Chester Ellis Wright

Name:

Country:

United States

Rank:

Lieutenant

Service:

United States Air Service

Units:

19^th Aero, 93^rd Aero

Victories:

Born:

01 September 1897

Place of Birth:

Readville, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Died:

09 August 1933

Place of Death:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Cemetery:

Fairview Cemetery, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

A student at Harvard University (class of 1918), Chester Ellis Wright held all his school's strength records in 1916. He left Harvard in his junior year to join the United States Air Service in March 1917. He sailed for France on 23 November 1917 and after training at Issoudun and Cazaux he was a ferry and test pilot. Assigned to the 93rd Aero Squadron on 29 July 1918, Wright was appointed flight commander and scored 9 victories. He returned to the United States on 13 March 1919 and was discharged from the army on 1 April 1919. He died, age 36, in Boston, Massachusetts following a two year battle with Hodgkin's disease.

The Boston Herald, Boston, Massachusetts, Thursday, 10 August 1933, page 15

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

For extraordinary heroism in action near Beffu, France, 10 October 1918. Lt. Wright attacked an enemy observation balloon protected by four enemy planes; despite numerical superiority, he forced the planes to withdraw and destroyed the enemy balloon.

DSC citation

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster

For extraordinary heroism in action near Bantheville, France, 23 October 1918. Lt. Wright, accompanied by one other machine, took on and sent down in flames an enemy plane (Fokker type) that was attacking an Allied plane. He was in turn attacked by three enemy planes. His companion was forced to withdraw on account of motor trouble. Lt. Wright continued the combat and succeeded in bringing down one of the enemy planes and forced the remaining two into their own territory.

DSC Oak Leaf Cluster citation

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	15 Sep 1918	1815	93^rd		Fokker D.VII ¹	Charey
2	16 Sep 1918	1320	93^rd		Fokker D.VII ¹	Chambley
3	10 Oct 1918	1605	93^rd		Balloon	Beffu
4	18 Oct 1918	1100	93^rd		EA	Bantheville
5	18 Oct 1918	1530	93^rd		Fokker D.VII	Landres
6	18 Oct 1918	1530	93^rd		Fokker D.VII ²	Landres
7	22 Oct 1918	1155	93^rd		Rumpler C ³	Fontaine
8	23 Oct 1918	1040	93^rd		Fokker D.VII ⁴	Andevanne
9	23 Oct 1918	1040	93^rd		Fokker D.VII	Andevanne

1	Shared with Lt H D Lindsley
2	Shared with Lt L S Harding
3	Shared with Lt H W Follmer, Lt R L Hartman
4	Shared with Lt Leslie Rummell

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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