Frank Luke

Infobox Military Person
name= Frank Luke, Jr.
born= birth date|1897|5|19
died= death date and age|1918|9|29|1897|5|19
placeofbirth= Phoenix, Arizona
placeofdeath= KIA near Murvaux, France
placeofburial=


caption= Frank Luke, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient
nickname= "Arizona Balloon Buster"
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears= 1917-1918
rank= Second Lieutenant
commands=
unit=
battles= World War I
awards= Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross (USA) Croice de Guerra (Italian)
laterwork=

Frank Luke Jr. (19 May 1897 in Phoenix, Arizona – 29 September 1918 near Murvaux France) was an American fighter ace, ranking second among U.S. Air Service pilots to Eddie Rickenbacker in number of aerial victories during World War I. [cite web
url=http://www.airman.af.mil/heritage/heritage_5.htm
title=Top 10: World War I Aces
work=Airman Airforce Heritage
publisher=United States Air Force
accessdate=2006-07-16 ] Frank Luke is a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Luke's family emigrated from Germany to America, and in 1873 Frank Luke Sr. settled in Arizona. His fifth child, Frank Jr., grew up an active, hardy youngster who excelled at sports, worked the copper mines, and entered bare-knuckle boxing matches. Following America's entry into World War I, he enlisted in the United States Army on 25 September 1917 and received flight training in Texas and California. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant, in March he went to France for further training and in July was assigned to the 27th Aero Squadron. [ [http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/squadrons_flights_pages/0027fs.html 27th Fighter Squadron ] at afhra.maxwell.af.mil]

Luke was simultaneously admired and disliked for his aggressive tendency to fly alone. But the 27th was under standing orders to destroy German observation balloons, and Luke, partnered with Lt. Joseph Frank Wehner, was willing to take on the remarkably hazardous targets. They began a remarkable string of victories, Luke attacking balloons and Wehner flying protective cover, but Wehner was killed in action on 18 September 1918. That same day Luke shot down his 13th "official" kill - a [http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?p=286451 Halberstadt C] type observation plane of FA 36. [http://www.earlyaviator.com/archive/w/images/FLJ_germanwreck.jpg]

Between September 12 and September 29, Luke was credited with shooting down 14 German balloons and four airplanes. [ [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/luke1.php Frank Luke - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I ] at www.theaerodrome.com]

Luke met his fate in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Under threat of arrest for going AWOL, Luke took off in a SPAD XIII fighter without authorization and flew to the front. He shot down three observation balloons but was wounded in the shoulder by antiaircraft fire. He landed in German-held territory in the churchyard of the small village of Murvaux next to a stream that led to the Meuse River. Surrounded by German infantry and called upon to surrender, Luke pulled out his pistol, a Colt 1911, and opened fire. He was then killed. He was found a day later with an empty gun and a bullet hole in his chest, with seven dead Germans in front of him. He was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor in 1921 after his body was identified and statements from the village people had been collected confirming his heroism.

Rickenbacker said of Luke: "He was the most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war. His life is one of the brightest glories of our Air Service. He went on a rampage and shot down fourteen enemy aircraft, including ten balloons, in eight days. No other ace, even the dreaded Richthofen, had ever come close to that."

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 27th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, Air Service. Place and Date: Near Murvaux, France, 29 September 1918. Entered Service At: Phoenix, Ariz. Born: 19 May 1897, Phoenix, Ariz. G. O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919.

Citation:

: After having previously destroyed a number of enemy aircraft within 17 days he voluntarily started on a patrol after German observation balloons. Though pursued by 8 German planes which were protecting the enemy balloon line, he unhesitatingly attacked and shot down in flames 3 German balloons, being himself under heavy fire from ground batteries and the hostile planes. Severely wounded, he descended to within 50 meters of the ground, and flying at this low altitude near the town of Murvaux opened fire upon enemy troops, killing 6 and wounding as many more. Forced to make a landing and surrounded on all sides by the enemy, who called upon him to surrender, he drew his automatic pistol and defended himself gallantly until he fell dead from a wound in the chest.

Other Aces

Luke is often cited as the second-ranking American ace of World War I but that ignores American citizens who flew in other air arms. (It is also noteworthy that 17 of Luke's 18 victories were assessed as destroyed versus only 11 of Rickenbacker's 26.) Americans flying with the British who exceeded Luke's score were Frederick W. Gillet (20, all destroyed) and Wilfred Beaver (19, 12 destroyed.) One who matched Luke's tally was William C. Lambert (18, 10.5 destroyed).

The Stand

In the decades since Luke's death, controversy and rumors have flown right and left about the young American ace between historians and authors. Some have said that Luke was killed upon crash landing, and the story about the daredevil killing 7 Germans before being shot in turn was and is nothing more than a heroic tale (much like the tales the French popularized about Georges Guynemer after his disappearance on 11 September 1917). Several historians have brought documents to light which state that Luke was never in danger of being placed under arrest for going AWOL because it simply never happened, though authenticity of these documents has yet to be confirmed.

Most agree, however, that Luke most likely did in fact crash land and make a fighting stand.

Recognition

*Recent discoveries about the life and death of Frank Luke will be released in [http://www.indysquadron.com/thestandfrankluke/ THE STAND: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr.] , (the officially authorized biography) by Schiffer Military History Books, set for publication in September 2008.
*Luke Air Force Base, located west of Phoenix, Arizona, is named in his honor.
*Lukeville, AZ, on the U.S. border is named after Frank Luke.
*Frank Luke was named the Class Exemplar of the United States Air Force Academy's class of 2010.
*In the 2006 movie Flyboys, James Franco's leading character Blaine Rawlings is inspired by Frank Luke.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I

External links

* [http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/us_luke.html Frank Luke at Acepilots.com]
* [http://www.usaww1.com July 14, 2008 - 90th anniversary Commemoration of Frank Luke and 1st Pursuit Group in France]

Notes

References

*cite web
url=http://www.indysquadron.com/thestandfrankluke/
title=THE STAND: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr.
author=Stephen Skinner
publisher=Schiffer Military History Books, upcoming 2008 release
accessdate=2007-03-08

*cite web
url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/luke1.html
title=Frank Luke
work=Aces and Aircraft of World War I
publisher=The Aerodrome
accessdate=2006-03-14

*cite web
url=http://www.frankluke.com
title=The Frank Luke Jr. Documentary
author=King, Tim
accessdate=2006-07-16

*cite web
url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123006460
title=Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr.
work=Air Force Link
publisher=United States Air Force
accessdate=2006-07-16

*cite web
url=http://www.airman.af.mil/heritage/heritage_3.htm
title=Medal of Honor Recipients
work=Airman Airforce Heritage
publisher=United States Air Force
accessdate=2006-07-16

Persondata
NAME= Luke, Frank, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American fighter ace
DATE OF BIRTH= 1897-5-19
PLACE OF BIRTH= Phoenix, Arizona
DATE OF DEATH= 1918-9-29
PLACE OF DEATH= Murvaux, France