During the Polish-Bolshevik War, the famous 7th 'Kościuszko' Fighter Squadron included American volunteer pilots. They were the eyes of the Polish army, as they conducted extremely effective reconnaissance. During the Kiev offensive and the subsequent retreating battles on the Ukrainian front, they often successfully attacked Bolshevik troops. The grave of one of the squadron's officers is in historic Wildwood Cemetery near Boston.

Wildwood Cemetery in Winchester
Wildwood Cemetery is extremely rarely visited by Poles. It was established in 1852 on Palmer St. in the town of Winchester (Middlesex County, Massachusetts), located in the northern part of the Boston metropolitan area. It is an extremely picturesque necropolis situated on an undulating terrain, designed with flair, well-maintained and with a park-like character.

Edwin Noble 's tombstone
Among the numerous gravestone monuments of various forms, artfully crafted from noble materials, blended unobtrusively into the greenery, one can also find a reference to Poland. However, without knowing the location - plot (lot) 1994 on Lily Path at Mountain Ave., number (memorial ID) 194060015 - finding this place will prove time-consuming.

There is a gravestone here that is modest in its simplicity - an unshaped granite boulder partially sunk into the ground. It is 65 cm high at the front, 78 at the back, while its width is 122 cm. The boulder bears an equally modest inscription consisting of recessed letters filled in with black paint:

NOBLE

1891 EDWIN L. 1951

1895 SUSAN P. 1981.

This is in memory of Edwin Lawrence Noble and his wife, Susan Phillips. In front of the boulder, at a distance of 143 cm, is a 30 x 61 cm rectangular brass plaque placed on the ground surface detailing that the buried is a Second Lieutenant (Second Lieutenant) of the US Army Air Corps from the First World War.

American pilots in the service of the Polish Air Force - Kosciuszko Squadron
. Edwin Lawrence Noble was born on 23 August 1891 in Charlestown, one of Boston's oldest neighbourhoods. He received an engineering degree from Sheffield Scientific School (part of Yale University) and went to work as a general manager for his family's Noble Milk Co. In 1917 he joined the US Air Service and, after training at Mineola Field, was posted to France, from where he returned home at the end of the war.

He joined the Polish Air Force as a volunteer and served with it from 1 September 1919 to May 1920 in the 7th Tadeusz Kosciuszko Fighter Squadron, or the famous Kosciuszko Squadron. Along with him, other American volunteers left America for the front in Poland: Merian Cooper (later a famous filmmaker, director of the film 'King Kong', among others), Cedric Faunt le Roy (Fauntleroy), George Marter Crawford, Kenneth O. Shrewsbury, Edward C. Corsi, Carl H. Clark, Arthur H. Kelly. Associated with the Kościuszko Squadron were 19 American pilots, none of whom had Polish roots. During the Polish-Bolshevik War, beginning in December 1919, the squadron's American and Polish pilots flew more than 460 combat flights, conducting intensive reconnaissance and attacking ground targets.

Edwin L. Nob le's last flight
Pilot Edwin L. Noble made his last three combat flights on 26 April 1920 in the vicinity of Berdychev, during which he was remarkably effective in destroying Bolshevik columns and tabors. During his last flight, he single-handedly attacked an enemy armoured train, thus causing confusion and allowing many Polish prisoners of war to escape. However, he was seriously wounded in the elbow of his right hand by an enemy bullet fired from the train. Despite the gunshot causing him pain and blood loss, he travelled almost 100 km, using his left hand to steer, to land at the airport in Polonné. He then underwent treatment at a hospital in Kaunas, followed by a difficult operation in Paris, but despite this he never returned to flying.

For his last combat flight, he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari No. 77 and the Cross of Valour by order of the Minister of Military Affairs on 12 March 1921, and was promoted to the rank of captain. He was also decorated with the Polish Cross of the Soldiers of America for his deeds on the battlefield, and in 1928 with the Field Pilot Badge No. 109.

After returning to the United States, Edwin L. Noble continued to work in the family business. He died on 23 April 1951 in hospital in Winchester, and after a memorial service at Bennett Funeral Chapel he was laid to rest in the local cemetery.

Today, a gravestone with a white and red ribbon lit by representatives of Polish diplomatic missions in America can sometimes be seen at the headstone of the heroic pilot, Captain Noble. They visit his grave surrounded by the city's authorities and its inhabitants proud to have in their cemetery the grave of a compatriot-hero who fought voluntarily for the freedom of Poland - a small, unknown country in the east of distant Europe.