Officially Rated Top Army Ace

First Ranking USAF Ace is the official title of Lt. Col. John C. Meyer '41 of the 8th Air Force according to records recently cited in Armed Force magazine. Newspapers have consistently headlined Meyer's total of 371/2 aircraft destroyed as the highest number of kills, but now it is Army Archives data that Dartmouth's 22-times decorated son is the leading Army fighter pilot of World War 11.

In 462 hours of combat, during 200 missions in two years, Brooklyn-born Meyer shot down 24 German aircraft and destroyed 13 others by ground strafing enemy air bases. The 1/2 plane in his total came from a kill credited to both Meyer and a squadron mate. His greatest thrill came on New Year's Day, 1944, when he led 12 fighters of the 487th Squadron against more than 50 German planes who were attacking the field from which he and his men were trying to take off. Meyer, with his wheels and flaps still in takeoff position, shot down the German leader and proceeded to break up the attack. His squadron knocked down 23 that day, losing none.

After almost seven years' service, he was integrated into the Regular Air Force in July, 1946 and in the fall returned to Dartmouth. A month after he received his B.A. in geopolitics last February, Col. Meyer was assigned to the office of the Secretary of the Air Force. This was traveling, indeed, from November, 1939, when he enlisted as an aviation cadet with two years of Dartmouth to his credit. Not strictly a military man, Meyer and his wife have two young children, Peter James and Mary Christine. They are now living in Silver Springs, Maryland.