After six months of training, he joined the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of fighter aircraft that mostly consisted of Americans.

[1][2] : xi  His father was a lawyer and his mother was involved in several organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution.

[2]: xi  When his father died in 1912, he took on several jobs to help his mother with bills, including one at a dairy owned by V. Everit Macy, a government official for the county.

Genet was posted to USS Georgia, which was sent to the port city of Veracruz as a result of the Tampico Affair.

[4][2]: 10–14  After three months, Georgia left Veracruz and sailed to Port au Prince, Haiti, where Genet heard that war had broken out in Europe.

[2]: 20–21  In late December, Genet was given leave of ten days but failed to return as he decided that he would go to France to fight against the Central Powers.

[2]: 33–36  On January 14, 1915, he wrote to his mother: I never expect to come back—death seems nearer to me than any possible chances of going through the horrible ghastly conflict which is carousing over Europe without meeting death.

[7]: 201 Later, Genet was back fighting in the Bois Sabot; the rest of the company took shelter during an artillery barrage.

Genet was separated from his unit for three days, it was feared that he had been killed in the fighting and his death was reported in several papers.

[10] Genet was proud of being an American, sought the company of his countrymen and for a while flew the Stars and Stripes on top of his tent.

[11]: 343–344  On 19 March, Genet and James Rogers McConnell were flying over enemy lines near Verdun when they encountered two German aircraft.

[11]: 241  Genet was a talented drawer and painter, covering the Escadrille mess hall with his scenes of aerial combat.

[13] : 412  Gervais Raoul Lufbery, one of the first members of the squadron and an ace pilot, flew as Genet's wingman.

After Lufbery returned to the base, the squadron received a call that Genet had crashed on a road 5 km (3.1 mi) from the French lines.

While Genet was not a member of the US military at the time, he is widely considered to be the first American to be killed after the declaration of war between the US and Germany.

While the Navy did not attempt to seek Genet out, he felt unhappy over his absence, fearing the loss of his citizenship.

[11]: 245 [5] : 254  President Woodrow Wilson sent a letter of condolences to Genet's mother, as did the French ambassador and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

[2]: 325–328  The war department posthumously sent his family a letter stating that his service was to be considered in all respects honorable.

Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, wrote: Edmond Charles Clinton Genet may properly be considered as having honorably terminated an enlistment with an ally, since he died on the field of battle.

War Letters of Edmond Genet: The First American Aviator Killed Flying the Stars and Stripes was published in June 1918.

The last section of the book was a series of letters written after Genet's death, including several from his commanding officers that were addressed to his mother.