Nebraskaland

November 2024 Nebraskaland

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1531404

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36 Nebraskaland • November 2024 so far behind in military aviation that he learned to fl y under British instructors in Canada. (And he soloed after only two- and-half hours of instruction!) As a fi ghter pilot, Ralston fl ew British planes and spent the fi rst part of his combat duty with a British squadron. Only two weeks after joining the squadron, Ralston earned his fi rst combat victory, returning to the aerodrome with three large holes in his wings. "Oh, how much a fellow realizes how little he knows about the game after he has been out here a while," Ralston wrote in his diary. His combination of boldness and humility got him through his early days as a novice fi ghter pilot. Within weeks he was an experienced and deadly pilot racking up victories. And then came Sept. 26. With his buddies in trouble, Ralston attacked the nearest enemy and chased him into a cloud, risking a mid-air collision in low visibility. Emerging back into the sunshine, he shot down his foe at short range. Ralston was then attacked by four enemy planes, but escaped by ducking into another cloud. Back at the aerodrome, a mechanic discovered that Ralston had fl own the mission with a cracked cylinder that had no compression. Ralston received the Distinguished Service Cross for that encounter. The war ended with an armistice on Nov. 11. In four months of combat, Ralston shot down at least fi ve enemy aircraft — making him Nebraska's only "ace" of the war — and had other unconfi rmed victories. Back home in 1919, Ralston spent a summer as a Chautauqua speaker to earn money to fi nish dental school. He told audiences about his war Ralston kept this photo of his friend and fellow Nebraskan Lt. Jarvis Off utt, who became Omaha's fi rst air casualty on Aug. 13, 1918. Fort Crook's Off utt Field (now Off utt Air Force Base) was named in his honor. NSHS RG2432-1-144 Royal Air Force S.E. 5 fi ghters lined up for patrol, from Ralston's scrapbook. Ralston fl ew an S.E. 5 with the RAF's 85th Squadron before fl ying a Sopwith Camel for the 148th American Squadron. NSHS RG2432-1-337

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