Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-10-14
AMERICANS ARE BUILDING
AVIATION CAMP IN FRANCE
First Tangible Evidence That u S. Army Is
{ Coming in Air Strength-Morale Of
Men Is Excellent

sand that the Danish language was spoken
! in his home in Chicago.
| Then | met q medical officer attached
| to the same camp. who relocated the SOL
| der to a truck going the same way and
rode with me to the camp He was sa-
luted every few hundred yards by Ameri-
can soldiers and French civilians. In the
officers club, a room at one end of Il
long barracks for officers. | found several
pilots OF the United States air squadron
whom / had known not so very long ago
in the Mexican frontier service. Toward
dinner time Il young major entered who
invited me to join the mess. There
fouHd-strange after all the allied messes
to which | have been invited since the
war began-a glass OF water at each
plate Later the cook brought large
cup of tea without milk Bottles were
conspicuously absent. After the first
course, consisting OF beef and vegetables,
the conversation began.
1T seems a great pity" said a. pilot
who is well known at home. that Capt.
Guynemer should have been lost. He,
with all his skill and knowledge.
should have been Kept in glass case
after he had forty or fifty enemy ma
chimes to his credit
Perhaps" 1 remarked. but do you
think you would have been willing to
stop after so much SUGGEST"
We'll, perhaps not. There is no
question though but that he would
have been of great use in instructing
new pilots.
Wen then" said I. you win be quite
content if You can remain here and
not go to the front"
Men Anxious to Go to Front.
Immediately there was chorus of
noes and the most abject despair
was pictured on numerous counte-
nances. IF we cannot get out into the
scrap we shall be more than disap-
pointed. Certainly We want TO get into
the thick of it 1t is an experience
which none of US have had, although
we know something of what il is like"
st is most likely" added another
that we Will not want TO be left out
of it once we get i'll. This helps US
to understand how Guynemer must
have felt about it personally. Still it
was a shame to lose him.
we are here" said another old pilot,
ito do what We are told to do. That
is what will count in the next few
US wants to be left out of the actual
war and be relesated to instruction no
matter how long the war lasts
All the others in the same squadron
that all of them will be squadron COM
ma ders before next spring and In the
meantime they will perhaps get the
baptism of fire which will be highly
profitable to them.
This conversation, the report of
which is limited by the rules of the
censorship. only family suggests the
fine morale which our old and new
pilots will. I foresee. show when they
go into battle. This seems to me to
be n most important characteristic.
First skillfully chosen in America and
then subjected to crucial practical tests
in France which have already elimi-
mated some, our airmen will go to the
front with a morale equal to that of
pilots who took part in the first two
years of the war. and 1t will possibly
be better than that of the present
day, simply because we, as newcom-
ers, have a larger scope of selection.