On February 5, 1918 Stephen W. Thompson (1894-1977), a native of West Plains, Missouri and a member of the American 1st Aero Squadron, became the first person wearing a U.S. military uniform to shoot down an enemy aircraft. He was on a training mission with a French bombardment squadron and shot down a German Albatros D.III fighter over Saarbrucken, Germany.

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References

Stephen W. Thompson page on the National Air Force Museum website