Reed Landis, who is credited with nine enemy aircraft and one kite balloon, received the bulk of his training and front-line experience with the Royal Flying Corps' Number 40 Squadron, the same squadron that produced Mick Mannock and Captain G. E. H. McElroy, and from all accounts, Landis' complete score was run up while he was a member of this famous organization. The son of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first commissioner of professional baseball, Reed was born July 17, 1896. By the time he was twenty years old he had enlisted as a private in the 1st Illinois Cavalry and served on the Mexican Border. Early in 1917 he transferred to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, and on completing his ground school tests was sent to England for flight training. Because Landis' career with Number 40 Squadron has never been widely publicized, we know little of the actual details, but it is obvious that most of his active service flying was aboard S.E.5s with the British. Following this service, Landis was sent back to England and assigned to the U. S. 25th Aero Squadron which was then being formed. On its arrival in France it became part of the new 4th Pursuit Group, and Landis was promoted to the rank of major, but whether he took part in any front-line patrols as a member of the 25th Aero Squadron has not been made clear in any available history. However, he did receive Great Britain's D.F.C., and his own country's D.S.C. After the war Landis was associated with American Airlines, and became a regional vice-president in 1940. For a time he was a consultant to the Director, Office of Civil Defense, and by 1942 was recalled to active duty with the Army Air Force, where he reached the rank of Colonel.
REED G. LANDIS, president of the Reed G. Landis Company, advertising, at 26 East Huron Street, Chicago, became famous during the World war as one of America's Aces in aviation. Since his return to civilian life he has been a constant promoter of aviation development, and among other important responsibilities he is now chairman of the Aeronautic Commission for the State of Illinois. Reed G. Landis was born at Ottawa, Illinois, July 17, 1896, son of Judge Kenesaw Mountain and Winifred (Reed) Landis. Of his distinguished father a sketch appears on other pages of this publication. Reed Gresham Landis attended grammar and high schools in Chicago and was a student at the University of Chicago during 1916-17. He left university to go to the Mexican bord in 1916. In June, 1917, he joined the air service, went overseas and was attached to the British Royal Air Forces with the Fortieth Squadron from August, 1917, until September, 1918. While in England he took special work in Queen's College of Oxford University. I September, 1918, Reed Landis was placed in command of the Twenty-fifth Aero Squadron of the United States Army and served in that capacity until honorably discharged in Marc 1919, with the rank of major. Reed Land was credited with the destruction of nine enemy airplanes and one balloon, and w awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross. Since the close of the war Mr. Landis has given his active attention to the advertising business and has built up one of the important agencies in Chicago and the Middle West. He chief recreation since the war has been flying. He is author of two books on aviation: "On the Roof of the War", published in 1919; and "Business Future of Aviation", published in 192 Mr. Landis is a member of the Chicago Association of Commerce, the American Legion Chicago Athletic Association, the Tavern Club, Skokie Country Club, Adventurers Club, L Shore Athletic Club and Beta Theta Phi fraternity. His home is on Greenwood Avenue in Glencoe. He married, September 20, 1919, Miss Marion Keehn, of Kenilworth, Illinois. They have three children, Nancy, Keehn and Susanne. http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/newtriertwp.html
He's mentioned here ....... SE 5/5a Aces of World War I - By Norman Franks The SE 5/5a British single-seat aircraft was one of the major fighting scouts of the last 18 months of the war in France during World War I and was a true workhorse of the Royal Flying Corps, handling fighter-versus-fighter actions, combating the high-flying German photo-reconnaissance planes as well as balloons. A total of five SE 5/5a pilots, including the legendary Albert Ball, received the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for gallantry. A detailed account of the SE 5/5a, this title covers the development of the machine and its first tentative initiation into combat on the Western Front until it grew in stature to become a machine feared by the German Air Service. Packed with first-hand accounts and combat reports, this is a thrilling insight into the dangerous dogfights and fearless actions of the pilots who flew the SE 5/5a, bringing to life the deadly exploits of these "knights of the air" as they dueled for dominance over the Western Front. http://books.google.com/books?id=Y8...axtgfc753aCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=
