WAR

on june 17, 1916, Navarre, Pivolo, and ajudant (later sous-Lieutenant) Guignand
on a patrol towards the Argonne espied a German two-seater spotting for an
artillery shoot. They attacked in unison and shot it down. Since it fell behind
the lines it was never credited to any of them. Continuing the patrol they came
across a second two-seater at about 12,000 feet over Grand Pre, 3000 feet below
them. Navarre waggled his wings and pointed to make sure his teammates had
seen the target, then dived. As he led his men into a stern attack, Navarre swung
wide to give Pivolo and Guignand first shots. Pivolo fired and broke away. Navarre
looked around for Guignand, puzzled that he hadn't put in
a burst too.
The German gunner caught him with a long burst. He felt a terrible blow
in chest, arm, and side. Stunned, but still conscious, he dived hard as the best
means of getting away. He was losing blood, he already felt weak and his vision
was blurring. He blacked out and the Nieuport spun down to about 6000 feet
before he regained consciousness. He switched off the ignition, brought the machine
under control and, keeping the nose down, looked around for a place to
put her down. Luckily, he was directly over a playing field. He came into it upwind
after a beautifully executed bank ("just in case it should be the last"),
touched down and rolled to a stop. He tried to climb out of the Nieuport and
passed out.
When he came to, the first face he saw was Pivolo, who had followed him
down and landed beside him.
One bullet had hit Navarre, breaking his left arm and entering his chest.
On recovering consciousness and recognizing Pivolo he passed out again. In
the hospital he was delirious for several days. He had lost a dangerous amount
of blood and it seems likely that some brain damage resulted.
When he went on his first leave from the hospital he was incredibly emaciated
and his constitutional debilitation was so great that he had no tolerance for alcohol
whatever. One glass of wine made him blind drunk. He was depressed and
moody. Returning to N 67 before he was fit, he tried a tailspin and passed out
from a hemorrhage when his wound reopened. He came to and pulled out literally
at ground level.
Clearly, he was not recovered and, worse, was not himself mentally. The
cruel news, bluntly broken, that his beloved twin Pierre had been killed brought
on a complete collapse. He was out of the war. Although he returned to active
status in September 1918, he never flew operationally again.
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