Immediately after Kiffin’s victory, the squadron was transferred to Verdun. The savage ground war at Verdun caused troops to refer to it as “The Furnace” or “The Sausage Grinder.” The air war was equally brutal. The intensity of the air war over Verdun was driven home on one of their first missions, as Bill Thaw’s elbow was shattered by a German bullet and Kiffin’s nose and upper lip were lacerated by fragments of a bullet that shattered against his windshield. His upper lip was forever hidden by a moustache after that injury. He refused hospitalization, but agreed to go to Paris for two days to reassure Paul he was OK. While he was gone, Capt. Thénault gave Kiffin’s plane to Norman Prince, who had crashed his own plane. In this photo Kiffin appears to be having a difficult conversation with Capt. Thénault, probably about the fact that Kiffin now has no plane. Two newly assigned pilots are visible in the background. Clyde Balsley, wearing a beret, enters from the left while Raoul Lufbery waits patiently on the right. (Photo courtesy of Washington & Lee University)