First Lieutenant Paul Frank Baer (1894–1930) was an American army officer. He was the first flying ace—a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat—in American military aviation.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Baer was an American World War I flying ace credited with nine confirmed victories and seven unconfirmed victory claims during 1918. He was shot down and fell into German hands. He would remain a prisoner of war until after the armistice.
Baer was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Légion d’honneur, and the French Croix de Guerre. After the war, he worked in civil aviation, first as an aeronautics inspector in San Antonio, Texas, and then as a commercial pilot in South America. He died in an aircraft accident in Shanghai.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Paul Frank Baer
To get nowhere, follow the crowd.
—Paul Frank Baer
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