Boyd Wagner Lieutenant Colonel Boyd David " Buzz " Wagner ( October 26 , 1916 – November 29 , 1942 ) was an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) fighter ace of World War II . Wagner was born October 26 , 1916 in Emeigh , Cambria County , Pennsylvania , the son of Boyd M . and Elizabeth M . Moody Wagner . Life . He grew up in Nanty - Glo , near Johnstown , and studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh for three years before joining the Army Air Corps . He completed flight training in June 1938 and was assigned to duty in the Philippines with the 24th Pursuit Group . He was soon given command of the 17th Pursuit Squadron . He was nicknamed “ Buzz ” because it was said he could buzz the camouflage off a hangar roof . Wagner was a first lieutenant commanding the 17th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Nichols Field on December 8 , 1941 , when the first Japanese air attacks struck the Philippines . On December 12 , Wagner took off in a Curtiss P - 40 on a solo reconnaissance mission over Aparri , where he was attacked by Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters . He dove away from the attacking planes and then returned and shot down two of them . He was attacked by more Zeros as he strafed a nearby Japanese airfield and subsequently destroyed two of these planes as well before returning to Clark Field . On December 17 , he led an attack on a Japanese airstrip near Vigan with Lieutenants Allison W . Strauss and Russell M . Church , Jr . Church was killed in the attack and posthumously received the Distinguished Service Cross . Wagner and Strauss continued the strafing attack on the airfield , damaging and destroying numerous Japanese planes . A sole Japanese Zero took off and attacked Wagner ' s plane , but he chopped his throttle and caused the Zero to overshoot his plane . Once in position behind the Zero , Wagner was able to shoot it down , becoming the first USAAF ace of World War II and earning a Distinguished Service Cross . At least one source states that Wagner ' s first five kills were not Zeros , but were IJAAF Nakajima Ki - 27 " Nate " fighter planes . This source does confirm his later kills were reported as Zeros , but were impossible to verify from Japanese records . Attacking the Japanese again at Vigan on December 22 , his plane was struck by enemy fire and he was wounded by glass splinters which struck his face and eyes . He returned to base safely and evacuated to Australia in January 1942 . Wagner was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned in April to the 8th Fighter Group in New Guinea flying the Bell P - 39 . At the time , he was the youngest lieutenant colonel in the US Army . On April 30 , 1942 he shot down three Zeros , bringing his air - to - air kill total to eight . It was decided that Wagner ' s experience and knowledge would be more valuable back in the U . S . , training fighter pilots and as a liaison to the Curtiss P - 40 plant in Buffalo , New York , to help engineers improve the P - 40 ' s combat performance . Despite his protests at being pulled out of combat , he was sent home to the United States . Death . On a routine flight in a P - 40K from Eglin Field , Florida to Maxwell Field , Alabama on November 29 , 1942 , Wagner ' s plane disappeared . After an extensive search , what was left of the P - 40 and Wagner ' s remains were found almost six weeks later in January 1943 , 25 miles east of Eglin . The cause of the crash , if known , was never revealed . Wagner ' s partial remains were returned to Johnstown for burial . An estimated 15 , 000 to 20 , 000 mourners attended his funeral at Grandview Cemetery in January 1943 . Both " Time magazine " and " Life magazine " covered the event . After five years of research , retired Air Force Colonel Jim Moschgat rediscovered what he believed to be the crash site of Wagner ' s plane in Florida and found artifacts that tentatively confirmed the crash site was the correct one . Human remains were found at the site in 2008 . In 2010 , the remains were confirmed as being Lieutenant Colonel Wagner ’ s . These additional remains were buried with full military honors , to include a fly over by the U . S . Air Force at the Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown . Honors . In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross , Wagner also received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross . Two schools at Clark Air Base were named in honor of Boyd Wagner : Wagner High School and Wagner Middle School .