A native of Phoenix, Arizona, where he was born in 1897, he arrived in France with a tough self-confidence and an evident contempt for discipline that did not endear him to his fellow pilots on the 27th Aero Squadron.
Frank Luke achieved his score of 21 victories in the six weeks between 16 August and his death on 28 September 1918. He was something of a loner, and it was this that attracted him to the German observation balloons, particularly hazardous targets on account of their heavy ground defences. On his last mission he destroyed three balloons before being forced to crash land behind the German lines, preferring to resist capture by fighting enemy troops with a pistol, resulting inevitably in his death. Despite his constant flouting of regulations (an order for arrest was awaiting execution at the time of his death), Luke was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.
All Aero 