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| Name: |
William Thomas Ponder |
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| Country: |
United States |
| Rank: |
Lieutenant |
| Service: |
French Air Service
United States Air Service |
| Units: |
Spa67, Spa163 (FAS)
103rd Aero (USAS) |
| Victories: |
6 |
| Born: |
26 March 1893 |
| Place of Birth: |
Llano, Texas |
| Died: |
27 February 1947 |
| Place of Death: |
Amarillo, Texas |
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After serving in the French Air Service and scoring three victories, William Thomas Ponder transferred to the United States Air Service on 27 February 1918. Assigned to the 103rd Aero Squadron on 7 September 1918, he scored three more victories in October while flying the SPAD XIII. In 1932 he encountered problems with the law when he was caught smuggling Mexican beer into the country. During World War II Ponder was employed by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation in Fort Worth. After the war he formed the Ponder Aircraft Sales Company and was on a business trip to Amarillo, Texas when he died, age 53, in a hotel room from a heart attack.
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| Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) |
| The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William Thomas Ponder, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Fontaines, France, October 23, 1918. Having been separated from, his patrol, Lieutenant Ponder observed and went to the assistance of an allied plane which was being attacked by 30 of the enemy. Lieutenant Ponder destroyed one enemy plane .and so demoralized the remaining that both he and his comrade were able to return to their lines.
General Orders No. 46, W.D., 1919 |
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| Victories |
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Date |
Time |
Unit |
Aircraft |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
28 May 1918 |
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Spa163 |
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LVG C 1 |
Savigny |
| 2 |
08 Jul 1918 |
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Spa163 |
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EA |
Somme-Py |
| 3 |
11 Aug 1918 |
1205 |
Spa163 |
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Two-seater 2 |
Betheniville |
| 4 |
19 Oct 1918 |
0835 |
103rd |
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Halberstadt C 3 |
La Croix aux Bois |
| 5 |
23 Oct 1918 |
1140 |
103rd |
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Fokker D.VII |
Fontaines |
| 6 |
30 Oct 1918 |
1550 |
103rd |
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Fokker D.VII 4 |
Bois de Barricourt |
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| 1 |
Shared with Lt Thomas Cassady, Cpl Dequeker |
| 2 |
Shared with Lt Thomas Cassady, Sgt Cook |
| 3 |
Shared with Lt Frank Hunter |
| 4 |
Shared with Lt H B Bartholf |
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| Books |
- American Aces of World War 1
- by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
- Over the Front
- by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)
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