Pritchard, John Hugh

1st Lieutenant John Hugh Pritchard graduated from Virginia Tech in 1917 and immediately joined the U.S. Army after graduation. He arrived in France on May 5, 1918 and served on the Western Front with the 9th Aero Squadron in the AEF 1st Army Observation Group. The 9th Aero Squadron performed long-range, strategic night reconnaissance over the entire length of the 1st Army sector on the Western Front. Pritchard's squadron was the only night reconnaissance squadron along the entire front. 

The night reconnaissance mission of the 9th Aero Squadron was reflected in the unit’s insignia which depicted an aircraft flying at night as three German search lights intersected to form the roman numeral IX (9). 

In his Virginia War History Questionnaire Pritchard wrote that in "the air service, the fighting is of different nature from the others because a man is alone, where he cannot well observe anyone else and everything is done more cold bloody and with less excitement. The men of the air service went about their duties as if they were at home under ordinary circumstances, as a rule."

• Members of the 9th Aero Squadron Night Reconnaissance Squadron taken in France on 13 November 1918 at Vavincourt, France from US Signal Corps Archives (Pritchard is 7th from left) https://catalog.archives.gov/id/55239496