World War II Honoree

Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Emeigh, Pennsylvania

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

Relationship

A Grateful American

He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1938 and was assigned to the Philippines. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he guided the 17th Squadron against the Japanese in his P-40 and was reassigned to the Fifth Fighter Command Headquarters at Port Moresby, New Guinea and put in command of two P-39 squadrons of the 8th Fighter Group. He was credited with eight air to air kills and became the FIRST AMERICAN ACE in WW II. By late summer 1942, he was back in the United States and was later killed in a P-40 accident 25 miles north of Elgin Field, Florida, His awards include the Distinguished Service Cross Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross Medal and the Purple Heart Medal.