Identification of WWI American Aviator

[gunbarrel]

Hello,

This is my first post here, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. I recently bought a studio picture of an American aviator in what I believe to be WWI uniform. I have no idea who the pilot is, but I have been searching the web and came up with this website; I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping that one of the experts here just might recognize him. The picture is approximately 6-3/4" x 11" and I believe it's in its original frame. It's hard to make out the photographer's information, but it looks like "X Morin N.Y." The frame has a veneer around it of what appears to be curly maple, and the whole thing is very neat. I'm going to attempt to post a picture of the photograph, but if I fail to do so, I can e-mail it. Any information that you can provide would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[cameldriver]

Welcome to the forum. You will be amazed at the breadth of knowledge of the people here. I can't tell from the photo which awards he earned, but I see that he was trained by the French, so you know that he served oversees. When I get home tonight, I'll look in my copy of the LFC to see if any photos match up, especially for anyone coming from NY. If I'm successful, I'll let you know. :)

[cameldriver]

PS--I see from the overseas stripes that he served for a year over there.

[cameldriver]

Back again. I had a chance to leaf through the LFC but could not find anyone who looked like your photo and went into the USAS or survived the War. There are two possibilities:
1- I wasn't able to match up the photos and he flew with the LFC
2- He was trained by the French but never flew with them
I will keep my eyes open, but I don't know that I'll be able to provide any further info. Good luck! <_<

[gunbarrel]

Thank you, very much! That's fantastic! I really appreciate you trying to identify him, and the information you have given me. It's much more than I started with!

[Jim]

I can't add much other than he was a lieutenant at the time of the photo. It is hard to tell whether he was a second or first lieutenant - a second would have a gold colored bar on his shoulder while a first would have a silver colored one. Given the the wings badge on his left chest would be silver with tiny gold "U.S." initials in the center of the shield, and given that the shade of grey in the wings seems to be similar to that of the bar on his shoulder my guess is first lieutenant.

There seems to also be a ribbon just above his left chest pocket. I can't make out any details so I can't say which one it is but if I were forced to make a guess I would say either a WW I Victory ribbon or a home town community victory ribbon. Some home towns and cities back then gave their returning soldiers a ribbon to say thanks.

Also, given the number of items on the uniform - U.S. wings, French wings, service hash stripes, 1LT bars and a ribbon I would guess this to be a post-war photo - perhaps as the guy was returning home going through the "big city" of New York. The U.S. was only in the war for a short time - about a year and a half in total.

[gunbarrel]

Thank you, Jim!

[gunbarrel]

BTT. Thank you!

[ONEALM]

2 points to check - I cannot tell from the photo, but if the victory medal has star(s) on it it would give some clues as to when he was overseas and if he may have seen combat duty.

Second, if he was not in fact from NY, but New England, check a copy of NE Aviators. Lots of photos to check against.

Also it might be interesting, but of little practical use I suppose to get a good look at the collar insignia. The French purchased collar wings have a distinctive shape and would indicate where they were purchased. I suspect, given all the other clues, they would be French.

There does not appear to be a squadron pin on the uniform. Many of the front line units had jewelers strike squadron pins which were typically work over the wings.

French trained for certain, but not all French trained pilots were LFC. There were quite a few who earned French Brevets who never appeared on the LFC rosters.

If you ever do get a name, there is likely a wealth of information on your man. I am quite sure the SHAA would at least his bevet number and if he had service time with a French unit, there would be even more. I do have a good bit of material at home on the US pilots/obserevers assigned to French units, but of course - that requires a name to begin the search!

Good luck !
Mike

[stephen]

He looks a bit like "Zip" Zistel of the 148th. I'm away from my desk for a few days but I have a photo of Zistel at home and maybe I can make a comparison later.

[Michael]

You might check the back of the photograph (assuming that it's covered over in the frame). Framers sometimes record the client's name on the back so they can match it up with the order.

Equally if there is a framer's sticker on the back, it might provide a further clue. It would be probable that he would have the framing done at a place close to home.