Billy Fiske

Billy Fiske
Birth name	William Meade Lindsley Fiske III
Nickname(s)	Billy
Born	(1911-06-04)4 June 1911 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	17 August 1940(1940-08-17) (aged 29) Chichester, England
Buried	St Mary and St Blaise churchyard in Boxgrove, Sussex
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Years of service	23 March 1940 – 17 August 1940
Rank	Acting Pilot Officer
Unit	No. 601 Squadron RAF
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of Britain  (DOW)
Relations	Jennison Heaton (brother-in-law)
Sports career
Medal record Men's bobsleigh Representing the  United States 1928 St. Moritz Five-man 1932 Lake Placid Four-man

William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics, Fiske won gold as driver for the US bobsledding team, also acting as the American Olympic flagbearer in 1932.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Fiske traveled to the UK and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, claiming to be Canadian in order to be permitted to enlist. He would participate in the Battle of Britain, before being killed in action on 17 August 1940. After Jimmy Davies, Fiske was the second American-born pilot killed in action during World War II, but Fiske has the distinction of being the first American-citizen pilot to be killed in action during World War II.^[1][2] His plaque was unveiled in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London. The inscription reads: An American citizen who died that England might live.

Between his Olympic career and his military service, Fiske was instrumental in the early development of the Aspen ski resort. Fiske and his partner built the first ski lift and lodge in the remote Colorado mountain town. Others would continue their work after the war.