"A person doesn't sit and wait for what he wants—Huck Finn didn't!"

The year was 1916; the place, the French town of Luxeuil; and the determined boy, one Armand Durand.

Two years before, the newly formed American Volunteer air squadron, the Lafayette Escadrille, had come to fight beside France and England against the German Kaiser's forces. Now, suddenly, Armand's American friends had been transferred to Verdun.

The morning following his decision, Armand headed for Verdun and the Escadrille. Yet Armand left behind in Luxeuil the growing suspicion that he was a German spy! Did not the boy speak German? And why did this young Alsatian keep carrier pigeons in the cote behind the bakery?

In the days that followed, Armand witnessed not only the gallant victories of the Escadrille, but also the cruel realities of war. Years later, he would recall with pride the names of brave fliers—Chapman, McConnell, Thaw, Prince—and he would remember also his day high above the earth, when he flew with the legendary Sergeant Lufbery on a mission unique in the annals of the Lafayette Escadrille.

From the dust jacket