Manfred von Richthofen

Born in 1892 in Breslau, Silesia (now Wroclaw, Poland) Richthofen was the son of a hereditary baron. A daredevil for life, he was an avid hunter and mountain climber. With Germany's entrance into WW1 in 1914, Richthofen mobilized in a Silesian cavalry unit, and survived the first battle of Verdun in 1915. Soon after, he transferred to the Luftwaffe (Imperial German Air Force) as a bombardier. By 1916, however, he was tapped for training in the then-new art of fighter combat, flying an Albatros D.2 in March, 1916. By the end of 1916, Richthofen was a certified ace, having downed over 20 aircraft, including the number one British ace up to that time, Maj. Lanoe Hawker. Due to his tally, Richthofen earned the medal "Pour le Merite" (yes, the official name's in French) in December 1916. Throughout the rest of the war, the legend of the Red Baron continued to grow, as did his kill tally, officially reaching 80 kills in April 1918. On April 21 of that year, Richthofen led a routine strafing mission against the British trenches in the Somme region and was killed with a single .303 bullet to the chest, most likely fired from the ground.