You guys already know mine..
George Preddy.
George Preddy was on his way to becoming the leading ace in Europe when tragedy struck...
On Christmas Day, Preddy led 10 of his P-51s on a patrol. They were vectored to a formation of enemy planes, and in the ensuing fight, though the squadron became scattered, Preddy downed two more Bf-109s. He and his wingman, Lt. James Cartee, were then vectored to an unknown number of bandits near Liege. Preddy saw an FW-190 on the deck and went after him at treetop height. As they roared over American AA batteries, Preddy was hit by friendly ground fire and killed, probably by the bullets from the quad 50s.
Almost certainly, he would also have come out as top American ace in Europe had it not been for that tragic error on Christmas Day in 1944. He would no doubt have been a part of the air battle called "Operation Bodenplatte" by the Luftwaffe, when many of his squadron mates shot down as many as five enemy aircraft on New Years Day 1945. At the end of the War, George was credited with 32-1/2 victories. Five of these were enemy aircraft destroyed by strafing, so he had 27-1/2 aerial victories to his credit. In the early 1950s, a Fighter Victory Credits Board was convened by the USAF and his aerial credits were reduced to 25.83. Joe Noah, first cousin, discovered that one of the victories disallowed by the Board was one for which George had been awarded the Silver Star. The USAF corrected that error in 1978 when another Board was convened. His official score is now 26.83 aerial and five ground victories. The USAF gave Preddy credit for 1/3 victory which he never claimed. John C. Meyer said George actually shot down several enemy aircraft he didn't claim.