How did Didier Masson join the Lafayette?

[Santiago Flores]

Good Morning to all
Doing a chronological bio of Adj. Didier Masson, who was a member of the well-known N124/SPA124. But I have a question that is bugging me. He was born in France, he was French, but how did he manage to get posted to the American volunteer fighter squadron, did he become a US citizen? did he hold dual citizenship? any help or references would be most welcomed.

cheers
Santiago

[await]

There is a book with short biographies of the pilots who flew with Escadrille N 124 / SPA 124, Lafayette Escadrille Pilot Biographies, by Dennis Gordon. Didier Masson's biography is covered on pp. 105-108.

Masson joined N 124 as a French citizen, rather than as a foreign volunteer, after having flown with Escadrilles C18 and N 68. After leaving SPA 124, he spent 18 days as a member of the Paris defense Escadrille N 471 before becoming an instructor at the American 3rd Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun.

He spent a good deal of time in the U.S. before the war, being employed as a flight instructor and performing in aerial exhibitions. He would return to the U.S. after the war in 1919, but there's no indication that he held a dual citizenship.

He really seemed to heed the call to foreign lands. He flew for Mexican rebels during the early period of the Mexican Revolution. After living and working in British Honduras for a quite some time, he moved to Mexico, where he spent the last 8 years of his life. There's no information in the biographical sketch indicating he obtained Mexican citizenship at any time.