Second Palm, for having brought down two enemy avions on the same day—at the same time receiving the
Third Palm, cited in L’Ordre du Jour for having brought down a fourth enemy avion, and for meritorious service in a raid on the Mauser ammunition works at Oberndorf—at the same time receiving the
MÉDAILLE MILITAIRE (Yellow and green ribbon)
CROIX DE LA LÉGION D’HONNEUR (Red ribbon)
Rev. Dr. Endicott Peabody of the Groton School wrote: “I must tell you how deeply Mrs. Peabody and I sympathize with you in Norman’s death. He gave his life in a great cause. That will be a comfort to you both, and he met his death with the courage that is characteristic of his family. Even with these considerations, I realize that your hearts must be heavy. It will please you to know that one of Norman’s classmates at Groton, who had followed his career in France with keen interest, has sent a contribution toward a memorial that he desires established at the school.”
Speaking for the Harvard Class of 1909 of which Norman was a member, its Secretary, Francis A. Harding, said: “On behalf of the Harvard Class of 1909, I wish to express the very deep regret which every Harvard man, and especially every classmate of Norman’s, has felt after reading the announcement of his death in France. To those of us who knew Norman intimately, the news of his death comes as a distinct shock, and every member of our class feels proud to have known and to have been affiliated with one who had the courage to give in such a noble way everything he possessed to the great cause in which he believed.”
From South Carolina Senator Tillman wrote: “Your son gave his young life in defense of what all of us know is a sacred cause. He was a twentieth century Lafayette, a modern knight errant whose statue will yet grace the capital of France. Prince? Yes, a Prince indeed—‘sans peur et sans reproche.’”
Many other thoughtful and tender messages came from others, friends and strangers, at home and abroad, testifying their commingled sorrow and admiration. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge telegraphed from Washington this tribute:
“Nothing could have been more gallant than his life—nothing finer than his death in a great cause, dear to his heart.”
An eloquent and fitting epitaph!