Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ təno]) (15 December 1887 – 19 December 1948) was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille – the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Escadrille was created before the United States gave up its neutrality and joined France and Britain in the war against Germany. Once the United States formally entered the war, the Lafayette Escadrille was absorbed into the U.S. Army.

Born on 2 October 1887, in the small town of Celle-Lévescault, France (located on main highway between La Rochelle and Tours) to the parents of Monsieur Paul Louis Thenault and Madame Eugénie Gabrielle Louise Bathilde (Bonneau) Thenault. His parents were married on 1 September 1886 at Église Notre-Dame de Vaux Church, Vaux commune, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. His siblings were Louis Roger Thenault (brother), Edmée Isabelle Thenault (sister), and Marcel Emile Thenault (brother).

Standing 5-ft, 8-in, he was a giant in the eyes of his fellow Frenchmen and a respected leader amongst the American volunteer pilots. Identified as N.124, the Lafayette Escadrille was assigned to Groupe de Combat 13 under the overall command of Commandant Philippe Féquant. During 1916–1917, this Groupe de Combat 13 took part in such engagements as the Battle of the Somme, the Second Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of Verdun, and in the Battle of Passchendaele. In early 1918, it operated in the region between Soissons and Reims.

Captain Georges Thenault credits Adjudant Norman Prince for conceiving in November 1914 the idea of bringing together his countrymen with some of those of the French Foreign Legion in a squadron of flyers. Support soon came about from civilian and military representatives of France and the United States. These representatives added expertise and government networking resolving over time the method of recruiting and financing, and successfully encountering the French officialdom. Five influential men instrumental in providing this organizational support included:

This team of five experts identified the many issues involved and the obstacles that had to be overcome, and helped the first American volunteers to develop a plan:

"There were Americans fighting in the Foreign Legion, but their identity was lost in this body; they were simply units in a tremendous group. Dr. Gros and his associates dreamed of some other form of service in which Americans might participate as Americans, even though the flag of the United States might not officially be carried into the war. The idea was constantly before them, and, when they found that among the Americans already in France and already anxious to help as best they might, were men who had learned the art of flying in this country, the plan for a special American flying corps was conceived and developed."

Final approval for this plan was given by Major General Auguste Edouard Hirschauer (16 June 1857, Saint-Avold, Moselle, Lorraine region of France – 27 December 1943, Versailles, Yvelines, region Ile-de-France) – Chief of French Military Aeronautics for the Ministry of War (1914–1915).

It started with a group of American volunteers (Norman Prince, William Thaw, Victor Chapman, Kiffin Rockwell, James McConnell, Clyde Balsley, Chouteau Johnson, Lawrence Rumsey, Paul Rockwell) in Paris, France, where they met to discuss how would one be able to enter the French Aviation Service to fly combat missions against the Germans. They met Monday evening, 17 April 1916, at a Paris restaurant to celebrate the final and definite organization of the Escadrille Americaine.