Adjudant Chef Léon Marie Gaston Fulerand Leon Vitalis was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, most of which as the machine gunner of his superior, Captain Didier Le Cour Grandmaison.

After a one-year suspension for his studies, he did his military service at the age of 21 and was incorporated on October 2, 1911, in the 7th cuirassier regiment as a simple private.

Less than two months later, he graduated and was assigned on April 4 1916 at the N.67 squadron where he carried out several missions in the Verdun sector as a gunner on a two-seater Nieuport 10.

Vitalis quickly became one of the two regular machine gunners of his unit commander, Captain Didier le Cour Grandmaison.

The squadron quickly won its first victories in the Somme, with relatively few losses, especially with regard to the strategies employed: to compensate for the lack of maneuverability of the large twin-engines.

Vitalis found this strategy a good way to exercise his shooting skills and won his second aerial victory on 15 July 1916, by forcing an LVG C to land.

April 14, he won his seventh and last approved victory, on a plane piloted by Captain Le Cour Grandmaison 4, who was killed a little less than a month later by the German ace Heinrich Gontermann.

Vitalis also founded the Association of aces of 14-18, which every year brought together all the pilots and gunners mentioned in the press release to the armies.

After the German invasion of France, Vitalis left Loiret to seek refuge in his hometown of Lodève, in the free zone.