 (Photo Courtesy of The Aerodrome) Click here for more information about Paul Baer's time with the Lafayette Flying Corps. From Gene Banning's notes of 8/31/00: "Paul F. Baer was a Lafayette Escadrille (actually, Baer was with the Lafayette Flying Corps) ace of WWI. Hired in the Fall of 1930; killed in Loening crash, 12/9/30 Shanghai." February 11, 2001 Dear Tom, In my research on Paul Baer, I could not locate any surviving family members. He had a brother, who may have had children, but I was unable to verify that he did. You might want to contact: Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society 302 East Berry St. Ft. Wayne, Indiana 46802 Phone 219-426-2882 They have some material on Baer, including his citations and decorations. Just to set the record straight, Paul Baer was not a member of the Lafayette Escadrille. There were 38 American pilots in the Squadron, and he was not one of them. The Lafayette Escadrille went out from under French orders on January 1, 1918. Baer joined SPA 124 on 10 January 1918. So he would have been a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps, but not the Lafayette Escadrille. He was never recognized as one of the original group by the survivors of the Squadron. His biography appears in my new book "The Lafayette Flying Corps." I checked your website and found it most interesting. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me. Thank you, Dennis Gordon Oddpilot@aol.com October 29, 2003 Tom, I have sent scan of top of footlocker I.D.'d to Lt. P.F. Baer 103rd Sqd. Aef.  The trunk sold for $10.00 in the parking lot and then to me for $50.00 by an aquaintance who bought it originally. The condition was generally poor. Four sides and bottom were 90% surface rust due to storage in a damp area, but the top had something stacked upon it which saved most of the markings from destruction. Kenny Saj roscoe1917@yahoo.com  or would like to be added to the CNAC e-mail distribution list, please let the CNAC Web Editor, Tom Moore, know. Thanks! |