Born in a house 500 yards south, Kiffin Yates Rockwell attended W & L University and V.M.I. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in August, 1914, and was incapacitated for infantry service by wounds in May 1915. After transferring to the French Air Force, he helped found the Escadrille Lafayette. On May 18, 1916, he became the first American aviator to down an enemy plane. He was killed in aerial combat over Alsace on Sept. 23, 1916, and is buried in France.