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Name: Harold Koch Boysen
Silver Medal for Military Valor [Italy] Harold Boysen
Country: United States
Rank: Lieutenant
Service: Royal Flying Corps
Royal Air Force
Units: 66
Victories: 5
Born: 02 November 1891
Place of Birth: Lake Benton, Minnesota, USA
Died: 20 February 1963
Place of Death: Harris County, Texas, USA
 
 
The son of Adolph and Selma (Koch) Boysen, Harold Boysen joined the Royal Flying Corps in Canada in 1917. Following flight training, he was assigned to 66 Squadron on the Western Front where he flew the Sopwith Pup. Re-equipped with Sopwith Camels, 66 Squadron was transferred to the Italian front in November 1917. Boysen scored his first victory on 8 December 1917, shooting down an Albatros D.V near Valstagna. On 28 January 1918, he was badly injured in a crash while attempting to land his Camel in the fog. When he recovered, he returned to duty and scored four more victories in May 1918.
 
Victories
Date Time Unit Aircraft Opponent Location
1 08 Dec 1917 1430 66 Sopwith Camel (B2363) Albatros D.V Valstagna
2 03 May 1918 1145 66 Sopwith Camel (B7389) Albatros D.III Ormelle
3 10 May 1918 0930 66 Sopwith Camel (B5171) Albatros D.III Mount Meatta
4 26 May 1918 0615 66 Sopwith Camel (B5180) LVG C 1 Salina
5 30 May 1918 1555 66 Sopwith Camel (B5180) Albatros D.III Mareno
1 Shared with Lt Christopher McEvoy
 
Books
Franks, Norman. American Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2001
Franks, Norman and Frank Bailey. Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. London: Grub Street, 1992
 
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