Adventurous OshGosh ~ The Phantom Eagle Traditional Geocache
BakRdz: Time for someone else to use this area
Adventurous OshGosh ~ The Phantom Eagle
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Oshkosh, Wisconsin (population 62,916) may be best known for
overalls and experimental aircrafts, but there are many other odd
claims to fame you'd be surprised to know.
One of Oshkosh’s most famous residents wasn’t even a
real person at all. In 1968, writer Gary Friedrich and artist Herb
Trimpe created a character for Marvel Comics named Karl Kaufman, a
World War I flying ace.
According to the story, Kaufman was an expert stunt-pilot and
co-owner of a flying circus from Oshkosh, Wisconsin whose parents
returned to their native Germany just before WWI. So as not to risk
reprisals against his parents, he devised a stylized aviator
uniform with darkened goggles and cape to conceal his identity when
he fought on the side of the Allies as The Phantom Eagle.
With his own customized vintage biplane, he successfully led a U.S.
fighter squadron against an experimental dirigible aircraft carrier
attempting to invade New York. Later, the Phantom Eagle went on to
join the team of costumed adventurers known as Freedom's
Five, consisting of himself (the sole American), the Crimson
Cavalier, the Silver Squire, Sir Steel, and Union Jack.
Kaufman and his parents were later killed together near the end of
the war by German pilot Hermann von Reitberger, who strafed both
the Phantom Eagle and the two civilians with his machine guns as
they fled from Germany into Alsace, France. Swearing vengeance, the
Phantom Eagle's spirit haunted and hunted von Reitberger through
the years until his ghost battled the aged German in aerial combat.
With von Reitberger's death, Kaufman's vengeful spirit was allowed
to pass on.
Despite efforts by other Marvel artists to revamp the character
over the years,The Phantom Eagle never has gained much
popularity, but Oshkosh can still call this fabled hero one of
it’s own.
*** CONGRATS to PA-20 for sneaking in the FTF!
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