THIS week we have a story from the pen of A. Kinney Griffith. Griffith penned a number of stories featuring Rex “Wrecks” Norcross that ran in the pages of War Birds and Sky Riders in the late ’20’s. He gained his nickname by crashing his first time back from patrol in a shot-up plane that was barely holding itself together, but as time went on he returned as less of a wreck, while wrecking the German planes!

In the first of Griffith’s Wrecks Norcross stories from the July 1928 War Birds, Wrecks leads a bombing mission on a German munitions plant!

It was when Lieutenant Rex Norcross, wounded and flying a bullet-riddled plane, crashed in landing that the C.O. called him “Wrecks.” The name stuck, but as time went on it meant more and more. Then came the big bombing mission—and Wrecks was there!

• Download “Wrecks” (July 1928, War BIrds)