In November, I accompanied Secrets of Paris Community Members on a little excursion to the western suburbs of Paris for a guided tour of the Lafayette Ecadrille Memorial, one of the region’s most beautiful and least-known monuments to Franco-American friendship. Built in 1928, the memorial is not a traditional military cemetery with crosses on a lawn, but a purpose-built architectural monument, centered on a monumental stone arch inspired by the Arc de Triomphe. It commemorates the young American aviators who volunteered to fly for France a year before the U.S. officially joined World War I, at a time when the country was still officially neutral. The squadron took its name from the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought alongside the American colonists during the Revolutionary War. Choosing “Lafayette” was a deliberate symbolic gesture, linking American volunteers fighting for France in 1916 to a French volunteer who had once fought for American independence.
Here’s the short official video about it:
We started off with a visit to the small museum at the Visitor Welcome Center, where we also met our guide, Corneliu. He introduced us to the creation of the French-American flying squadron, some of the personalities who flew in it (like William “Big Moustache” Thaw and Eugene Bullard, “The Black Swallow of Death”), and even told us about their mascot, a lion cub who eventually got too big and ended up at the zoo in the Jardin des Plantes. The background was especially helpful, as this is a little-known chapter in American aviation history: most of the pilots were in their mid-20s, many came from wealthy or Ivy League backgrounds, and only a few had any flying experience before the war. Having a guide to walk us through the context and answer questions made a big difference (as it always does).
Click photos to see full sized with captions.
After the introduction, Corneliu walked us across the vast lawn to the monument itself. Hidden from street view in the forest of the Domaine de Saint-Cloud, the structure is fittingly majestic when it finally comes into view. The central arch is exactly half the size of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a symbolic echo rather than a replica. On the day we were there (November 14), flags were at half-mast following the death of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, and wreaths had recently been placed for the November 11 Veterans Day ceremony.
The monument is full of details that are easy to miss without explanation. The inscriptions on the front are in French, with English translations on the back. The base of the arch is engraved with the names of the pilots, arranged not alphabetically but in the order in which they joined the squadron, along with their decorations and dates of death. Above us, carved into the roof of the arch, are the insignia of the 24 French air service squadrons in which Americans flew during World War I. At the front of the monument, a long reflecting pool mirrors the stone façade, emphasizing symmetry and stillness, rather than mourning.
After an explanation of the many symbolic elements carved into the monument, we took the stairs down into the crypt (note: there is no alternative access for visitors with reduced mobility). Recently renovated after decades of deterioration, the crypt contains 68 stone sarcophagi arranged in a semi-circle. These represent aviators of the broader Lafayette Flying Corps—the group of Americans who flew for France during the war—of which the Lafayette Escadrille itself was the original squadron. Some of the sarcophagi are empty, either because the remains were never recovered or because the pilots are buried elsewhere.
The stained-glass windows in the crypt are small but striking. Created by the French atelier Frères Mauméjean, they depict specific Western Front operations flown by the Escadrille and related units rather than being purely decorative (with nods to their departure from the homeland, look for the Statue of Liberty).
Practical Information
Visits to the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial and the Visitor Center museum are free of charge. All information is available in English and French, and there are free restrooms. The site has been run by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) since 2017, and anyone can request a private tour in English with an ABMC guide. Access to the crypt is only possible with a guide, and much of the monument’s symbolism is easy to overlook without explanation, so booking ahead is well worth it. There is no cost for the tour; you simply need to call in advance to reserve a time when a guide is available: +33 (0)1 87 15 85 32.
Opening Hours
The Visitor Center at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial is open daily, year-round, from 9am to 5pm (closed December 25 and January 1). The monument and surrounding grounds are open daily during the same hours as the Domaine de Saint-Cloud: from 7:30am to 8pm November through February; until 9pm during September, October, March, and April; and until 10pm from May through August.
Every Memorial Day the last week in May there is an elaborate ceremony with an aerial flyover. For details, visit the ABMC website and (scroll to the bottom of the page for the latest news):
https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/about-lafayette-escadrille-memorial-cemetery/
Getting There from Paris
The official address is 5 Boulevard Raymond Poincaré, 92430 Marnes-la-Coquette, in the northwestern corner of the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, a large park a few miles west of central Paris.
Getting there by public transportation is relatively straightforward. You can take the “L” Transilien train from Gare St-Lazare to Garches–Marnes-la-Coquette, in the direction of Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche Forêt de Marly (about 35 minutes). From Garches station, you can either walk to the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial (about 10 minutes up the street, then another 10 minutes inside the park), or take bus 6246 (direction Gare de Vaucresson) for two stops to Hôpital de Garches, directly across from a park entrance.
Another option is to take metro line 9 to Pont de Sèvres, then bus 426 (direction La Celle-Saint-Cloud – Gare SNCF) to Yves Cariou – Les Étangs, which is the side gate closest to the Visitor Center (about 25 minutes from Pont de Sèvres). All of these options fall within the standard Île-de-France fare zones, so a regular Navigo or single ticket applies.
You can download the memorial brochure here and you can see the 360° virtual visit here, including inside the burial crypt.
The Secrets of Paris Community
This was a one of the monthly events organized for Secrets of Paris Community Members. Supporting members help keep this website and the free monthly newsletter 100% ad-free, sponsor-free, and AI-free! Read more about the benefits of joining us here: https://secretsofparis.com/members-community/levels/
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