AUTHOR MARC WORTMAN TO TELL THE TALE OF ARISTOCRATIC FLYBOYS WHO CHOSE TO FIGHT IN WWI AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING
PALM BEACH, Fla. (February 6, 2007) - The Historical Society of Palm Beach County will continue its annual lecture series on Wednesday, March 7 with author Marc Wortman. He will discuss his recently-released book, "The Millionaires' Unit." that chronicles the story of a remarkable group of Yale undergraduates who organized an aviation unit in 1916 to assist the U.S. Navy in protecting our coasts during WWI.
Most of the young men in the "Millionaires Unit" came from socially prominent families. Their leader was Trubee Davison, the son of a senior partner in the J.P. Morgan firm. The group included Trubee's brother, Harry and his future brother-in-law, Artemus "Di" Gates, who would go on to become Undersecretary of the Navy under President Truman; Robert Lovett, the future US Secretary of Defense during the Korean War; David Ingalls, whose father wwas a railroad executive and mother was niece of President William Howard Taft; John Farwell, from the wealthy family that owned the leading dry goods store in Chicago; William Payne Thompson; and William Rockefeller, grand-nephew of the legendary oil tycoon.
The 28 members traveled by private train from New York City to Palm Beach in March, 1917 to establish their first training base at a flying school in Lake Worth owned by the heir to the Wanamaker department store fortune. This marked the true beginnings of what grew into a 40,000-member Navy air service during the war. Training at the West Palm Beach base in April and May 1917, the group took over a lakeside hotel (following a stint at The Breakers), learned to fly and studied military aviation while dazzling the local residents with their aerial exploits.
At first the young aviators were not taken very seriously, but at the advent of the war they were commissioned as officers and sent on patrols over the waters of the East Coast in search of German submarines. The unit was later sent to France, where some of its members operated Navy planes out of Dunkirk, in desperate attempts to bomb the German-controlled ports.
The lecture is free and open to the public. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 South County Rd. in Palm Beach. There will be a book signing and reception immediately following.
The Historical Society will be announcing two additional lectures this year. The series is generously underwritten in part by Pioneer Linens and Northern Trust.
For more information about the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, or to learn about upcoming lectures, visit www.historicalsocietypbc.org, or call (561) 832-4164.
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