Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Presented to Kiffin Rockwell of the Lafayette Escadrille. The World War I Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military that was created in 1919 and presented to members of U.S. military services who served in World War I. After 1947 the World War I medal was sometimes referred to as the "Victory Medal (WWI)" following the creation of a similar medal for World War II servicemembers.

American citizen Kiffin Rockwell volunteered to fly with the French Air Service during World War I prior to the United States' entry into the conflict. Rockwell was the first American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in World War I. He was killed in action in September 1916, the second American airman to die in combat in France.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details
Country of Origin France Type AWARDS-Medals & Ribbons Physical Description Bronze World War I Victory Medal; Obverse: relief of goddes Nike (Winged Victory) depicted; Reverse: embossed text "RF, LA GRANDE GUERRE POUR LA CIVILISATION 1914-1918"; rainbow colored silk ribbon. Dimensions 3-D: 3.7 × 8.9 × 0.3cm (1 7/16 × 3 1/2 × 1/8 in.)
Materials Copper Alloy (Bronze)
Silk
Steel
Inventory Number A19620114004 Credit Line Donated by Mr. Paul A. Rockwell Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.