A Tommy Noonan: Intriguing fellow?

Seeking information about a Tommy Noonan (see enlarged photo-- he is on the far right, and group photo).

He was a George Washington University grad, a member of the SAE fraternity there, who went to Paris in 1914 as Secretary of the US consul. A note in the flier's scrapbook says he was from Albany, N.Y. He enlisted in Paris at some time and was training at Tours by August, 1917. He then appeared to train on bombers outside of Clermont-Ferrand in March 1918. After that, the only info is that in June 1919 he was serving in Romania. He was married and his wife was apparently living in Paris.

First of all, was Secy to consul as full of intrigue then as it would be today? And what were US aviators doing in Romania?

Any info appreciated.

Ironically, a niece of the Aviator who wrote these letters married a Noonan-- a very cool & handsome guy. Tragically, their 21- year old daughter was herself blown up in a plane over Scotland as she was returning from a stay in Vienna. The Marine guards from the consulate there came to her funeral and spoke about her. The family established a memorial for her in Maryland, because she had studied in Boston to become a teacher of Environmental Studies, and was first in her class.

I was wondering if this Tommy Noonan could have been Thomas W. Noonan, who is credited w/ two victories, one in May, 1918 w/ Charles Nordhoff and on August, 1918, with a William Lovett. These are helpfully listed chronologically on this site:

• Noonan, Thomas 1Lt. * French Air Service May 29, 1918 Pilot
  Nordhoff, Charles 1Lt. * French Air Service May 29, 1918 Pilot A
  Lovett, William 1Lt. * French Air Service Aug 20, 1918 Pilot A
  Noonan, Thomas 1Lt. * French Air Service Aug 20, 1918 Pilot A
  http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/pa...victories.html

It would make sense that he would be flying with a French unit in May of 1918, because the pilots he trained with in April and May at the field near Clermont-Ferrard in April and May were dispursed to French units rather than fly with the green US units, though flying at the front on May 29 seems a little early as he was at Clermont training on bombers strarting in April 1918.

Nordhoff was James "The Mutiny on the Bounty" Hall writing partner. (I think they met in Nov. 1918) Does anyone know what French unit he was with in May, 1918?

Anyone know who William Lovett was?

[ONEALM]

Hi Mosesr -

"Lovett" was most likely Lt. William A. Lovett. There's some question about his middle initial, but the Boal Report which chronicled all the US airmen attached to the French AS lists him as Wm. A. Not foolproof though - this list has a few errors in it.

According to Boal Lovett werved with SPA 76 arriving 23 July 1918 and staying until the armistice. Boal further reports Lovett had 32 hours over the lines in 7 practice flights, 4 protection & 32 recon. ! confirmed victory, 1 unconfirmed. John Sloan's Wings of Honor makes the arrival date 20 July.

Our good friend Frank Olynyk lists Lovettt as William W. Lovett, Jr. - probably correct as we all know Frank to be meticulous....Frank lists Lovett with one confirmed, 20 August 1918. The was a two-seater shared with S/Lt. Bollinger.

Lovett's Croix de Guerre citation read:

Excellent chasse pilot. On August 20, 1918, brought down one enemy plane which smahed on the the ground near our front line.
(Order 12163, GHQ, 8 Dec 1918)

As far as Noonan goes, it remains to be seen if Thos. W is your guy, but if so, BOAL lists him as assigned to Br. 29 on 16 July. He compiled 24 hours of time over the lines, on 8 practice flights, 1 recon., 7 bombing & 2 cominations. Sloan gives the arrival date as 13 July and departure as 20 October.

Frank Olynyk's US victory list also confirms your two victory dates - 29 May and 20 August. It begs the question as your pointed out though of when he arrived since he's not listed with Br 29 until July.

To further confuse things - Noonan's citation reads -

Extremely brave officer. Took part in all bombardments of his unit with great regularity and joyful spirit. Brough down one enemy plane on August 29, 1918.
(Order 11178 GHQ 3 Nov 1918)

Bill Bailey's excellent French AS War Chronology lists the 29th as the correct date and the citation for Lt. Noring, another USAS Br.29 member cited for his work with the French Br. 29, also gives 29 August as the correct date.

Could the 5/29 & 8/29 dates have been confused at some point ?

As far as Noonan goes, it remains to be seen if Thos. W is your guy, but if so, BOAL lists him as assigned to Br. 29 on 16 July. He compiled 24 hours of time over the lines, on 8 practice flights, 1 recon., 7 bombing & 2 cominations. Sloan gives the arrival date as 13 July and departure as 20 October.

Frank Olynyk's US victory list also confirms your two victory dates - 29 May and 20 August. It begs the question as your pointed out though of when he arrived since he's not listed with Br 29 until July.

To further confuse things - Noonan's citation reads -

Extremely brave officer. Took part in all bombardments of his unit with great regularity and joyful spirit. Brough down one enemy plane on August 29, 1918.
(Order 11178 GHQ 3 Nov 1918)

Bill Bailey's excellent French AS War Chronology lists the 29th as the correct date and the citation for Lt. Noring, another USAS Br.29 member cited for his work with the French Br. 29, also gives 29 August as the correct date.

Could the 5/29 & 8/29 dates have been confused at some point ?

Br. 29 makes sense since Noonan was trained for the bombing missions outside of Clermont and was there at the training field by April 12, 1918. His friend Peck had received his orders to the front and Escadrille assignment on June 19, 1918, so the July 13 start date would put him nearly a month behind-- did this sometimes occur? If not, perhaps he was assigned to another escadrille prior to joining Br. 29? Did this ever happen?

As to the Nordhoff victory which occurred on May 29, 1918-- I looked this up in case more than one US pilot had been involved -- in which case it would have been Noonan. But in In Search of Paradise the event Nordhoff was involved in, while assigned to Br. 99 (starting on pg. 192 of my copy which is the Centenial Edition published by Mutual Publishing Paperback Tales of the Pacific Series, an apparent 3rd printing in 1987) involved 3 pilots, but the book only mentions the mission leader because it was Nungesser, who was visiting, as he apparently often did. But the mission seems wrong for a pilot trained at Clermont? So it would seem unlikely that Noonan was initially assigned to Br. 99? The only thing about Noonan is that he might have had "pull" having worked for the US consulate in Paris?

August 29, 1918,

Peck

Peck

, w/ Br. 123, says was a really tough day in the air (pp 106 -7): "Yesterday was a brute of a day as we worked all day and were hard put all the time. In the morning we went over into a terrific anti-aircraft fire, the worst I have been in yet, and to add to the cheer of the party were fiercely attacked. Three getting old #5 (his plane) and we had a merry time. They did not get me but shot away part of my tail. The man whose picture I enclose came to my aid just in time, sending down one Boche and enabling me, with his aid, to drive off the others. My Capitaine was shot down, but landed in our lines, Badly wounded, but now in the hospital for three or four months and will pull out alright. He is both lucky and clever as eight Boche attacked him. In the evening we had about the same thing only were not attacked very closely."

It would appear that the mystery pilot who saved Peck didn't get credit, or the pilot was French. I will see if I can look through Mr. Peck's scrapbook at some time to see if any of the photos can be identified as this pilot.

I did come across another photo of Noonan playing the Ukaleli (sp?) in Paris but I can't recall the date.

In a scrapbook there is a photo of 3 mean with a civilian-looking building in the background and someone walking in the background (small photo -- will have to enlarge to try to identify the place. The inscription on the scrapbook page says "France. Left to Right. 'Bud' Somers, pilot now with Escadrrille Br. 129 , Capt. 'Vic' Parks, pilot now with me in Escadrrille Br. 123, Tom Noonan, I do not know where he is now. C'est la guerre. (June 24, '18)".

So this just deepens the mystery as to Noonan's whereabouts in June -- and this mystery may match him up with the Tom Noonan who joined Br. 29 on July 13, 1918. (Noonan is playing a string guitar of some kind.)

Looking for the photo which may be of the pilot who saved Peck by shooting down his German adversary on August 29, there is a photo which says on the back: "Leaving the field for trip over the line. All the planes are in motion and about to leave the ground. I am the 2nd from the left. (The photo is planes lined up on the field apparently about to take off for the trip over the lines, with two French officers in the foreground). More text on back: " This was taken in Auguest, 1918 on our field at Menu(?- Mien?) , north of Paris and south of Beauvais. We were working over the Soissons-Compiegne sector".

I can't find any photos that have any notations or are in a time sequence that would shed light on who saved Peck on August 29, 1918. There is a photo of a Lt. Bovet that simply says "Br. 123" , so he is a strong possibility, but all these seem to have been sent later. There is a french newspaper clipping w/ a photo : "Merzergues Prisonnier a burg. De gauche a droite: le lieutenant aviateur russe Katchow, le Lieutaenant Mezergues, le lieutenant aviatier anglais Spncer et le sous-lietenant Francais Capdeielle." The article, in french says I've substituted English for the few words possible : "In this article, we rendrons homage to pluseirs as du bombardmetn and nous comptous.................... Depuis que we have consacre un artile au lieutenant Mazergues, this as of the bombardement jof sumer has been prisoner....; and there is in this same part of the scrapbook a photo" Lt. DeLaitre now commanding Br. 123, Sous Lt. Normand, observer" So this would have been taken after his capitaine was shot down and so badly wounded on Aug. 29.

There is a photo grouped w/ I guess Sept. 1918 photos that says on back: "A Couble expsure taken on the front last year. My observer and two pilots of 123. Little fellow on the left was shot down in last Sept's. Argonne offensive. Was just beside me when it happened. The other is the famous Joffre. "

There may be other photos that might give clues, but these are the ones that are more or less grouped in that time period.