French Captain and Flying Ace in the :French Air Service During World War I.: At the outbreak of World War One Fonck joined the French Army. But in early 1915, he began flight training in a Penguin at Saint-Cy, displaying an inherent talent for flying. He served with Escadrille C47 flying an unarmed Caudron on reconnaissance missions over the enemy lines. In April 1917, Fonck became a fighter pilot and was assigned to Spa103. He developed a reputation for studying the tactics of his opponents and conserving ammunition during a dogfight. On two separate occasions, he shot down six enemy aircraft in one day. With 75 recorded victories Fonck was the highest scoring flying ace for France and the Allies.

Signed 3 1Ž2 x 5 1Ž2 inch postal card, depicting a bust image of Fonck in uniform. The card is inscribed to "A M Lucile Mac Cracken, Modeste Souvenior Rene' Fonck 5-11-25". The top 1Ž2 inch portion of this card has a 1 1Ž2 x 1Ž2 inch triangular tear with paper loss on the right corner and a brief biography is written in blue ink across the top 1Ž2 inch of the card, black mounting traces on verso. These imperfections would mat out easily. Signed images of Fonck are rare.