Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane; this is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.

Stephen W. Thompson

American military aviator (1894–1977)

Stephen W. Thompson was an American aviator of World War I. Flying as a gunner on a French aircraft in February 1918, he became the first member of the United States military to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Kiffin Rockwell achieved an earlier aerial victory as an American…