LieutenantKenneth MacLeish,USNRF (19 September 1894 – 15 October 1918) was aNaval aviatorduringWorld War I.
Kenneth MacLeish | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1894 Glencoe, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 15, 1918(aged 24) |
| Buried | Flanders Field American Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles / wars | First World War |
| Awards | Navy Cross |
Born inGlencoe, Illinois,MacLeish was one of the twenty-eight original volunteers in the first Yale Unit which he joined as a Navy Electrician, 2nd Class on 26 March 1917. He was appointed as anEnsignin theNaval Reserve Flying Corps31 August 1917, promoted toLieutenant Junior Gradeon 1 June 1918, and toLieutenantin mid-August of the same year.[1]MacLeish was the brother of Pulitzer Prize-winning poetArchibald MacLeish,and like him, attendedYale College.A member of the class of 1918, he left school to serve in the war. The young officer wrote home constantly, and his letters show the youthful enthusiasm and subsequent weariness of combat that is characteristic of men at war. In France, he participated in many raids over the enemy's lines before he was transferred in September 1918 toEastleigh,England.
On a raid with theRoyal Air Force14 October, his plane, aSopwith Camel,was shot down and Lieutenant MacLeish was forced to crash-land nearSchore,Belgium; he was found dead the following day.[2]MacLeish was initially buried where he fell, reinterred at theLyssenthoek Military Cemeteryin June 1919, and finally buried at theFlanders Field American CemeteryinWaregem,Belgium at plot B, row 4, grave 1.[3]
He was posthumously awarded theNavy Crossfor his actions. His citation reads, "The Navy Cross is awarded to Lieutenant Kenneth MacLeish, U.S. Navy, for distinguished and heroic service as a pilot attached to the U. S. Naval Aviation Force in the war zone. Lieutenant MacLeish took part in operations against the enemy forces on land and was shot down and killed in the drive in Flanders during October, 1918."[4]The destroyerUSSMacLeish(DD-220)was named for him. Kenneth MacLeish's sister, Ishbel, went toPhiladelphiaat the request ofJosephus Daniels,Secretary of the Navy,on 18 December 1919 and sponsored the ship at the launching.
References
edit- ^"The Price of Honor", Naval Institute Press, 1991, Rossano G.L., (ed.)"NMA catalogue".Naval Marine Archive.Retrieved2013-01-18.
- ^His mother wrote "It was not until the day after Christmas that the body was found... lying just as it had fallen, with every evidence that death had been instantaneous." From the foreword of "Kenneth", privately published, Chicago, 1919."NMA catalogue".Naval Marine Archive.Retrieved2013-01-18.
- ^Sims, Christopher, and Patrick Lernout.The Soldiers of Flanders Field American Military Cemetery.United States: Christopher Sims & Patrick Lernout, 2011.
- ^"Navy Cross - WWI - Navy M to R".Home of Heroes.Retrieved2020-10-16.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.