COL US ARMY
WWI & WWII
_______________________________
Gorman deFreest Larner, who more commonly went by his middle name, but was known to family and friends as "Pop Larner," was named for his father Robert's good friend Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and his mother's family name of deFreest. He was considered too young in 1917 (age 20 in July of 1917) to serve in the U.S. Army's new "Army Signal Corps" in World War I, so he joined up with the French air force until the U.S. Army's air services (which later became the U.S. Air Force) joined the war in Europe and apparently felt that since deFreest had proven himself with 2 "kills" in early 1918, they would accept him into the U.S. air services. So, in June of 1918, he joined up with the U.S. 103rd Aero Squadron as a Squadron Commander, where he finished up with 5 more individual and "shared kills." By war's end he had been promoted to Captain (later Colonel in the early stages of WWII).
After WWI, he eventually became very interested in luxury motor-boating and on March 4, 1929 Elco Sea Dream IV Hull # 2570 was begun, as a special "one off" Cruiser for Mr. Gorman DeFreest Larner. At the time, Alfred "Bill" Fleming was one of the chief designers for Elco (who later built the famous PT boats for the U.S. Navy in WWII, including PT-109, John F. Kennedy's boat). DeFreest married Bill Fleming's daughter Jean Fleming in 1947.
_______________________________
DeFreest Larner's commendations from WWI:
French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for downing 2 enemy aircraft while serving with the French Air Service.
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Champeny, France, 13 September 1918. Lt. Larner attacked an enemy patrol of six machines (Fokker type) and fought against the great odds until he had destroyed one and forced another to retire." - DSC citation
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) - Oak Leaf Cluster
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Montfaucon, France, 4 October 1918. While leading a patrol of four monoplace planes, Lt. Larner led his patrol in an attack on an enemy formation of seven planes. By skillful maneuvering, he crashed one of the enemy machines and with the aid of his patrol, forced the remainder of the enemy formation to withdraw." - Oak Leaf Cluster citation
Victories
Date Time Unit Opponent Location
1 18 Mar 1918 Spa86 Pfalz D.III Conde-sur-Suippe
2 25 Mar 1918 1040 Spa 86 Two-seater Noyon
3 13 Sep 1918 1710 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Chambley
4 4 Oct 1918 0915 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Montfaucon
5 10 Oct 1918 0930 103rd Aero Hannover CL St. Juvin
6 4 Nov 1918 1520 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
7 4 Nov 1918 1525 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
WWI & WWII
_______________________________
Gorman deFreest Larner, who more commonly went by his middle name, but was known to family and friends as "Pop Larner," was named for his father Robert's good friend Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and his mother's family name of deFreest. He was considered too young in 1917 (age 20 in July of 1917) to serve in the U.S. Army's new "Army Signal Corps" in World War I, so he joined up with the French air force until the U.S. Army's air services (which later became the U.S. Air Force) joined the war in Europe and apparently felt that since deFreest had proven himself with 2 "kills" in early 1918, they would accept him into the U.S. air services. So, in June of 1918, he joined up with the U.S. 103rd Aero Squadron as a Squadron Commander, where he finished up with 5 more individual and "shared kills." By war's end he had been promoted to Captain (later Colonel in the early stages of WWII).
After WWI, he eventually became very interested in luxury motor-boating and on March 4, 1929 Elco Sea Dream IV Hull # 2570 was begun, as a special "one off" Cruiser for Mr. Gorman DeFreest Larner. At the time, Alfred "Bill" Fleming was one of the chief designers for Elco (who later built the famous PT boats for the U.S. Navy in WWII, including PT-109, John F. Kennedy's boat). DeFreest married Bill Fleming's daughter Jean Fleming in 1947.
_______________________________
DeFreest Larner's commendations from WWI:
French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for downing 2 enemy aircraft while serving with the French Air Service.
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Champeny, France, 13 September 1918. Lt. Larner attacked an enemy patrol of six machines (Fokker type) and fought against the great odds until he had destroyed one and forced another to retire." - DSC citation
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) - Oak Leaf Cluster
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Montfaucon, France, 4 October 1918. While leading a patrol of four monoplace planes, Lt. Larner led his patrol in an attack on an enemy formation of seven planes. By skillful maneuvering, he crashed one of the enemy machines and with the aid of his patrol, forced the remainder of the enemy formation to withdraw." - Oak Leaf Cluster citation
Victories
Date Time Unit Opponent Location
1 18 Mar 1918 Spa86 Pfalz D.III Conde-sur-Suippe
2 25 Mar 1918 1040 Spa 86 Two-seater Noyon
3 13 Sep 1918 1710 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Chambley
4 4 Oct 1918 0915 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Montfaucon
5 10 Oct 1918 0930 103rd Aero Hannover CL St. Juvin
6 4 Nov 1918 1520 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
7 4 Nov 1918 1525 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
COL US ARMY
WWI & WWII
_______________________________
Gorman deFreest Larner, who more commonly went by his middle name, but was known to family and friends as "Pop Larner," was named for his father Robert's good friend Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and his mother's family name of deFreest. He was considered too young in 1917 (age 20 in July of 1917) to serve in the U.S. Army's new "Army Signal Corps" in World War I, so he joined up with the French air force until the U.S. Army's air services (which later became the U.S. Air Force) joined the war in Europe and apparently felt that since deFreest had proven himself with 2 "kills" in early 1918, they would accept him into the U.S. air services. So, in June of 1918, he joined up with the U.S. 103rd Aero Squadron as a Squadron Commander, where he finished up with 5 more individual and "shared kills." By war's end he had been promoted to Captain (later Colonel in the early stages of WWII).
After WWI, he eventually became very interested in luxury motor-boating and on March 4, 1929 Elco Sea Dream IV Hull # 2570 was begun, as a special "one off" Cruiser for Mr. Gorman DeFreest Larner. At the time, Alfred "Bill" Fleming was one of the chief designers for Elco (who later built the famous PT boats for the U.S. Navy in WWII, including PT-109, John F. Kennedy's boat). DeFreest married Bill Fleming's daughter Jean Fleming in 1947.
_______________________________
DeFreest Larner's commendations from WWI:
French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for downing 2 enemy aircraft while serving with the French Air Service.
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Champeny, France, 13 September 1918. Lt. Larner attacked an enemy patrol of six machines (Fokker type) and fought against the great odds until he had destroyed one and forced another to retire." - DSC citation
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) - Oak Leaf Cluster
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Montfaucon, France, 4 October 1918. While leading a patrol of four monoplace planes, Lt. Larner led his patrol in an attack on an enemy formation of seven planes. By skillful maneuvering, he crashed one of the enemy machines and with the aid of his patrol, forced the remainder of the enemy formation to withdraw." - Oak Leaf Cluster citation
Victories
Date Time Unit Opponent Location
1 18 Mar 1918 Spa86 Pfalz D.III Conde-sur-Suippe
2 25 Mar 1918 1040 Spa 86 Two-seater Noyon
3 13 Sep 1918 1710 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Chambley
4 4 Oct 1918 0915 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Montfaucon
5 10 Oct 1918 0930 103rd Aero Hannover CL St. Juvin
6 4 Nov 1918 1520 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
7 4 Nov 1918 1525 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
WWI & WWII
_______________________________
Gorman deFreest Larner, who more commonly went by his middle name, but was known to family and friends as "Pop Larner," was named for his father Robert's good friend Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and his mother's family name of deFreest. He was considered too young in 1917 (age 20 in July of 1917) to serve in the U.S. Army's new "Army Signal Corps" in World War I, so he joined up with the French air force until the U.S. Army's air services (which later became the U.S. Air Force) joined the war in Europe and apparently felt that since deFreest had proven himself with 2 "kills" in early 1918, they would accept him into the U.S. air services. So, in June of 1918, he joined up with the U.S. 103rd Aero Squadron as a Squadron Commander, where he finished up with 5 more individual and "shared kills." By war's end he had been promoted to Captain (later Colonel in the early stages of WWII).
After WWI, he eventually became very interested in luxury motor-boating and on March 4, 1929 Elco Sea Dream IV Hull # 2570 was begun, as a special "one off" Cruiser for Mr. Gorman DeFreest Larner. At the time, Alfred "Bill" Fleming was one of the chief designers for Elco (who later built the famous PT boats for the U.S. Navy in WWII, including PT-109, John F. Kennedy's boat). DeFreest married Bill Fleming's daughter Jean Fleming in 1947.
_______________________________
DeFreest Larner's commendations from WWI:
French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for downing 2 enemy aircraft while serving with the French Air Service.
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Champeny, France, 13 September 1918. Lt. Larner attacked an enemy patrol of six machines (Fokker type) and fought against the great odds until he had destroyed one and forced another to retire." - DSC citation
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) - Oak Leaf Cluster
"For extraordinary heroism in action in the region of Montfaucon, France, 4 October 1918. While leading a patrol of four monoplace planes, Lt. Larner led his patrol in an attack on an enemy formation of seven planes. By skillful maneuvering, he crashed one of the enemy machines and with the aid of his patrol, forced the remainder of the enemy formation to withdraw." - Oak Leaf Cluster citation
Victories
Date Time Unit Opponent Location
1 18 Mar 1918 Spa86 Pfalz D.III Conde-sur-Suippe
2 25 Mar 1918 1040 Spa 86 Two-seater Noyon
3 13 Sep 1918 1710 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Chambley
4 4 Oct 1918 0915 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Montfaucon
5 10 Oct 1918 0930 103rd Aero Hannover CL St. Juvin
6 4 Nov 1918 1520 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
7 4 Nov 1918 1525 103rd Aero Fokker D.VII Stenay
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