pilots such as Eddie Rickenbacker in combat techniques. The United States Army Air Service was equipped with Nieuport 28 fighters, but due to supply problems, many lacked armament. The 94th's first combat patrol on 6 March 1918, saw Lufbery leading Rickenbacker and fellow flyer Doug Campbell in unarmed airplanes. Lufbery had unconfirmed claims in April 1918, on the 12th and the 27th, while leading 94 Squadron. Death On 19 May 1918, Lufbery took off in his Nieuport 28 in an attempt to intercept a German Rumpler reconnaissance machine near to the 94th's home airfield. As Lufbery closed in to attack, the German gunner's fire hit the Nieuport. What happened next has been a matter of debate. At an altitude variously estimated between 200 and 600 feet, Lufbery was said to have jumped out of the plane, either to avoid a fiery death or as an attempt to land in the nearby Moselle River, rather than being thrown from the cockpit after it flipped over above the village of Maron. His falling body struck a metal garden picket fence, causing his death. However, on-site research by Royal D. Frey of the National Museum of the United States Air Force (then the Air Force Museum) established in 1962 that witnesses on the ground below the action saw the plane, not burning, flip over, and Lufbery was thrown out, having unfastened his seat belt to clear a jam in his machine gun during his final fight. Frey went on to explain the social dynamics that led to the "historical inflation." The German aircrew - a Rumpler-crew of Reihenbildzug Nr. 3, Gefr. Kirschbaum and Lt. Scheibe - were then shot down and captured. Lufbery was buried with full military honors at the Aviators Cemetery at Sebastapol, France. His remains were later removed to a place of honor at the Lafayette Memorial du Parc de Garches in Paris. Although he received credit for only 16 victories in his career, his fellow pilots related many instances when he shot down German planes that he was not credited for. His actual number of victories has been unofficially estimated at anywhere between 25 and 60. Lufbery's 16 victories ties him with three others as the 9th place American World War I fighter ace. Awards Chevalier of the Legion of Honor Médaille militaire Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (France) Victory Medal Legacy A sculpture of Lufbery and an airplane form