so when I was younger I read about how "the one unit from WWI whose glory never dimmed was the legendary Lafayette Escadrille"... and I got the impression that this was the "best of the best"... well, when I go back and learn about what they actually accomplished, they're far from the most remarkable fighter squadron in WWI aviation. heck, there are bomber and recon flights that did things that were more remarkable and had a larger impact on the war (Maurice Happe of Escadrille MF29 being a good example).
compared to the accomplishments and statistics that could be attributed to the top-scoring RFC, Jastas, and other Escadrilles it just doesn't seem THAT awesome.
I admit, I read this in a comic book...
but doesn't it seem a bit misleading to have this in stories for kids? is it just encouraging people to be patriotic? it seems like it was a great unit to be a part of... but I can't help but wonder WHY they saw fit to hype up that squadron so much. even in the movie Flyboys they focus on this squadron... what? focusing on a dedicated USAS squadron that "just arrived" at the front later in the war wasn't good enough?
maybe it's the same reason I get bored watching "the top ten fighters of all time"... I don't even bother watching because I already know that most of them are going to be American fighters, and that the P51D Mustang will always be at the top of the list.
yeah, this could be flame-bait, I guess... I just remember being astonished at the relatively small number of victories that could be attributed to this squadron and wondering why (apart from good old fashioned propaganda value intrinsic to the idea of the squad in the first place) this squadron merits so much attention and why so many people pretended to be a part of it...
