This service was
attended by General Debeney, staff major-general, representing the
generalissimo, and by all the surviving members of the Storks
Escadrille, with their former chief, Major Brocard. His successor,
Captain Heurtaux, whose unexpected appearance startled the
congregation--he seemed so pale and thin on his crutches--had left the
hospital for this ceremony, and looked so ill that people were surprised
that he had the strength to stand.
A few hours before the service took place, Major Garibaldi, sent by
General Anthoine, commander of the army to which Guynemer belonged, had
brought to the Guynemer family the twenty-sixth citation of their hero,
the famous document which all French schoolboys have since learned by
heart and which was as follows:
Fallen on the field of honor on September 11, 1917. A legendary
hero, fallen from the very zenith of victory after three years'
hard and continuous fighting. He will be considered the most
perfect embodiment of the national qualities for his indomitable
energy and perseverance and his exalted gallantry.
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