6 October 1918
2nd Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley, a Kansas Guardsman flying as an aircraft observer in France with the 50th Aero Squadron of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), was killed while trying to locate and resupply the famous "lost battalion" of American infantry that had been cut off by the Germans in the Argonne Forrest. Both Bleckley and his pilot, 1st Lt. Harold E. Goettler, were awarded Medals of Honor posthumously. Bleckley was the first National Guard aviator to be a recipient of the nation's highest award for valor.
22 October 1918
1st Lt. Martinus Stenseth, a former Minnesota National Guardsman, was credited with 3.14 aerial victories bringing his total to 6.14. He ended World War I with 6.47 kills.2
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