Colonel Reed Gresham Landis (July 17, 1896 – May 30, 1975) was an American military aviator who served in the air services of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was credited as a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

during the former, with twelve aerial victories.

Early life and World War I

Landis was born on July 17, 1896, in Ottawa, Illinois, United States. He was the only son of Winifred Reed Landis and federal judge

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...

, the first

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

. In 1916, Landis enlisted in the 1st Illinois Cavalry of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and served as a private along the Mexican border in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

. In 1917 he joined the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps. He finished his training in England and was posted to No. 40 Squadron RAF. Flying the Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a he drove down a Pfalz D.III out of control on 8 May 1918 for his first victory. On 19 May, he destroyed another D.III. Between 14 July and 19 August, he claimed another ten victories. His final tally was an observation balloon and eight enemy airplanes destroyed, and three enemy planes driven 'down out of control'. During the war he flew missions with

George McElroy Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain George Edward Henry McElroy Military Cross, MC & Medal bar, Two Bars, Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC & Bar (14 May 1893 – 31 July 1918) was a leading Irish fighter pilot of t ...

and

Stan Dallas Roderic Stanley (Stan) Dallas, (30 July 1891 – 1 June 1918) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His score of aerial victories is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little, bu ...

. In late August 1918, Landis was transferred to command the

25th Aero Squadron The 25th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 4th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army. I ...

, which never succeeded in getting into combat, only receiving its Austin-built S.E.5as in early November 1918. The present-day U.S. Air Force unit, the

25th Space Range Squadron The 25th Space Range Squadron is a squadron (aviation), squadron of the United States Space Force. It is assigned to the Space Delta 11 at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The 25th operates the Space Test and Training Range along with t ...

, traces its lineage back to the

and recognizes Landis as its first operational squadron commander. 25th_Aero_Squadron.jpg, 25th AS Officer Corps, Landis centered with "Mike" their mascot 25th_Aero_Squadron_Large.jpg, 25th AS & Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 aircraft. Landis center w/mascot (dog) 25th Aero Squadron Pilots.jpg, 25th AS Pilots (Landis and first flight commanders identified. Nov 1918 Landis family.jpeg, Landis and his parents

Post World War I

During the 1920s, Landis became chairman of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

. During World War II, he returned to service as a

USAAC The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

colonel stationed in Washington DC.

Retirement

In April 1946, Landis announced his retirement and said that he would be living near

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, by July. He had a residence near

Bastrop State Park Bastrop State Park is a state park in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The park was established in 1933 and consists of stands of loblolly pines mixed with post oak and junipers. History Pre-foundation The Spanish travel route known as ...

Honors and awards

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed Gresham Landis, Captain (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action west of Douai and south of Vitry, August 8, 1918; west of Brieve, August 12, 1918; and over Lens, August 13, 1918. During a general engagement west of Douai and south of Vitry on August 8, 1918, Captain Landis attacked and destroyed two enemy planes and one balloon in the course of a single flight. During a general engagement west of Brieve on August 12, 1918, he singled out an enemy plane and shot it down. While on patrol over Lens on August 13, 1918, he engaged four enemy triplanes and one biplane in decisive combat, and, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, he destroyed two of their planes and forced the others to withdraw. On August 19, 1918, while leading a patrol of five planes he encountered and unhesitatingly attacked eight enemy Fokker scouts, one of which he shot down. During the combat several other enemy planes joined the action from above and observing one of these attacking a member of his patrol, he climbed up under it, and firing at point-blank range shot it down. General Orders No. 8, W.D., 1934 Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has carried out offensive patrols with marked determination and dash, and he has on all occasions engaged the enemy with marked skill and an entire disregard of personal danger. On 8 August 1918, he attacked an enemy kite balloon over Vitry-en-Artois. One observer jumped clear with a parachute and the balloon burst into flames and went down. Personally he has accounted for enemy aircraft as follows: On 8 August, during a general engagement west of Douai, he engaged a Fokker biplane and fired a short burst from point blank range. EA went down vertically after emitting a huge cloud of smoke and though the enemy machine was not seen to burst into flames, it was evidently on fire. He then attacked a balloon over Vitry but seeing a DFW below it, he attacked the EA instead. He fired a long burst from above; the enemy machine dived, started to spin and crashed on the southern edge of Vitry-en-Artois village. On 7 August, while on offensive patrol in the vicinity of Carvin, four enemy scouts were engaged. He selected one and fired about 300 rounds closing at short range. EA spiraled steeply, side-slipped at intervals and was seen to crash in the vicinity of Carvin. On 14 July, when on offensive patrol, he fired about 150 rounds into a Pfalz scout from 75 yards range. Enemy machine was observed to crash near Epinoy. In addition to the above, this officer has destroyed one EA and driven on down out of control. Reed_G._Landis_trading_card_1.jpg, Major Reed G. Landis trading card 1934 (front) Reed_G._Landis_trading_card_2.jpg, Major Reed G. Landis trading card 1934 (back)

References

Bibliography

''American Aces of World War 1'' Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , .

External links

Reed Landis; findagrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landis, Reed G. People from Ottawa, Illinois 1896 births 1975 deaths American World War I flying aces United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Aviators from Illinois Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army colonels Royal Air Force personnel of World War I United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Military personnel from Illinois