Monument de Girval

At the western end of the forest, at the crossroads of Bois Hariez, accessible by a road running alongside the Croix-Morel forest house, but difficult to find in the vegetation, stands the monument to Lieutenant Bernard de Girval, on the very spot where his plane crashed on June 30, 1918.
The plaque reads: "Dieu-Patrie. Here, on June 30, 1918, Lieutenant Bernard de Girval, of the 13th B.C. Alpins, pilot with the SPA 73 fighter squadron, known as the Cigognes, fell, struck down in aerial combat. Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Croix de Guerre".
When he was mobilized on August 2, 1914, Bernard de Girval was a cavalryman with the 13th Dragons, which he had joined on November 30, 1910. He then moved on to the 13th Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins, where he became second lieutenant on March 22, 1915, before joining the air force on September 1, 1917, obtaining his pilot's license on October 19, two days before his appointment as pilot lieutenant.
Bernard de Girval was not an aviation ace, which means he didn't have at least 5 air combat victories to his credit, but he did distinguish himself on several occasions.
On June 30, on his return from a mission, Lieutenant de Girval was seriously wounded in aerial combat and accidentally killed in the Villers-Cotterêts forest, inside French lines. He was posthumously awarded his fifth citation: "Magnificent fighter, combining a very high conception of his duty and complete self-sacrifice, sublime courage and the most marvellous drive. At the front since the beginning of the campaign, successively cavalryman, alpine hunter, then combat pilot. Seriously wounded, he aroused the unanimous admiration of his comrades everywhere. Seriously wounded on his way to carry out a mission. Died for France as a result of his wounds. Mentioned four times".

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