FIRST AERIAL VICTORY BY THE U.S. MILITARY

On February 5 1918 Stephen W. Thompson (1894-1977), a native of West Plains, Missouri and a member of the American 1st Aero Squadron, became the first person wearing a U.S. military uniform to shoot down an enemy aircraft. He was on a training mission with a French bombardment squadron and shot down a German Albatross fighter over Saarbrucken, Germany. The uniform that Thompson was wearing along with a bloody sock and a bullet that he dug out of his leg after another battle are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

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Sources

Sources

Stephen W. Thompson page on the National Air Force Museum website