Gorman DeFreest Larner

Name:

Country:

United States

Rank:

Captain

Services:

French Air Service
United States Air Service

Units:

Spa86 (FAS)
103^rd Aero (USAS)

Victories:

Born:

05 July 1897

Place of Birth:

Washington D.C., USA

Died:

20 May 1984

Place of Death:

Easton, Maryland, USA

Cemetery:

Woodlawn Memorial Park, Easton, Maryland, USA

Too young for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Gorman DeFreest Larner, the son of Robert M. and Adelaide (DeFreest) Larner of Washington, D.C., left Columbia University and entered the Curtiss Aviation School at Buffalo, New York before he joined the French Air Service on 10 July 1917. Downing two enemy aircraft, he remained with the French until he joined the 103rd Aero Squadron of the U.S. Air Service on 16 June 1918. Flying SPAD XIIIs, he scored 5 more victories by the end of the war. Following the Armistice, he served at the Paris Peace Conference before returning to the United States in September 1919. He completed his studies at Columbia University, graduating in 1921, and, together with George Vaughn and Howard Burdick, served with the 102^nd Observation Squadron of the New York National Guard, the first air squadron to be organized by the National Guard. While general manager or the National Aeronautic Association, Larner was granted a leave of absence to return to active duty as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. In later life, he was chairman of Robinson Aviation before he retired in 1964.

Listed as G. De Freest Larner in some sources.

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Gorman DeFreest Larner, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Champeny, France, September 13, 1918. Lieutenant Larner attacked an enemy patrol of six machines (Fokker type), and fought against the great odds until he had destroyed one and forced the others to retire.

General Orders No. 145, W.D., 1918

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) - Oak Leaf Cluster

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Gorman DeFreest Larner, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Montfaucon, France, October 4, 1918. While leading a patrol of four monoplace planes, Lieutenant Lamer led his patrol in an attack on an enemy formation of seven planes. By skillfully maneuvering he crushed one of the enemy machines and with the aid of his patrol forced the remainder of the enemy formation to withdraw.

General Orders No. 145, W.D., 1918

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	18 Mar 1918		Spa86		Pfalz D.III	Conde-sur-Suippe
2	25 Mar 1918	1040	Spa 86		Two-seater ¹	Noyon
3	13 Sep 1918	1710	103^rd		Fokker D.VII ²	Chambley
4	04 Oct 1918	0915	103^rd		Fokker D.VII	Montfaucon
5	10 Oct 1918	0930	103^rd		Hannover CL ³	St. Juvin
6	04 Nov 1918	1520	103^rd		Fokker D.VII ⁴	Stenay
7	04 Nov 1918	1525	103^rd		Fokker D.VII	Stenay

1	Shared
2	Shared with Lt Frank Hunter
3	Shared with Lt J Waddell, Lt C H Monroe
4	Shared with Lt H B Bartholf

Books

American Aces of World War 1: by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
Over the Front: by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)

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