Joseph Volney Wilson, who was known to family and friends as “Volney,” was born to Reverand Gill Irwin and Amanda (Robb) Wilson on September 16, 1895 in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He attended Kiskiminetas Preparatory School in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, to prepare for his studies in Washington and Jefferson College.

Wilson arrived in France, serving with the Norton-Harges Ambulances in 1917. His hope to use his ambulance driving as a path to aviation was realized when he enlisted with the French on July 21, 1917. After flight training, he was assigned to Escadrille Br. 117 with the rank of corporal as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps. In 1918 he transferred to the U.S. Air Service where he was commissioned First Lieutenant Joseph Volney Wilson.

Wilson was awarded the Croix de Guerre, with Star, by the French for his “great and remarkable courage” on February 5, 1918, when he “shot down an enemy plane during a bombing run over a distant target.” He served as a bombing instructor for the Americans from July 1 to September 30, 1918. Returning to the front, he was the senior flight leader of in the 163rd Aero Squadron, flying the De Havilland DH-4 aircraft. He died in a crash on October 23, 1918. He is now buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com