When at last the Germans had exacted their revenge, they dumped the body in an unmarked hole. It's easy to see why; Luke was a huge war hero, and that wasn't the half of it. From a well-placed balloon near the front lines, an observer could watch enemy troop movements and direct deadly and devastating artillery fire with pinpoint accuracy. America's new Ace of Aces was a phenomenon, worshipped by the infantrymen who witnessed his amazing displays over enemy lines, revered by the mechanics who patched up his Spad after each action while marveling at his survival and envied by pilots of both the Allied and German air forces. He had just grounded the American Ace of Aces, the man who had single-handedly made the Eagle Squadron one of the most publicized flying units of the war. Baptized Francis Joseph Anthony Luke in St. Mary's Parish in Phoenix shortly after birth, Frank Luke grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Phoenix Union High School in that city. In the weeks after his first victory, Luke did drop out often to visit with the French fliers. . Back at Vasconcells' field, the fireworks began, lighting the airstrip inside Allied lines to beacon the American hero home. Furthermore, to protect the valuable balloons, anti-aircraft guns were concentrated around them on the ground, to fill the skies with deadly explosions (called "Archie" by the Americans). Frank was his family's fifth child, and had eight brothers and sisters. The Le Rhone caught and I was off down the field for Group headquarters. In the distance, he saw a line of trees just beyond the outskirts of the village, and a small field perhaps large enough to put his crippled airplane on the ground. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. Rank and Organization: Second Lieutenant, 27th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group. North of Verdun he could see the allied anti-aircraft fire in the twilight, indicating there was a German plane somewhere over the Allied sector. Below, the ground crew was anxiously winching the Drachen to its nest, as Luke banked to come back for another pass. Today, when one visits the Arizona State Capitol, one cannot miss the statue of a World War I airman, standing alone beneath the Flag of the United States of America for which he fought. Amazingly, he and his airplane had recovered from their lethal dive. "I'm sorry, that's straight from Grant. Luke was already flying dangerously low after diving to nail the third balloon before it could be hauled into its nest. Frank Luke - Wikipedia waco bend ranch: ann heimbach: luke barnhart (olwb) 0: set 5 wed 11/17: about 38 minutes between these sets. Luke's home state pushed to acquire the name. Back in Arizona, where Luke had been an athletic star in track, baseball and football at Phoenix Union High School, the 5'9", 155-pound young man would never quit. ACRES 825,000. Hartney had backed off to leave the man who had replaced him at the helm of the Eagle Squadron to command in his own rigid way. He followed him around the aerodrome constantly. Shortly after takeoff he sighted a balloon near Montsec and fired 100 rounds into it. The man loves to push himself to the limit, so it's no wonder why he chose USAAS to serve. On a two-week leave that fall he returned to Phoenix to visit the new family home on Monroe Street. Hurriedly Frank dug up a few holes, randomly placing the bulbs, covered them neatly, and rushed off to catch his game. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Saturday the 14th would be a different matter, however, a banner day for the entire Group. The Spad's engine sputtered and struggled as Luke watched the trenches pass below as he crossed into friendly territory, then landed near Dieulouard. He completed a master's degree in history in 1940 at the University of Texas and worked as archivist and acting director of the San Jacinto Museum before joining the United States Navy in 1943. Where Luke was concerned, mechanical problems became an excuse for those who disliked him for his boisterous talk, to label him independent, rebellious against authority, and a loner. Luke's stream of tracers crippled the balloon but failed to ignite it. In 1913 W. E. Hoshall purchased land . To begin with, though a college education was required even among the earliest US Army aviators, no one knows when, where, or even if Frank Luke attended college. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, All Major Military Award Recipients (PDF). The feat was unprecedented, eventually earning Lieutenant Luke the Distinguished Flying Cross, though there would be no celebration back at Rembercourt. Ivan Roberts never returned from the mission. The Fokkers broke off as they watched the doomed Spad fall, turning in search of additional prey. In contrast was the hard-working Lieutenant Jerry Vasconcells, born and raised in the small Kansas town of Lyons, then working his way through an education at the University of Denver in Colorado. If he got killed in the process, well, no one but Wehner and Roberts would shed any tears. Frank had always wanted to capture an enemy airplane with machineguns intact to send home as mementos of his service in France. The bloody battle of Chateau-Thierry was the worst fighting for American soldiers since the battle of Five Forks in the Civil War, much of it borne by the men of the 5th Marines who struggled with the enemy in often hand-to-hand combat. On July 20, the Eagle Squadron fielded a 5-plane patrol from which only three returned. Luke was always returning late, and usually alone, after being separated from his squadron on most of their missions. Such information could only be denied if the fighter pilots could somehow keep the German observation balloons out of the sky. Entered Service At Phoenix, Ariz. Born: May 19, 1897, Phoenix, Ariz. G. O. Such charges were not uncommon during World War I, even famed race driver Eddie Rickenbacher (he changed the Arian spelling to Rickenbacker during his military service, partially due to this prejudice), had been suspect and repeatedly tailed and investigatedeven after joining the Army and going to Europe with the A.E.F. Perhaps no other type of aircraft was as important to either side during World War I than the large observation balloonscalled "Drachen" by the Germans and "Sausages" by the Americans. He didn't even know he had an ally behind him, single-handedly taking on four enemy planes, as Hartney banked and headed safely home to land at Coincy. [1], Luke is often cited as the second-ranking United States ace of World War I, but that statement ignores certain American pilots who flew with other air services. Pulling out a map, Grant drew a circle around the town of Buzy near the front lines of the ongoing offensive. Bernard Frank "Ben" Luke. "Highly exasperated I reached out of the cockpit and grabbed Vasconcells by the arm," Hartney recalled. Starting tailback and captain of his football team, he played with an energy and abandoned far beyond his size. "Listen Major, we want to take that all back. If the aerodrome at Saints had been a University Campus, the B.M.O.C. "Frank, one thing though.", "I don't want you going out until dark. Luke left Rembercourt in a 12-plane patrol, armed for sausage. Suddenly a white cloud erupted upward, nearly engulfing his Spad as intense heat threatened to burn him alive. Squadron commander Major Hartney was quick to point this out the following morning in his welcome speech to the new recruits: "You are in the 27th in name only. Luke laid it out simply, a line plotting a drive on the football field. With Frank Luke, everything was reversed. It was an accomplishment almost unprecedented in the history of aerial combat. "After the second patrol I had scarcely landed and made my way to Group headquarters when Grant, Clapp, and Dawson came galloping up, highly excited," Hartney later wrote of that day. He's gone, the poor kid, but he went in a blaze of glory. In the myriad of stories that were told and written about the Great Balloon Buster after the war, Frank Luke is often referred to as a "Madman" for the fearless abandon with which he attacked the Germans. "We had little idea he would really get either of them, but we all gathered together out in the open as the time grew near and kept our eyes glued to the distant specks in the sky. The Major was thinking about Luke's ideas for twilight balloon hunts when his planes began taking off in the morning. Wehner opened fire to give his friend breathing room, shooting down one (the kill was unconfirmed and never credited the soon-to-be Ace), and then both men raced for the American lines. The tally was sixteen kills and growingunless Ack Grant could put a stop to his rebel pilot. He wasn't! He died on September 29, 1918, Murvaux, France. From the small grass field hidden by a ring of trees and artificial camouflage, the 1st Pursuit Group would be launching support for the first American offensive of World War I near the town of St. Mihiel. On September 28, 1918, after achieving his 14th and 15th victories, he landed his SPAD XIII at the French aerodrome at Cicognes where he spent the night, claiming engine trouble. The squabble became just one more of those annoying disturbances Frank Luke would cause his new commander, Ack Grant. One of the first pilots out was Joe Wehner. I'd like to kill the man that did. The tempo seemed to pick up on the ground, and all eyes strained towards the east in anticipation of what they all knew was coming. It was in the days following the August 1 disaster that the 27th Aero Squadron started getting its new Spads to replace the aging Neuports. "You hear me? ellie carpenter injury; frank luke ranch texas; 30 . Though Allied pilots would claim more than a dozen victories that the first day, Wehner was unsuccessful in his efforts to get credit for his balloon, leaving only one man to gain a victory for the entire 1st Pursuit Group. Quickly the German ground crew began winching the Drachen to the ground, and by the time Wehner had turned to make another run, the sausage was safely in its nest. That night the entire 1st Pursuit Group held a dinner in honor of Frank Luke, now a reluctant hero. Second Lieutenant Frank Luke nursed the engine of his French Spad-13 as twilight was falling over the field at Coincy near the Western Front. Lackland AFB (Joint Base San Antonio) Official Website. "Yeah," Luke grunted, flippantly tossing his combat report on the desk as he turned to leave. To pass the daylight hours he began honing his marksmanship. They have also lived in Cedar Park, TX and Round Rock, TX. Luke was an excitable, high-strung boy, and his impetuous courage was always getting him into trouble. Staring straight ahead he continued his dive, straight into the enemy balloon, opening up with his guns only when he was so close it would take great skill to avoid a collision. His balloon victory was more than verified (though strangely enough it wouldn't be officially credited for two weeks), and the condition of his Spad showed all too well the evidence of a man fearless in battle. [1] "Keep your eyes on these two balloons," said Frank as he passed us. Neither man had survived Hartney's "two-week" benchmark. Asking the 21-year old kid from Arizona to become a part of this fraternity was akin to trying to mix oil and water. Military maneuvers were carefully crafted, weaving threads of intelligence, the guesswork of experts, and the education and experience of proven leaders into a well-planned strategic offensive. In a moment the thrill of victory turned to horror as Luke watched his partner's Spad rollover, and then begin to fall, flames issuing from its fuel tank. ), When Luke landed at the advance airfield near Verdun, a grim-faced Lieutenant Vasconcells met him. Already the Arizona cowboy had worn out his welcome. [1], The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Air Service) Frank Luke Jr., United States Army Air Service, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 27th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Service, A.E.F., near St. Mihiel, France, September 12 to 15, 1918. Five days later a group of replacements received orders for the 27th Aero Squadron. On his first day with the squadron, Frank Luke was already off on the wrong foot, and with the squadron commander no less. Three days later, the foreman of the vast King Ranch caught five members of the band with stolen cattle. In France that fall he returned to Phoenix to visit the new family home on Monroe Street on 20. The first pilots out was Joe Wehner Luke, now a reluctant hero he began his... 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