John Donaldson ( aviator ) Captain John Owen Donaldson ( May 14 , 1897 – September 7 , 1930 ) was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories . Donaldson was born in Fort Yates , North Dakota , the son of General Thomas Quinton Donaldson . He left Cornell and joined the Royal Flying Corps in Canada in March 1917 . When the U . S . declared war , he transferred to the American air service . He was attached to the RAF ( successor to the RFC ) , and posted to 32 Squadron . From July 22 , through August 29 , he destroyed four Fokker D . VII fighters and drove down three others out of control . On September 1 , he was shot down by Theodor Quandt , and captured . The following day , he and another prisoner escaped and tried to steal a German two - seater for a flying exit . Donaldson received a bayonet wound in the back struggling with a sentry , and the refugee duo fled . On September 9 , they were caught swimming a stream in No Man ' s Land , and re - incarcerated . Three days later , Donaldson , his companion , and three other POWs escaped ; Donaldson made it to Holland in October . Donaldson won the U . S . transcontinental air race in October 1919 , and was awarded the Mackay Gold Medal . He resigned his commission in 1920 . He became president of Newark Air Service in New Jersey while continuing to be an air racer . Death . He crashed while stunting near Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on September 7 , 1930 , in an airplane borrowed from Opal Kunz . After tail - spinning in to impact , he was pulled from the wreckage with a fractured skull and internal injuries . One newspaper account of the crash said : " The ship in which he crashed was the Travel - Air Whirlwind in which Mrs . Opal Kunz won the 25 mile free for all race on Saturday and which she had piloted to third place in the National Air Races in Chicago ten days ago . The airplane was completely demolished . The tremendous force of the crash telescoped the fuselage and snapped off the tail of the machine … Captain Donaldson was alive when Police Captain Brehan rushed across the field in a police car to his side . He was closely followed by Police Captain Dunn . Mrs . Kunz , a pupil of the pilot , also hurried across the field and helped in the extrication of his broken body … Vernie E . Moon of Maplewood , N . J . , mechanican [ sic ] for Captain Donaldson , and who had been with him when he entered the plane for this aerobatic contest , was [ also present ] at the hospital . " Honors and awards . Distinguished Service Cross ( DSC ) The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to John Owen Donaldson , Second Lieutenant ( Air Service ) , U . S . Army , for extraordinary heroism in action near Mont - Norte - Dame , France , July 22 , 1918 , when , on patrol , he attacked a formation of 20 Fokker enemy biplanes . Singling out one of the hostile machines Lieutenant Donaldson engaged it from behind , firing a short burst at close range , the plane bursting into flames and crashing to the ground . On August 8 , 1918 , he engaged 5 enemy scout planes over Licourt , France ; singling out one and diving on it , he opened fire at close range , causing it to crash to the ground . On August 9 , 1918 , over Licourt , France , observing a British plane being attacked by three enemy scout planes , he immediately engaged one of the enemy , firing a long burst at very close range , the enemy plane bursting into flames and crashing to the ground . On August 25 , 1918 , over Hancourt , France , he attacked four Fokker enemy planes , diving into their midst and firing a short burst at one of them from a short range , destroying the plane , the pilot of which descended to safety in a parachute . On July 25 , 1918 , over Fismes , France , he drove down out of control an enemy Fokker plane ; on August 10 , over Perrone , France , one Fokker biplane ; and on August 29 over Cambria , France , one Fokker biplane . In all these engagements Lieutenant Donaldson displayed the greatest devotion to duty and gallantry in the face of the enemy . ( General Orders No . 13 , W . D . , 1924 ) Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) For gallantry . On July 22 , 1918 , Lt . Donaldson , when on a patrol , attacked a formation of 20 Fokker biplanes over Mont - Notre - Dame . He singled out one of the hostile machines and engaged it from behind , firing a short burst at close range . The EA side - slipped to the right and then to the left , finally bursting into flames and crashing . On August 8 , he engaged five enemy scouts over Licourt . He singled out one and diving on it from behind , opened fire at very close range . The EA immediately went into a straight dive and crashed into the ground between Licourt and Morchain , becoming a total wreck . On August 9 , he observed a British machine being attacked by three hostile scouts over Licourt . He immediately flew to the scene of the encounter and engaged one of the EA , firing a long burst at very close range . Almost at once a white stream of escaping petrol was observed and a little later the EA burst into flames . On August 25 , he attacked , single handed , four Fokker biplanes over Hancourt , diving into their midst and firing a short burst into one machine at close range . The EA went down in a side - slip dive and having fallen about 2 , 000 feet the left wing broke off . The pilot descended in a parachute and shortly after leaving the machine the other wing was observed to crumple up . In addition to the above this officer has driven down out of control three enemy machines as follows : July 25 , 1918 , one Fokker biplane over Fismes ; August 10 , one Fokker biplane over Péronne ; August 29 , one Fokker biplane over Cambrai . 2nd Lt . Donaldson also did magnificent work attacking ground targets with machine gun fire and bombs during the recent retreat on the Somme in August . He invariably showed the greatest devotion to duty and gallantry in the face of the enemy . ( Supplement to the London Gazette )