Percy Rivington Pyne Jr. (November 9, 1896 – December 9, 1941) was an American fighter pilot who fought 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 ...

Biography

He was born on November 9, 1896, in

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name ...

, to

Percy Rivington Pyne II Percy Rivington Pyne II (May 5, 1857 – August 22, 1929) was a banker, financier, and philanthropist. Early life Pyne was born on May 5, 1857 in New York City, the son of Percy Rivington Pyne I (1820-1895) and Albertina Shelton (née Tayl ...

and Maud Howland. He entered

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 ...

with the class of 1918. He was a pioneer of the Princeton Aviation School and left before graduating to join the

American Expeditionary Force 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 ...

. Pyne was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with

103d Aero Squadron The 103rd Aero Squadron was an aviation pursuit squadron of the U.S. Air Service that served in combat in France during World War I. Its original complement included pilots from the disbanded Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps. O ...

3d Pursuit Group The 3rd Pursuit Group was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the First United States Army. Formed in France in July 1918, the group was assigned to the 1st Pursuit Wing and saw a ...

, U.S. Army Air Service, A.E.F., near

Dun-sur-Meuse Dun-sur-Meuse (, literally ''Dun on Meuse'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Among notable residents was the painter Hector Leroux, who was buried in the cemetery there. History In the 11th century ...

, France, 23 October 1918. After the war Pyne returned to Princeton to complete his studies and received a B.A. degree. He then went to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

and received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. Pyne died on December 9, 1941, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, at the age of 45 after a long illness. He was buried in

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyne, Percy Rivington 1896 births 1941 deaths Princeton University alumni Alumni of New College, Oxford United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Pyne family (banking) Rivington family