Roland Garros & Marchal WWI Aviator RPPC, Legendary POW Escape Duo 1918 For Sale

Roland Garros & Marchal WWI Aviator RPPC
Legendary POW Escape Duo 1918
The Berlin Raider and the WWI Ace Who Escaped TogetherDESCRIPTIONOriginal vintage real photo postcard captioned "Front de la Somme. Les lieutenants-aviateurs francais Garros et Marchal promus dans la Legion d'Honneur," with a matching English caption printed on the reverse: "On the Somme front. Two French aviators, Lieut. Garros, and Lieut. Marchal, both promoted to the Legion d'Honneur."The Garros pictured here is Roland Garros, one of the most recognized names in aviation history even outside collector circles, since the French Open's home stadium in Paris, Stade Roland Garros, carries his name. e made the first non-stop flight across the Mediterranean Sea in 1913 and later helped develop the deflector-wedge system that let a machine gun fire safely through a spinning propeller, a milestone in early aerial combat.His companion in this photo is Anselme Marchal, an aviator famous in his own right for a nearly 1,300 kilometer overnight flight toward Berlin in June 1916, a world record distance at the time, made to drop leaflets in answer to a German raid over Paris.Marchal's plane went down over Poland and he was captured, later sharing a German POW camp with Garros. On February 15, 1918, the two men escaped together disguised as German officers, a story so remarkable it helped inspire the 1937 Jean Renoir film "La Grande Illusion."Both aviators returned to combat after their escape, and this postcard appears to document the recognition that followed, showing Garros and Marchal together at a formal Legion d'Honneur ceremony, with troops, a mounted officer, and regimental flags behind them.Garros was killed in action on October 5, 1918, shot down near Vouziers, five weeks before the armistice and one day before his 30th birthday.Bilingual French and English captioning points to wartime circulation in an Allied market. Scanned at 600dpi, so please review all photos closely as part of the description.Every effort is made for fact checking and provenance including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in anyway and you're unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I'll make it right.Orders places before Noon CDT will ship same day Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. Rigid, professional packaging on all shipments sealed and protected in acid free protectors.Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONUnposted, with no writing, stamp, or postmark on the reverse. Divided-back RPPC format consistent with WWI-era production. Corners and edges show light, era-consistent wear, and the image side retains clear, well-defined detail with typical vintage toning throughout. Please review all photos closely, as they are part of the description.