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Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), a legendary fighter pilot with his very own Yahoo! category, was born on May 2, 1892, in what is now Wroclaw, Poland. He was shot down 25 years later during the final months of World War I, in the skies over Vaux sur Somme, France. In those early days of aviation, 20 confirmed air combat kills was considered an incredible achievement -- the Red Baron achieved 80. Von Richthofen was initially a cavalryman in
1915, but soon grew bored with his post and asked to be transferred to the German Air Force. He made his first kill on September 17, 1915, and by the war's end, he was a national hero. He had his Fokker triplane painted bright red in order to stop German ground troops from shooting at him, thus earning his nickname. Towards the end of his career, the Red Baron's superiors pressured him to retire, fearing his death would be a catastrophe for German morale. But he insisted on flying as long as there were troops in the trenches. He was sanguine about his profession: "I think of this war as it really is, not as the people at home imagine, with a hoorah! and a roar. It is very
serious, very grim."
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