Carl Menckhoff Carl Menckhoff ( 14 April 1883 - 11 January 1948 ) was a German First World War fighter ace , credited with 39 confirmed victories . Already in his 30s when he learned to fly , he was one of the oldest pilots in the Imperial German Air Service . He transferred from infantry service to aviation as a non - commissioned officer , but afterwards succeeded in being was later commissioned as an officer . He won the Pour le Mérite ( " Blue Max " ) , and was given a squadron command . Having fallen prisoner on 25 June 1918 , he languished incarcerated until August 1919 when he escaped into Switzerland . He succeeded in business and remained there for the rest of his life . Military years . Menckhoff was born in Herford , Westphalia , in the Kingdom of Prussia . He reported for his compulsory military service at age 20 in 1903 , but was invalided out within six weeks when he contracted appendicitis . In August 1914 , when he was 31 , Menckoff enlisted in Infantry Regiment Nr . 106 . He was wounded several times and received the Iron Cross First Class and Second Class for gallantry , both by the end of 1914 . Aerial service . Left unfit for infantry service by his injuries , Menckhoff applied for transfer to the Luftstreitkrafte . He was at first an observer on the Eastern Front , where he gained useful flying experience but little experience of combat . In 1916 he became a flight instructor , and the following year , as a " Vizefeldwebel " ( staff sergeant ) , he was assigned as a fighter pilot to Jagdstaffel 3 , stationed in France and equipped with the Albatros D . III . He scored his first victory on 5 April 1917 , downing a Nieuport 17 of No . 29 Squadron , Royal Flying Corps , flown by Lieutenant Norman Birks . The victories began to mount rapidly after that , though Menckhoff often returned from victorious flights shaken by his triumphs . Menckhoff was shot down several times , but always returned to duty . On 23 September 1917 , he rushed to the aid of Werner Voss during the latter ' s battle against an overwhelming force from the Royal Flying Corps . Lieutenant Arthur Rhys Davids turned from engaging Voss and damaged Menckhoff ' s Albatros so badly that he had to crash land it . Rhys Davids then shot down Voss . Menckhoff fought planes of No . 56 Squadron again on 28 September , and again had to crash land . Nevertheless , his victories totalled 20 by 4 February 1918 . One week later , he was assigned command of Saxon Jagdstaffel 72 as its initial Staffelführer . His leadership style conserved his men ' s lives and the squadron ' s subsequent 60 victories were claimed with the loss of only one of its own pilots . The number of aircraft lost by his unit during this time is unknown . On 23 April 1918 , he was awarded Germany ' s highest decoration for valor , the Pour le Mérite , his victory total having reached 25 . On 25 July , however , three days after his thirty - ninth victory , Menckhoff was shot down by Lieutenant Walter Avery of the 95th Aero Squadron , United States Air Service while the German ace was piloting one of his two Fokker D . VII s . Captured by French troops at the crash site , Menckhoff was chagrined to learn that he was a rookie pilot ' s first victory . Avery cut the letter " M " from the crashed Fokker , but sportingly refused to deprive him of his Pour le Merite . Following interrogation , Menckhoff was held as a prisoner of war , along with many other German pilots , at Camp Montoire , near Orléans . Post war years . Menckhoff remained a prisoner long after the war ended in November 1918 . Despairing of his release , he finally escaped on 23 August 1919 , and managed to reach Switzerland . He remained there for the rest of his life , becoming a successful businessman . He raised a family , but never talked about the war . Carl Menckhoff died in Switzerland in 1948 . Legacy . In May 2007 , Walter Avery ' s daughter learned that Menckhoff ' s son , Gerhard Menckhoff , lived in the District of Columbia . She decided to return the fabric " M " from Menckhoff ' s crashed Fokker D . VII to the family . Gerhard Menckhoff explained he had not known his father was a war hero until after his death , and promised to pass the relic on to his son Carl , the German ace ' s namesake .