not fail him now. His eagerness to volunteer for special patrols early won the affection of his fellows and the respect of his superiors. His lieutenant stated that Leif was more pleased by an opportunity to make an extra sortie, than by a permission to Paris --- a feeling hardly typical of aviators in general.
"A pitiful accident over his home field, due to a structural fault in his plane, caused his death and prevented his making that great name for himself in the air which such fearless energy as his must otherwise ultimately have won."
Leif was one of those adventurous spirits for whom no other end could have been more fitting or inevitable---in the air, on duty, as he might have wished.
"He had proved his metal."
