He was the first official American ace of World War II:
- Hewitt Wheless
- Buzz Wagner
- Colin Kelly
- Jim Connally
- Jack Adams
Buzz Wagner. The first official American ace of World War II, Buzz Wagner took off on a lone reconnaissance mission over Aparri on December 12. Because of devastating losses by the U.S. fighter force two days earlier, orders had come down restricting confrontation with enemy fighters if at all possible. His reconnaissance mission turned into a combat mission when he descended from a patch of clouds and found himself practically on top of two Japanese destroyers. Spotted and chased by a pair of Japanese fighters, Wagner eluded the enemy and took out five of 12 enemy planes. Four days later, Wagner and two associates went into combat over Vigan and left behind 17 enemy planes destroyed or burning, with an unknown number of Japanese dead lying on the runway. The mission garnered the most devastating results of the air war to date.