<sod>Because of his arrogance and occasional tendencies to fly alone and disobey orders, Luke was disliked by some of his peers and superiors.  But the 27th was under standing orders to destroy German [[observation balloon]]s.  Because of this, Luke, along with his close friend Lt. [[Joseph Frank Wehner]], continually volunteered to attack these important targets despite the fact that they were heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns on the ground.  The two pilots began a remarkable string of victories together, with Luke attacking the balloons and Wehner flying protective cover.  Wehner was killed in action on September 18, 1918, in a dogfight with [[Fokker D.VII]]s which were attacking Luke. Luke then shot down two of these D.VIIs and two balloons, thereby achieving his 13th official kill—a Halberstadt Ctype observation plane of Flieger Abteilung 36.<ref>http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/people/44756-lukes-13th-credit.html#post477402</ref><eod>
<sod>Because of his arrogance and occasional tendencies to fly alone and disobey orders, Luke was disliked by some of his peers and superiors.  But the 27th was under standing orders to destroy German [[observation balloon]]s.  Because of this, Luke, along with his close friend Lt. [[Joseph Frank Wehner]], continually volunteered to attack these important targets although they were heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns on the ground.  The two pilots began a remarkable string of victories together, with Luke attacking the balloons and Wehner flying protective cover.  Wehner was killed in action on September 18, 1918, in a dogfight with [[Fokker D.VII]]s which were attacking Luke. Luke then shot down two of these D.VIIs and two balloons, thereby achieving his 13th official kill—a Halberstadt Ctype observation plane of Flieger Abteilung 36.<ref>http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/people/44756-lukes-13th-credit.html#post477402</ref><eod>