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

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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 623 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name is d ...

to Percy Rivington Pyne II and Maud Howland. He entered

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

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

, 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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department ...

, 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 one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

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

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. stat ...

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

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 banking family Rivington family