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Arthur Bluethenthal, nicknamed "Bluey" (November 1, 1891 – June 5, 1918), was an
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
football player for
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, who died in combat fighting for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


Early life

The son of Leopold and Johanna Bluethenthal, he attended
Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...
prior to attending
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, from which he graduated in 1913.


American football career


Player

At Princeton University the 5′-9″, 186-pound Bluethenthal played center from 1910 to 1912. In 1911, he was named first team All-America by a number of newspapers,
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...
second team All-America, and first team All-East in a consensus of 28 newspapers. That year, the Tigers were 8–0–2, and yielded only 15 points the entire year. In 1912, Walter Camp selected him as third team All-America. Bluethenthal is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.


Coach

After he graduated in 1912, Bluethenthal became the line coach for the Princeton Tigers, and then for the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
.


World War I

In 1916, a year before the United States entered World War I, he joined the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
and served at the
Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
with the French 129th Infantry Division. France awarded him the ''
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
'' with Star for conspicuous bravery. On June 1, 1917, he joined the French flying corps, flying a single-engine Breguet bomber in the
Escadrille A flight is a small military unit within the larger structure of an air force, Naval aviation, naval air service, or Army aviation, army air corps; and is usually subordinate to a larger Squadron (aviation), squadron. A military aircraft fligh ...
Breguet 227 of the Lafayette Flying Corps, as the only American in the squadron."Flying the Unfriendly Skies: North Carolinians in the Two World Wars"
, Tom Belton, ''Tar Heel Junior Historian'', Fall 2003
He was killed in battle in aerial combat with four German planes while directing artillery fire on June 5, 1918, near Maignelay, France. France posthumously awarded him a second ''Croix de Guerre'', with Palm. He also received the ''
Médaille Militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
''. In June 1918 Captain Hugh Alwyn Inness-Brown paid tribute to Bluethenthal in the '' Paris Herald'':
In the death of Arthur Bluethenthal, killed in an aerial battle some days ago, France and America lost one of their staunchest patriots. To come to death alone, high in the air, with no friend to tell the story of the struggle and to be buried in a lonely spot near the front, unofficially, with little publicity, would have been the fate that Bluethenthal would have desired, could he have chosen. At all times, he shunned being considered a hero, and when a friend said to him jokingly that his fear of publicity amounted to conceit, he replied, 'Conceit it may be, but I've always taken serving France so seriously that I hardly ever want to talk about it.'
Bluethenthal's remains were repatriated to the United States in 1921. He was buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington. His grave marker includes the squadron insignia of the Lafayette Escadrille which—unusual for a Jewish cemetery—bears a
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...
on the headband.


Personal

The airport in Wilmington, North Carolina, was named Bluethenthal Field on
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
, May 30, 1928, in his honor. Bluethenthal was Jewish, and was a member of Wilmington's Temple of Israel, the first synagogue in North Carolina.


See also

* List of select Jewish football players


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bluethenthal, Arthur 1891 births 1918 deaths American football centers French military personnel killed in World War I Bomber pilots American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Jewish American players of American football Princeton Tigers football coaches Princeton Tigers football players Players of American football from Wilmington, North Carolina Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Burials at Oakdale Cemetery (Wilmington, North Carolina) 20th-century American Jews Jews from North Carolina Jewish American military personnel