Boyd Wagner

It is confirmed that the Appari Japanese fighters Wagner shot down were not Navy "Zeros," but Army "Nates," by Wagner's own account: "Looking back, I saw two Japanese pursuit behind me and three more overhead, low-wing fixed landing gear single seaters (j.k. This is the description for a Nate," not a "Zero."), so I pulled nose-up and continued to climb directly into the sun at full throttle and low pitch. Now the two Nippos who fired on me lost me. I went into a half barrel roll onto their tails from my upper position and attacked them from the rear. They were in close formation and both burst into flames almost simultaneously, the fliers going down with their planes." This is as quoted in "Doomed From the Start"; William H. Bartsch; p. 157: Sorry if I proceeded incorrectly, but the information is accurate—Jerry Kruth; researching Bataan; 7/5/2019

After five years of research, retired Air Force Colonel Jim Moschgat rediscovered what he believed to be the crash site of Wagner's plane in Florida and found artifacts that tentatively confirmed the crash site was the correct one. Human remains were found at the site in 2008. In 2010, the remains were confirmed as being Lieutenant Colonel Wagner's. These additional remains were buried with full military honors, to include a fly over by the U.S. Air Force at the Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown.

Wagner's partial remains were returned to Johnstown for burial. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 mourners attended his funeral at Grandview Cemetery in January 1943. Both Time and Life covered the event.

Attacking the Japanese again at Vigan on December 22, his plane was struck by enemy fire and he was wounded by glass splinters which struck his face and eyes. He returned to base safely and evacuated to Australia in January 1942.

Wagner was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned in April to the 8th Fighter Group in New Guinea flying the Bell P-39. At the time, he was the youngest lieutenant colonel in the US Army. On April 30, 1942 he shot down three Zeros, bringing his air-to-air kill total to eight.

On a routine flight in a P-40K from Eglin Field, Florida to Maxwell Field, Alabama on November 29, 1942, Wagner's plane disappeared. After an extensive search, what was left of the P-40 and Wagner's remains were found almost six weeks later in January 1943, 25 miles (40 km) east of Eglin. The cause of the crash, if known, was never revealed.

Wagner was a first lieutenant commanding the 17th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Nichols Field on December 8, 1941, when the first Japanese air attacks struck the Philippines. On December 12, Wagner took off in a Curtiss P-40 on a solo reconnaissance mission over Aparri, where he was attacked by Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters. He dove away from the attacking planes and then returned and shot down two of them. He was attacked by more Zeros as he strafed a nearby Japanese airfield and subsequently destroyed two of these planes as well before returning to Clark Field.

Wagner completed flight training in June 1938 and was assigned to duty in the Philippines with the 24th Pursuit Group. He was soon given command of the 17th Pursuit Squadron.

Lieutenant Colonel Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner (October 26, 1916 – November 29, 1942) was an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) fighter ace of World War II.

Wagner was born October 26, 1916 in Emeigh, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the son of Boyd M. and Elizabeth M. Moody Wagner. He grew up in Nanty-Glo, near Johnstown, and studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh for three years before joining the Army Air Corps.