Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, a very well- known person, is probably better known by his nickname, The Red Baron due to him painting his plane red so he could be recognized in combat by the enemy. A fighter pilot in WWI, he is credited with 80 air victories before being shot down himself and killed in 1918. He won much acclaim and many decorations, including the Prussian Pour le Mérite, better known to English speakers as The Blue Max. He was the commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 1, again better known to English speakers as The Flying Circus.
Most casual accounts and I think memories of the man and the squadron end with Richthofen but he was not the last, or even the next- to- last commander of that squadron. He was simply the last famous commander, at least in his own time. As Richthofen died in April 1918, and the war did not end until Nov. 1918, there would be time for two more officers to command that group, both aces in their own rights with 20 kills each. But it is the second and final commander that I think surprises most people- he started WWI in the infantry and did not even learn to fly until 1916 and was then wounded so badly that he was hospitalized for nearly a year before again returning to the war. He would be awarded the Iron Cross, First Class as well as the coveted Blue Max in addition to gaining 20 air victories. He survived the war and went onto.... oh, I guess politics, broadly speaking. His name was Herman Goering, eventually Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe, a morphine addict after 1923, second in the command structure only to Adolf Hitler and would end up being the highest ranking Nazi to be tried at Nuremberg for war crimes. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death by hanging but cheated the hangman by committing suicide using cyanide the night before his scheduled execution. Goering was instrumental in bringing the National Socialist or Nazi party to power, as well as moving Hitler from the chancellor of a republic to the dictator of the nation.
At least this provides us a small break from the hectic political discussions going on now, Sat., 31 Oct. 2020..... three days before the US election.