From his early boyhood Norman had been passionately fond of manly outdoor sports, more particularly those connected with equestrianism. He loved hunting, polo, and kindred activities, and he thus developed qualities of sportsmanship that proved useful to him in his later experience in aviation. His courage and enthusiasm enabled him to undertake aerial flights that appalled less intrepid amateur navigators, but which were a joy and an inspiration to him from the beginning. Among his associates in amateur sports he had the reputation of being absolutely fearless. “I never knew a pluckier fellow,” said one of his schoolmates, recalling the days of their earlier companionship. At the outbreak of hostilities in Europe his love of the strenuous life, combined with his intensely patriotic instincts and his deep sympathy with the cause of the Entente Nations,—more particularly for France,—prompted him to go abroad and offer his services in their behalf. He adopted this course ardently and spontaneously, feeling that he was thus performing a duty that he owed to the cause of Liberty and Righteousness throughout the world. One of the finest chapters in the history of contemporary life is that which records the loyalty and patriotic fervor of so many young Americans, who at the beginning of the World War, before their own country had abandoned its attitude of neutrality, volunteered for military service on the side of the Allies, in the fighting ranks of the foreign legions, especially in the aviation service, which called for efficiency and courage in individual combat that recalled the heroism and devotion of the ancient days of chivalry. The inspiring example of these early American volunteers may be said to have given the first impulse to the popular uprising which ultimately led to our country’s active participation in the war. Having passed many of the earlier years of his youth in France, Norman saw and appreciated his opportunity to testify to the sincerity of his love for what he affectionately called his “second country.” He took passage abroad in December, 1914, four months after the outbreak of the war, arriving in Paris early in the following January, when he promptly offered his services to the Government as a volunteer in the French army to serve until the end of the war—“_jusqu’ au bout_,” as he emphatically put it when he took the oath of allegiance. He began his preliminary training in the military aviation school at Pau, and on receiving his certificate of proficiency, he served for a short time in the aerial defense of Paris and was then sent to the Western battle-front, where, as is told in the subsequent pages of this memoir, he distinguished himself by his skill and bravery in many air raids against the enemy, winning at once the confidence and admiration of his commanders and comrades. [Illustration: _As Master_ (pro tem.) _of the Pau Draghounds_]