For several American volunteers of the Eagle Squadrons in the RAF citizenship was a vexing issue. The US Citizenship Act of 1907 provided that any US citizen swearing allegiance to any foreign state or sovereign would lose his citizenship. The matter was further compounded by the US Neutrality Laws which specified in 1940 that it was illegal for any US citizen to join a warring nations military. Punishment for such an act, as indeed for travelling through a designated war zone, was a prison sentence of up to two years and / or a 10,000 dollar fine. Moreover, service in the armed forces of a foreign power without authorization and with a consequent acquisition of foreign nationality would expatriate an individual. Thus, the neutrality of the United States posed a diplomatic problem. The USA could not be seen as sending combatants to assist one side in the war, with any US citizen who took an oath of loyalty to another nation running the risk of losing his citizenship. A diplomatic subterfuge took care of the problem. US recruits that simply crossed the border into Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force to learn to fly and fight or had previously become a member of the RAF while being in Europe were not required to take an oath of allegiance to the king, using a specially composed oath to obey the orders of their superiors (not mentioning national loyalties at all). Many also adopted false names to further confuse the issue. Some were even issued Canadian or other British Commonwealth identity documents. Eagle Squadron pilots wore the uniforms and held the rank titles of RAF officers. Their dress and duty uniform coats were modified with the Eagle Squadron patch, depicting a white bald spread-winged eagle surmounted by the letters E . S . The insignia to be worn on the left shoulder is almost the same as the great seal of the United States which is displayed on the US passport.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 07:58:14 +0000
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