Kiffin Rockwell

Kiffin Rockwell

Kiffin Yates Rockwell (1892–1916) was an early aviator who was the first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft in World War I. On May 18, 1916, Rockwell attacked and shot down a German aircraft over the Alsace battlefield to become the first American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. For this action he was awarded the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre.