The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-12-31
LAFAYETTE MAN
TELLS Of AIR FEATS
Aviator, Since Shot Down,
Tells of Daring Stunts
of Comrades
DIVE OF 10000 FEET
ENDS IN SAFETY
Wires of Airplane Loosened by Strain
but Machine Not Injured Otherwise
Men Mentioned Have Now Been Com
missioned in United States Army.

WASHINGTON. Dee. 3l.-Word pie
lures of the wori- Of the members Of
G.e latgv,ft squadron and Other
American q iators IN France are given
in letters which Dr. Charles D. Wal
colt, secretary of the Smithsonian IN
stitution, has received from his son, +.
s. Walcott, whose airplane fell ''some
where behind the German lines along
the western front. The illusions t.
the work If the American aviators
contained ii these letters are all The
more interesting at this time in view
af the fact that the men about whom
WaIeott wrote have just been ,omm'~
stoned in the American air service o.
the recommendation Of General Persh
ing.
l}r. Walcott has received despatch
from Paris informing him that his SOL
fell within the enemy lines Dec. u
while fighting three single seaters, aft
cr having demolished an enemy two
scatter. and that his fate is uncertain
Inquiries are being made to ascertain
if possible, from Germany whethe.
young Walcott was seriously injure
or not.
| In letter dated Nov, l3, in respons,
to an inquiry about Campbell, an avia
| tor from Chicago, who was reported
lost, young Wsleott wrote as follows:
- Campbell was in the Lafayette rs
cadrille, and they are a member of tn
! same group as squadron 81, so | have
asked them about him. He was OF
a patrol with another chap; they at
tackled seine boches, and when il wa
over the other chap was alone. Camp
bell was brought down in German ter
ritory and so reported missing. be
\ licve the chap he was with has seen an
talked to Campbell's father or som
close relative since.
Another chap named Bulkely wa
brought down in similar clrcumstanc"
about the lst of September. Ten day
ago word was received from the An
sterdam embassy that he had commun
Gated with them, a prisoner in Gel
many.
"Thc-e are many similar eases wher
men brought down with crippled MI
|
tion by miracle. Tie only sure thin
! is when q machine goes down in flame
or is seen to lose wing or two.
For instance, there are two office
in the group who are in the best {
health and daily working Sever'
months ago they were on patrol {
gether and collided in the air On
machine cut the tail rigging conplet
~ off the other plane without T.
and the other machine with variol
parts OF tail mixed among the cabl
l aud struts Of one side of his machin
? They both landed in France, one on h
wheels. followed by a capotage, or sol
l crWult turnover. the other quite col
T plctelv upside down. Then term
the hospital, and back they are agai
kenneth Mari, an American and
friend of Pete s, had the commands
both hi controls cut in combat. 4
rudder and elevator, leaving him not
= ing but the aiieron, the lateral balda
control. and the motor lie land
wish oalv . skinned nose FOR casaaltu
sud 4ut egofati9a Tor -
Atothe- hap. in III atFaeb az s.
tive balloons, dived Tor something Il
u 10000 feet vertically and with full Ii
= tor on, thereby gaining considerat
!, s,ccd as YOU can imagine He caI
, right on top of the balloon, shot and
a keep from hitting it, yanked as rough
as he could, tiattening out his dive
the nearest fraction of a second. L
aginc the strain on the machine, VII
hn get home all the wires had sever
irchcl sag in them; the metal come
,, tions of the cables into the struts a
v wood of the wings had bit into t
: wood enough to give the sag.
Machines are built to stand i
q mense pressure on the under side
II their wings In some acrobatic n
4 nocuvres | was trying the other d
! made mistakes and caused the n