Early Life and Enlistment
Ulrich Neckel was born in Güstrow, part of Mecklenburg, in northeastern Germany. He enlisted aged 18 in an artillery regiment. After extensive service in Russia he then transferred to flying service in November 1916.
Neckel joined FA 25 in early 1917, flying two-seaters on the Eastern Front. Undergoing single seat fighter training in August, He was assigned to Prussian Jagdstaffeln 12 on 8 September 1917 with the rank of Gefreiter.
This unit was one of four in Jagdgeschwader 2 under command of ace Adolf Ritter von Tutschek. On the 21st, Neckel claimed his first victory, a Sopwith Pup of 46 Squadron. A week later, he shot down an Airco D.H.5. A third victory on 18 October followed.
Read more about this topic: Ulrich Neckel
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“We have good reason to believe that memories of early childhood do not persist in consciousness because of the absence or fragmentary character of language covering this period. Words serve as fixatives for mental images. . . . Even at the end of the second year of life when word tags exist for a number of objects in the child’s life, these words are discrete and do not yet bind together the parts of an experience or organize them in a way that can produce a coherent memory.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“But it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith’s.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)