Frank Hale

Captain Frank Lucien Hale was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He later accompanied Charles Lindbergh in a transcontinental flight. Early life and World War I service Hale was native to Syracuse, New York, although he later lived in Arkansas. He dropped out of Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, New York because of disciplinary problems. In 1914, he joined D Troop, 4th Cavalry, New York National Guard. He served on the Mexican border during 1916, with the Ambulance Corps. He was rejected by the U. S. air service, so he joined the Royal Flying Corps at Toronto in June 1917. Between 25 August and 27 September 1918, he used a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a to destroy four Fokker D.VIIs and drive down three others out of control. Postwar He remained in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.