Captain Jerry Cox Vasconcells (December 3, 1892 – April 17, 1950) was a

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 ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with six aerial victories. Vasconcells was inducted into the

Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame The Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame was established by the Colorado Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) in Denver, Colorado, US, on November 11, 1969, for the State of Colorado. The original and first ten Colorado aviation pioneers were inducted ...

in its first ceremony of 1969.

Biography

Early years

Jerry Vasconcells was born in

Lyons, Kansas Lyons is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,611. History For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. Although Co ...

on December 3, 1892. He attended East High School, in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, and then graduated from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

Law School.

Military service

Vasconcells joined the

U.S. Army Air Corps 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 ri ...

at the onset of

, and was sent to France in 1917 to fly combat. While flying the SPAD biplane in combat, he was shot down, but with skilled flying he landed in " no man's land" and was rescued by Allied soldiers. He became an "

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

" with a score of six airplanesLafayetteFoundation.org ''Jerry Vasconcells''
/ref> and two balloons. He was awarded the

French 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 Worl ...

and other honors from both the French and American governments. Vasconcells was a flight commander for the

27th Aero Squadron The 27th 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 1st Pursuit Group, First United States Army. It ...

of the

1st Pursuit Group First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

(AEF) in 1918, and by war's end he was in command of the

185th Aero Squadron The 185th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. Known as the "Bats", the 185th Aero Squadron was the first and only night pursuit (fighter) squadron organized by the United ...

, the first night pursuit squadron of the AEF. Jerry Vasconcells was Colorado's only ace of the war. Vasconcells' military career included associations with other renown aviators, including Capt.

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

and

Frank Luke Frank Luke Jr. (May 19, 1897 – September 29, 1918) was an American fighter ace credited with 19 aerial victories, ranking him second among United States Army Air Service (USAAS) pilots during World War I, after Eddie Rickenbacker. Luke was ...

. In 1919, he acquired a Military Aviator flight rating and was promoted to major. Upon returning to the United States, he had numerous health issues relating to his military flying.

Commercial businesses

He and Mayor Benjamin F. Stapleton established Denver's Municipal Airfield with scheduled commercial flight service. During his commercial aviation career in Denver, he served two terms as chairman of the Colorado Aeronautics Commission, and helped organize the first Colorado Air Meet in 1921. Jerry helped to create and organize the

Quiet Birdmen Association The Quiet Birdmen is a secretive club in the United States for male aviators. Founded in 1921 by World War I pilots, the organization meets in various locations, never announced to the public. Members, called QBs, must be invited to join, and they ...

. He died at his home in Denver in 1950.

References

Bibliography

* ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . * ''Terror of the Autumn Skies: The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I'', 2008, by Blaine L. Pardoe, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, New York;

External links

USA WWI: ''Aces''

SlideShare.net: ''USAS 1st Pursuit Group (Aviation Elite Units)'' by Jon Guttman

Colorado Aviation Historical Society website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasconcells, Jerry American World War I flying aces Aviators from Kansas American people of Portuguese descent 1892 births 1950 deaths People from Lyons, Kansas