The Myth of the Arizona Balloon Buster: 1st Lt. Frank Luke

Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.

Frank Luke Jr. was born on May 19th, 1897 in Phoenix, Arizona. He joined the Army in 1917, the same year the US entered World War I. He attended the School of Military Aeronautics in Texas, and completed the 9-week flying course two weeks early.

The following year, at 20 years old, he was sent to France for additional training. There he finished first in his class in flying and second in gunnery.

Eager to join the fight, then 2nd Lieutenant Luke was assigned to the 27th Squadron, one of four squadrons in the 1st pursuit group. He quickly earned a reputation around the squad as being arrogant and conceited. He often bragged about how many planes he would shoot down once he was in combat, which alienated most of the veteran pilots, and earned him the nickname “The Arizona Boaster”. In a letter to his sister he wrote “I will make myself known or go down where most of them do.”

Luke had only two friends in the squad. One of them was Maj. Harold E. Hartney, the squad commander, who cut him a lot of slack. For one of his first patrols, Luke was assigned to a formation that was tasked with protecting two reconnaissance aircraft. During the mission he broke formation to chase down enemy aircraft, later citing “engine problems”, but no one believed him.

This was the beginning of Luke’s numerous unsanctioned patrols. It became commonplace for Luke to fly on his own volition, or peel off from group missions against orders in order to chase aerial victories. During World War I, these victories could be earned by destroying enemy aircraft, which included observation balloons. These balloons were used by both sides to scout distant enemy ground positions, but they weren’t easy targets. They were heavily defended by anti-aircraft cannons, machine guns, and small arms, making them more difficult to attack than ground targets or other aircraft. Pilots would sometimes have to make two or three runs in order to pierce the hull and ignite the hydrogen within.

On one rogue flight, Luke claimed to have destroyed one of these balloons, but he had no witnesses, so the victory was never confirmed. He learned his lesson, and the next time he destroyed one, he landed nearby at an American balloon site to gather eyewitness testimony, and his first victory was granted.

Luke quickly racked up victories after that, becoming an Ace in just two more missions. Days later he became front page news back home for destroying 5 aircraft in under 10 minutes, and he became the pilot with the most confirmed kills of the war, eclipsing Eddie Rickenbacker. Luke routinely returned with his aircraft so severely damaged that it needed to be replaced, and continued flying rogue without permission, hunting down enemy aircraft. In his book Terror of the Autumn Skies, historian Blaine Pardoe says “Luke was flagrantly flaunting this position as the Ace of Aces”.

Finally on September 29th, 1918, less than three weeks after his first aerial victory, he was confronted by 1st Lt. Alfred Grant, a strict leader who recently replaced Hartney as commander of the 27th. The night before, Luke had effectively gone AWOL by not spending the night at the right base. Grant chewed him out for this, and they had a heated argument. Luke again cited “engine trouble”, his usual excuse, and lied, saying Hartney, who had been promoted to commander of the whole 1st Pursuit Group, had given him permission to fly as he pleased. Grant wasn’t buying it, and Luke stormed out on his commanding officer.

At this point, Luke’s behavior was too notorious to ignore. Grant decided to write an order to ground him, knowing that Hartney would have little reason to not support it. Luke caught wind of the order, and took off before it could be penned, giving him plausible deniability. He flew to a nearby base, whose commander had now received the order. Facing a potential court martial, Luke convinced the commander that Hartney, who was on his way to their location, would dismiss the order. Upon his arrival, Hartney scolded Luke, but covered for him and allowed him to keep flying because, in the words of author Stephen Skinner, “The loss of the United States Air Service’s top score to an insubordination charge would be a public relations nightmare.” Hartney was also under serious pressure to clear German balloons from the sector.

Luke took off again just before 6pm, knowing that when he returned he would be grounded, arrested, and face a court martial. Wanting confirmation for more possible aerial victories, he flew over a friendly balloon company and dropped a message that read “Watch for burning balloons.” Witnesses then saw Luke attack a group of German balloons, destroying three. Luke was never heard from again.

Initial reports claimed Luke destroyed three balloons, killed 11 Germans in a strafing attack, was shot down, survived the landing, and then fought on the ground with his pistol before being shot and killed. Despite their disagreements, Grant was proud of Luke’s achievements, and he nominated Luke for the Medal of Honor.

It wasn’t until after the war ended three months later that additional details about Luke’s final moments emerged, and called into question the legitimacy of the initial reports. It was discovered that an affidavit from French locals had been mistranslated to English and exaggerated. A rumor then spread that their testimony was recorded by officers that spoke no French, and that the locals had signed the back of the affidavit with no knowledge of what was on the front. This however, was proven false. In light of the discovery of the mistranslation, Luke’s Medal of Honor nomination was updated to reflect the correctly-translated version of events described in the original French affidavit. On May 29th, 1919, 1st Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr. was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on the night of September 29th, 1918, as well as the rest of his achievements during what ended up being the last 2 ½ weeks of his life.

For decades, the exact details of Luke's last flight were a mystery, still subject to exaggeration and speculation. One account claimed he fought 10 German planes for a full 5 minutes and shot two of them down, and another claimed he killed 11 Germans in a gun battle. It wasn’t until 2008 that the truth surrounding Luke’s death was finally revealed. Steven Skinner, author and television host, spent 15 years researching Luke’s final flight, reviewing unpublished material, carrying out archeological digs, interviewing descendants of those involved, and analyzing evidence, all culminating in a book titled “The Stand: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke Jr.” His conclusions are as follows:

At 6:55pm on September 29th, 1918, Luke began his attack. He destroyed the first two observation balloons just as witnesses had testified. The third however, was located within a valley that was littered with machine guns. He made two runs at the balloon, and destroyed it, miraculously avoiding fire. He successfully escaped, but was headed away from base. He circled back around to fly home, and passed by the valley hoping to slip by, when his aircraft was hit by one of the machine guns. A bullet tore through Luke’s body, entering through the top right of his chest, traveling diagonally downwards, through his right rib cage, both his lungs, and out through his shoulder blade. Still conscious, he forced the plan downward to make a crash landing. He landed within the valley, with enemies on all sides who would soon close in. Luke wrestled himself out of the aircraft before running towards the direction of the nearest friendly base. This escape was futile, but Luke wasn’t able to think straight because of his injuries, and he feared that he’d be executed upon capture. As he ran, his lungs slowly filled with blood, and bullets occasionally hit the ground around his feet. Luke’s run slowed to a jog, and then a walk, until he collapsed on the ground. He laid there for a few minutes until he heard voices approaching. Now covered in blood, Luke barely managed to stand and fire three bullets at the voices he heard in the darkness. He then collapsed back to the ground and died, where he was found by German troops 10 minutes later.

Despite his behavior, his disrespect for authority, and the exaggeration of the events surrounding his death, Lt. Luke’s legacy is still an incredible one. With 18 total aerial victories in under 3 weeks, he was the second-ranking US ace of the war. He was surpassed only by Eddie Rickenbacker, who called him “The most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war.”

Luke was reburied at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Italian War Cross, in addition to being the first airman ever awarded the Medal of Honor. He’s been commemorated with a statue that stands at the Arizona State Capitol, and by Luke Air Force Base, which is named after him. To this day, Luke’s Medal of Honor citation has never been updated to reflect the full picture.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.

We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.