Name: Reed McKinley Chambers Country: United States Rank: Major Services: United States Air Service Squadrons: 94th Aero Victories: 7 Born: 18 August 1894 Place of Birth: Onaga, Kansas Died: 16 January 1972 Place of Death: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands Notes After joining the National Guard in 1914 and serving on the Mexican border in 1916, Chambers transferred to the United States Air Service. After the war, he and Eddie Rickenbacker formed Florida Airways. When the business failed in 1927, he formed an insurance company. In 1968, he broke the sound barrier when he was invited to copilot an F106. Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) "For extraordinary heroism in action over the region of Epinonville, France, 29 September 1918. While on a mission, Lt. Chambers, accompanied by another machine piloted by Lt. Samuel Kaye Jr., encountered a formation of six enemy machines (Fokker type) at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Despite numerical superiority of the enemy, Lt. Chambers and Lt. Kaye immediately attacked and succeeded in destroying one and forced the remaining five to retreat to their own lines." DSC citation LΘgion d'Honneur "A very brave pilot, who, by dint of his sterling qualities was a fine example for the whole squadron. When he was on patrol with eight of his comrades, he attacked 24 enemies who were scattered and he came back in our lines with his plane severely damaged." LΘgion d'Honneur citation Aces ╖ Aircraft ╖ Books ╖ Chat ╖ Forum ╖ Guests ╖ Links ╖ Medals ╖ News ╖ Search ╖ Vote Copyright ⌐ 1997,1998 The Aerodrome Page revised on 18 Nov 1997