Edmond Charles Clinton Genet (November 9, 1896 – April 17, 1917) was the first American flier to die in the First World War after the United States declared war against Germany, shot down by anti-aircraft artillery on April 17, 1917.

Genet had deserted from the US Navy in 1915 to travel to France and fought for over a year with the French Foreign Legion in the trenches of eastern France. After six months of training, he joined the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of fighter aircraft that mostly consisted of Americans. Genet was killed less than four months later.

Early life

thumb|left|Edmond Genet (right) with his brothers Gilbert Rodman Fox Genet (born 1889) (left) and Albert Rivers Genet Jr. (born in 1887) (centre).

Genet was born in Ossining, New York, on November 9, 1896, to Albert Rivers Genet and Martha Rodman Fox. He was the youngest of three sons and his two brothers served in the military during the First World War. His father was a lawyer and his mother was involved in several organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution. Genet was the second great-grandson of Edmond-Charles Genêt, the controversial French Ambassador to the United States in 1793. He was educated at Mt. Pleasant Military Academy. Genet joined the US naval militia as an ordinary seaman in 1914 at just 17. Genet was posted to , which was sent to the port city of Veracruz as a result of the Tampico Affair. Genet kept quiet until he was able to secure the necessary documents but before leaving on SS Rochambeau, Genet wrote letters to several of his friends and family that he did not expect to survive this conflict.

After six weeks of training, Genet was sent to the front in eastern France.

Later, Genet was back fighting in the Bois Sabot; the rest of the company took shelter during an artillery barrage. A unit of Senegalese Tirailleurs took up the charge and Genet went with them. Genet was separated from his unit for three days, it was feared that he had been killed in the fighting and his death was reported in several papers. Other papers only reported him missing. Genet was proud of being an American, sought the company of his countrymen and for a while flew the Stars and Stripes on top of his tent. On 16 April, he had flown a mission in the morning and came back feeling ill. He had been encouraged not to fly again that day as was scheduled but he was insistent and took off at 12:45pm. Genet and his wingman were to fly towards St Quentin at an altitude of . As a result of his lie about his age to the passport officer, his commanding officer Georges Thenault believed that he was four years older than he actually was. In the letter to Genet's mother, he expressed shock that Genet was actually 24 years of age as he looked so young.

Status with the United States Navy

thumb|left|Genet was reburied at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery in 1928

When Genet left for France in January 1915, he had left the Navy without permission. This decision weighed heavily on him as time wore on, since he could be classified as a deserter.

References

  • Americans in the French Foreign Legion entry