Bruce, Alexander Bern

Born May 3, 1894, in Seattle, Washington. Son of David and Carrie Wainwright Bruce. Home, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Educated Phillips Academy, Andover, and Harvard University, Class of 1915. Teaching staff, Andover. Plattsburg, 1916. Joined American Field Service, April 28, 1917; attached Transport Section 526 to August 28, 1917. Enlisted U. S. Aviation. First Lieutenant; Paris Defense Squadron. Attached 94th Pursuit Squadron, July, 1918. Killed in combat, August 17, 1918, over Cruaux. Buried American Cemetery, Fismes, Marne.

ONE of Alexander Bern Bruce's fellow instructors at Andover has described him as "the most reticent, silent man I have ever known"; and Major Fuess says in his book, "Phillips Academy, Andover, in the Great War," " In the early days of our war many men talked much about what they planned to do. 'Alec' Bruce said very little: but when the hour struck, he did more than talk, he went. His career is an inspiration to all true Americans." Quiet, modest, unassuming, he possessed unusual strength of character, and was a brilliant scholar, graduating cum laude from Andover in 1911 and being elected to the Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard. His friends speak of his faithfulness and conscientiousness and of the implicit trust that he inspired among all who had dealings with, him.

In the fall of 1915 he went back to Andover as an instructor and when American participation in the war seemed imminent he took a leading part in the formation of the Andover Unit of the American Field Service.. Together with the majority of the unit he volunteered for the camion branch and served with T. M. U. 526B for four months. At the conclusion of his term of enlistment he joined the American Air Service. There were no heroics about his resolution; as a companion said, "In his quiet, determined sort of way, he simply made up his mind and went ahead." He had a very real and deep-rooted patriotism that was not dissipated in flag-waving, but which on the contrary took him into the midst of fighting so quietly and so surely that his decision seemed inevitable, as indeed it was. His first assignment after being commissioned as a flyer was to the patrol that protected the Paris district against air-raids. In spite of the fact that Paris was bombed almost every day and his work in consequence valuable and dangerous, he felt his service inadequate and made frequent requests for transfer to front-line duty. Finally to his great satisfaction and relief he was sent out to the famous 94th Aero Pursuit Squadron, which even at this early date had a large number of Hun planes to its credit. His death has been described by Major Fuess. "On August 17, 1918, while he was engaged in combat over Cruaux with several German planes, his machine brushed wings with that of another pilot, and he fell nearly two miles. Although his body was not mangled, his neck was broken and he was evidently killed instantly."

"Alec's" letters to his mother, to whom he wrote almost daily with characteristic thoughtfulness, were cheerfully, almost playfully, optimistic, showing a side of his personality that did not often appear in conversation. They were exceptionally well-written, but with his usual modesty he refused to give his consent to their publication in spite of the constant demands of relatives. The beautiful quality of his spirit is illustrated by a friend. "He wrote letters frequently to small children and they were not the least of the fine things he did well." To be like "Alec" Bruce was the goal of many a youngster. What his comrades thought of him is shown by one who wrote, "Everybody who knew him recognized him as one of the cleanest, most straightforward chaps in the crowd." Another friend who had known him well at home said, "In the years he had lived, few as they were, he made a record of brilliant achievements in the classroom and on the battlefield. Surely he has not lived in vain."

• Tribute from Memorial Volume of the American Field Service, 1921