Dates

• Existence: 1895 - 1918

Biography

1st Lieutenant Joseph Fritz Wehner was born September 20, 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts to Frank W. and Johanna (Nelson) Wehner. He attended Everett High School (Everett, Massachusetts) and was captain of the school's football team. This athletic prowess earned him a scholarship to attend Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, New Hampshire) starting in 1914. While at Exeter he was stroke on the crew team in addition to captaining the football squad.

Wehner travelled to Europe at some point after the onset of World War I. During his time there, he worked for the Y.M.C.A. at prison camps in Germany. He left Europe once diplomatic ties between Germany and the United States were severed. After returning to the United States, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in July of 1917 and was stationed at Kelly Field in Texas for his training.

While at Kelly Field Wehner was the focus of a Secret Service investigation, likely due to both his German heritage and the fact that he had worked in Germany earlier in World War I. The Secret Service dogged him throughout his training, and he was even arrested on an unsubstantiated claim that he had committed treason. Wehner was eventually cleared and allowed to travel to England. Multiple sources have speculated that these accusations and ill-treatment were largely to blame for Wehner's reticence, and may be the reason why the only fellow pilot he was friendly with was Frank Luke, another airman of German descent who was also investigated by the Secret Service.

Wehner received his 1st Lieutenant's commission on January 9, 1918 and sailed for England on February 1. Once there, he joined the 27th Aero Squadron under Major Harold Hartney. Wehner's first assignment in Europe was at the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center in Issoudon, France. By June 1918, he was fighting at the front, often as wingman for Frank Luke, with whom he flew many missions. In one memorable three day period in September 1918, Wehner was able to shoot down a Fokker D.VII and five balloons. For his heroism, he received the Distinguished Service Cross and a bronze Oak Leaf.

On September 18, 1918, Wehner was shot down in his SPAD XIII (7555) by German ace Georg von Hantelmann while protecting Luke during another attack. Wehner fell behind enemy lines near Serrouville, France. There are conflicting reports on the circumstances of his death. It is known that Wehner's body was eventually recovered and buried in an American cemetery in France. After the war his family elected to have him brought home, and he was reinterred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts (Celosia Path, grave #5650). Wehner is memorialized in his hometown: the local VFW Post and a city park have both been named after him.



Further reading:

New England Aviators, 1914-1918. Volume 1. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1919.

Franks, Norman. Who Downed the Aces in WWI? London: Grub Street, 1996.

Pardoe, Blaine. Terror of the Autumn Skies. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2008.

Thayer, Lucian H. America's First Eagles. San Jose, California: R. James Bender Publishing, 1983.

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