An interesting point about Frank Luke; apparently the details of his final stand against the German infantrymen didn't come out until after the war. Rickenbacker in his 1919 autobiography, "Fighting the Flying Circus" states that following Luke destroying his last balloon, "From that day to this not one word of reliable information has reached us concerning Luke's disappearance. Not a trace of his machine was ever found! Not a single clue to his death and burial was ever obtained from the Germans! Like Guynemer, the miraculous airman of France, Frank Luke was swallowed by the skies and no mortal traces of him remain!"

Arch Whitehouse in a footnote to the 1965 edition states that it was "later learned" about Luke's final stand in a church graveyard "armed only with his automatic pistol".

Arch Whitehouse also describes the death of Luke in his "Decisive Air Battles of the First World War", "A platoon of German infantrymen gave him (Luke) a chance to surrender, but the wild Arizona youth refused and tried to shoot it out with a .45 automatic. It was a hopeless gesture. Luke went down with a dozen bullets in his chest."

Best regards,