Balloon Ace - The Life and Times of Aviator Louis Bennett, Jr.

April 15, 2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm

In 1927, when Charles Lindbergh flew his monoplane in a tour of the US, the Spirit of St. Louis touched down in Wheeling, for his visit to the Linsly School. There, Lindbergh laid a wreath at the foot of the Aviator—a statue erected by Sallie Maxwell Bennett bearing the likeness of her son, Louis Bennett Jr., WV’s only WWI flying ace. Bennett was an airpower innovator whose tragically short combat career would have an enduring impact. In "Balloon Ace: The Life of an Early Airpower Visionary," historian Charles Dusch reconstructs Bennett’s lost legacy. 

Dr. Charles D. Dusch is an author and historian who currently serves on the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences Visiting Committee at West Virginia University. He is a founding member of the U.S. Space Force History & Heritage Program and he is the former Command Historian of the United States Air Force Academy.

A recipient of three Department of the Air Force Excellence in History Awards in 2020, 2021, and& 2022, Dr. Dusch has published for the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), Sorbonne Université Presses, Air University Press, Naval Institute Press, the Journal of Military History, and the International Encyclopedia of the First World War, among others. His teaching assignments include the United  States. Air Force Academy, Regis University, the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Campus, and West Virginia University.

He is a retired Air Force weapon systems officer, with over two thousand2,000 flight hours in RF-4C Phantom II and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft, including twenty-eight (28) combat missions over Iraq and Bosnia.

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"Lunch With Books" is the library’s flagship program for adult patrons. These lunchtime programs feature authors, poets, musicians, historians, and more every Tuesday at noon. Bring lunch (to the Library Auditorium or your computer), feed your brain!