Posthumously awarded the Medal
of Honor, the "Arizona Balloon Buster" was
the leading ace in the United States Air Service
at the time of his death. After aerial combat
training at Issoudun, France, Luke was assigned
to the 27th Pursuit Squadron under Harold Hartney
on 25 July 1918. Often flying alone or with
his sidekick Joseph Wehner, Luke shot down
18 enemy balloons and planes in 17 days before
he was killed in action. After flaming three
German balloons on 29 September 1918, his SPAD
S.XIII was shot down by ground fire. Resisting
capture, he shot it out with approaching German
soldiers and was killed near the crash site.
After the war, Luke's remains were reburied
at the Romagne Military Cemetery. Luke Air
Force Base was named in his honor. |
