Ace?

This is coolbert:

"How do you think he does it? . . . What makes him so good?" - - "Tommy" - - The Who.

During the Second World War [WW2], the all-time leading American fighter "ace" was Major Richard [Dick] Bong. Ended the war with forty kills. Fighting in the Pacific theatre and comporting himself with excellence. For his feats, Major Bong was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[at that time, it was called the Congressional Medal of Honor, now just called the Medal of Honor!!]

For Major Bong to have been awarded the Medal of Honor for a long period of distinguished and valorous service, was somewhat unusual. The medal is usually awarded for a SINGLE brave act of heroism and not a long and continued history of gallantry. But what else could Bong have been awarded? After all, HE WAS THE LEADING AMERICAN ACE OF THE WAR.

Now, to the Germans:

Contrast the "kill" record of Major Bong with the aerial combat record of the LEADING GERMAN ACES OF THE SAME WAR. The contrast is startling!

German aces

Note: **** marks an ace awarded the Knights Cross with oak leaves swords and diamonds medal. Only 27 men of all German military branches and ranks were awarded this very high medal during the entire war.

Name Victories

Erich Hartmann **** 352
Gerhard Barkhorn 301
Gunther Rall 275
Otto Kittel+ 267
Walter Nowotny+ **** 258
Wilhlem Batz 237
Erich Rudorffer 224
Heinz Bar 221
Hermann Graf **** 212
Heinrich Ehrler+ 208
Theodor Weissenberger 208
Hans Philipp+ 206
Walter Schuck 206
Anton Hafner 204
Helmut Lipfert 203
Walter Krupinski 197
Anton Hackl 192
Joachim Brendel 189
Max Stotz+ 189
Joachim Kirschner+ 188
Kurt Brandle 180
Gunther Josten 178
Johannes Steinhoff 178
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert 174
Gunther Schack 174
Emil Lang+ 173
Heinz Schmidt+ 173
Horst Ademeit+ 166
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke+ 162
Hans J. Marseille+ **** 158
Heinrich Sturm+ 158
Gerhard Thyben 157
Hans Beisswenger+ 152
Peter Duttmann 152
Gordon Gollob **** 150
Fritz Tegtmeier 146
Albin Wolf+ 144
Kurt Tanzer 143
Friedrich-Karl Muller+ 140
Karl Gratz 138
Heinrich Setz+ 138
Rudolf Trenkel 138
Walter Wolfrum 137
Horst-G. von Fassong+ 136
Otto Fonnekold+ 136
Karl-Heinz Weber+ 136
Joachim Muencheberg+ 135
Hans Waldmann+ 134
Alfred Grislawski 133
Franz Schall+ 133
Johannes Wiese 133
Adolf Borchers 132
Adolf Dickfeld 132
Erwin Clausen+ 132
Wilhelm Lemke+ 131
Gerhard Hoffmann+ 130
Franz Eisenach 129
Walther Dahl 129
Heinrich Sterr+ 129
Franz Dorr 128
Rudolf Rademacher 126
Josef Zwernemann+ 126
Dietrich Hrabak 125
Wolf Ettel+ 124
Herbert Ihlefeld 123
Wolfgang Tonne+ 122
Heinz Marquardt 121
Heinz-W. Schnaufer **** 121
Robert Weiss+ 121
Erich Leie+ 121
Friedrich Obleser 120
Franz-J. Beerenbrock 117
Hans-Joachim Birkner+ 117
Jakob Norz+ 117
Walter Oesau+ 117
Heinz Wernicke+ 117
August Lambert+ 116
Wilhelm Crinius 114
Werner Schroer 114
Hans Dammers+ 113
Berthold Korts+ 113
Helmut Lent+ **** 113
Kurt Buhligen 112
Kurt Ubben+ 110
Franz Woidich 110
Reinhard Seiler 109
Emil Bitsch+ 108
Hans Hahn 108
Bernhard Vechtel 108
Viktor Bauer 106
Werner Lucas+ 106
Gunther Lutzow+ 105
Eberhard von Boremski 104
Heinz Sachsenberg 104
Adolf Galland **** 103
Hartmann Grasser 103
Siegfried Freytag 102
Friedrich Geisshardt+ 102
Egon Mayer+ 102
Max-H. Ostermann+ 102
Josef Wurmheller+ 102
Rudolf Miethig+ 101
Werner Molders+ **** 101
Josef Priller 101
Ulrich Wernitz 101

Whoa!! What is this!! Hard to believe, isn't it? This list just seems to go on and on forever. Dick Bong would not even been on the bottom of the list, he would NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN ON THE LIST!!

One might reason that forces are at work here that are just not understood. "Kills" for a German included aircraft destroyed on the ground? These kills were accomplished against backward Russians flying inferior aircraft with only a weeks flight time under their belt?

It does make you wonder.

Erich Hartmann shot down 352 aircraft, of which seven were American P-51's in one day over Ploesti, and did all that he did in the period of eighteen months!!

[If Hartmann had been an American, for that one act of shooting down seven enemy aircraft in one day, he would have been awarded the Medal of Honor. For that alone, not even counting the rest of his war time accomplishments!! The German awarded medals for LONG AND CONTINUOUS VALOROUS CONDUCT ON THE BATTLEFIELD, in contrast to the American or British militaries, who awarded their highest awards, once again, for a SINGLE FEAT OR HEROISM in combat!]

The Luftwaffe just seems to be in a class all by itself when it comes to the highest German awards and decorations. Hans-Ulrich Rudel HAD TO HAVE A SPECIAL MEDAL CREATED JUST FOR HIM, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. Of the twenty seven men awarded the CONVENTIONAL HIGHEST AWARD, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, you have ten Luftwaffe men, including Rudel of course. The remainder being high ranking commanders, with the exception of two U-boat captains!

coolbert.