Rudolf Berthold (1891-1920) was a German World War I flying ace. Between 1916 and 1918 he shot down 44 enemy planes—most of them over the Belgium front. Berthold had the reputation as a ruthless, fairless and—above all—very patriotic fighter. His perseverance and bravery made him one of the most famous German pilots ever.

Like many other German pilots, Berthold started his career as an infantry soldier. In 1917 he switched to the German Luftstreitkräfte and became a pilot of an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft. In this period he shot 15 enemy planes. In 1918 he moved to the Belgium front and took the opportunity to fly the Fokker D.VII. Berthold's Fokker had a white skull on the side of the blue fuselage and very colorful wings. Berthold became a specialist in controlling this plane and he shot down 13 planes in only two months time. In October 12, 1916 he was awarded Pour le Mérite[1], Germany's highest decoration at the time. In May, June and July he shot down another 14 planes making him one of the top german aces.

In August 1918, only a few weeks before the end of the war, Berthold was hit in the arm by a bullet from a British aircraft machine gun. He refused to retire and said: "Better to die like a man than to live like a faggot." Despite the horrible pain, Berthold continued flying 5 times a day. He refused any medical help because he was scared that an operation would make it impossible for him to fly and fight for his country. Berthold didn't even have the bullet removed from his arm. In this period Berthold shot down only two planes. Only one week before the end of the war, Berthold lost consciousness and crashed his plane into a building. Berthold survived the crash but was heavily injured.

After the war Berthold became a fanatic patriot and nationalist. Berthold was a member of the fascist movement and an anti-communist. He took part in several demonstrations and fought against communists. Berthold was murdered in 1920 during a riot between communists and fascist. According to rumours, Berthold was hit and strangled with the ribbon of his Pour le Mérite.

-- From NationMaster.com at www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Rudolph-Berthold:

Rudolph Berthold & Bruno Loerzer were tied in 6th place among German "flying aces" in WW I with 44 victories (or kills) apiece. (Baron Manfred von Richthofen (the 'Red Baron") was first with 80 kills.)
-- Source: www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-World-War-I-air-aces

When Rudolf Berthold returned home to Germany after the war, he witnessed a nation literally unravelling itself. Chaos reigned in the cities, with armed mobs clashing in the streets. Having been a decorated and respected scout pilot, Berthold was disgusted with the situation. Throughout 1919 he helped battle Communist street gangs with other former military men.

In December of that year Berthold's men were forced to lay down their arms to a local communist group in the city of Harburg. After negotiating with the Communist leader, Berthold turned around and began to walk back to his men. Someone hit him over the head and strangled him with the ribbon of his Orden Pour Le Merite.

Incidents such as these were all too common when the troops returned home to Germany The war had caused so much dislocation and hardship that anyone in a uniform was seen as responsible for the problems the country faced.

-- Excerpt from "Welcome Home" (source unknown):