Lieutenant Wilbert Wallace White was a World War I

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 ...

credited with eight aerial victories. He was recommended for the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his heroic self-sacrifice.

Early life

The son of a Protestant minister had graduated from

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...

in 1907 and the University of Wooster in 1912, and was married with two children when he volunteered for military service.

Aerial service

White enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service in July 1917. He trained in Canada. He reported to the 147th Aero Squadron in February 1918. He scored a double victory to begin, shooting down two

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

s on 24 July 1918. On 14 September, he shot down a German observation balloon and another Fokker D.VII. On 27 September, he got two more victories, sharing one with two other pilots. On 10 October, he shot down a

Hannover CL Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer of the World War I era. It was known as a railway rolling stock constructor until required by the German government in 1916 to start the construction of aeroplanes. The aircraft branc ...

in conjunction with Kenneth Porter and another pilot shortly past noon. Three hours later, he took off again. He had already become the 147th Aero Squadron's leading ace and had orders to return to the United States when he flew this last sortie. When he saw

Jasta 10 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 10 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. ''Jasta 10'', in its brief existence, was credited with 118 enem ...

German ace Wilhelm Kohlbach's

on the tail of an inexperienced pilot, White intervened. White's guns jammed and he was unable to fire at Kohlbach, so he rammed the German instead, to score his eighth and Kohlbach's fifth victory. While White fell to his death, Kohlbach took to his parachute in one of the first fighter pilot bailouts in history. White was posthumously recommended for the

, but was instead awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to his DSC.

References

Bibliography

* ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Wilbert 1889 births 1918 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) American World War I flying aces American military personnel killed in World War I

Early life

Aerial service

See also

References

Bibliography