?»?First Lieutenant Lawrence H. Richards : 09/1896-09/1961
95th Aero squadron, of the First Pursuit Group.
Raised in Schuylkill County, Pa., 20year old Richards
entered the military in 1917. By Oct. 1917, he was in flight training in Issoudun with the French air force.
By the time he completed his war time service, he had flown 53 sorties, shot down one combat action, and had a total of 50:23 flying hours.
On July 19,1918 Lt. Richards was wounded in aerial combat, for which he received notable honor. He began his flying career in Issoudun, France. Issoudun was the American army's first training facility for it's upcoming fighter pilots. This was a school purely for chasse pilots. To make chasse was to achieve the last word in flying- the pinnacle of aviation- the height of success in the flying world. A chasse pilot became interchangeably known as a fighter pilot.
Initially training in Bleriot monoplanes-which the men had dubbed-the penguins, because they had the wings clipped off, they learned their steering skills. They then moved on to the Coudron G4 and Nieuport type 23 aircraft with French flying instructors.
On Feb. 13th 1918, Lt. Richards completed his pilot training- certified as a chasse fighter pilot.
On Feb. 14th Richards and 17 other 1st Lieut's were assigned to the 95th Aero squadron. The famed pilots of the 95th also became well known as "The Kicking Mules" and by "Jake" their mascot emblem. The 95th was one of four squadrons which comprised the First Pursuit Group of the Army Air Service. On March 15th the 95th was assigned to fly its first mission over enemy lines. Lt. Richards flew one of three planes in the second patrol.
On the 19th of July, Lt. Richards engages 7 Fokker?€™s over Chateau Thierry, and is wounded in combat . He makes it back to an airdrome, and is immediately rushed to a hospital.
On Nov. 29th 1918, Lawrence H. Richards, first lieutenant 95th aero-squadron, air service, American expeditionary forces, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with gilt star- under order No. 12.058D with the following citation: "An excellent pursuit pilot who possessed great skill and remarkable coolness, was wounded in combat on July 19th,1918 by a bullet in the thigh." Today, Lt .Richards is honored as a patriot ; and remembered for his strength and character. He was survived by his wife Evelyn, son Larry and daughter Jean Richards.