After dropping a ton of bombs against the rail yards at Thielt, Belgium, seven US Marine Corps deHavilland DH-4s are attacked by a dozen German fighters. Cpl. Robert Guy Robinson, a rear gunner, downs a Fokker D.VII, but is severely wounded and his gun jams. After clearing the gun, Robinson and his pilot, 2d Lt. Ralph Talbot rejoin the fight. Robinson sustains a dozen more wounds while Talbot uses the aircraft’s forward gun to down a Fokker and a Pfalz. He then dives, heads toward Allied lines at barely 50 feet, and lands near a field hospital just over the Belgian lines where doctors save Robinson’s life. They are later awarded the Medal of Honor, the only Marines so honored in World War I.
Planning an Air Show Is Hard. At Andrews, It’s Even Harder
Sept. 17, 2025
Joint Base Andrews opened its flightline this month to thousands of civilians, exposing a normally restricted airbase that regularly hosts the president and foreign dignitaries to a curious public eager to see current and historic military aircraft up close and in action.
