Object Details
- Physical Description
- Engagé Volontaire (World War I Commemorative Medal); Obverse: relief profile bust of goddes Nike in French army helmet depicted; Reverse: embossed text "Republique Francaise Grande Guerre 1914-1918"; red and white vertically striped ribbon.
- Summary
- Presented to Kiffin Rockwell of the Lafayette Escadrille. Médaille Commémorative Française 1914-1918 was awarded to all members of the French Armed Forces who saw service between August 2, 1914 and November 11, 1918. The medal was instituted on June 23, 1920 and it could also be awarded to members of the Merchant Navy, medical personnel, local authorities, police of fire brigades of bombed cities.
- American citizen Kiffin Rockwell volunteered to fly with the French Air Service during World War I prior to the United States' entry into the conflict. Rockwell was the first American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in World War I. He was killed in action in September 1916, the second American airman to die in combat in France.
- Credit Line
- Donated by Mr. Paul A. Rockwell
- Inventory Number
- A19620114003
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- AWARDS-Medals & Ribbons
- Materials
- Medal:
- Bronze
- White Metal
- Paint
- Ribbon:
- Silk
- Steel
- Dimensions
- 3-D: 4.1 × 7.9 × 0.5cm (1 5/8 × 3 1/8 × 3/16 in.)
- Country of Origin
- France
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19620114003
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9521f5d4c-a839-4ca2-93fb-c37d1bc4cb5c
