South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-11-11
WHISKY" AND "S0DA"
SAVED YANKEE FLYERS
international News Service:

International News Service
PARIS. Nov. "Whiskey' and
Soda" the two lion cubs which are
mascots Of the Lafayette Escadrille,
probably saved the lives of some OF
the volunteer American aviators fly
ing with the French army, for it
was because "Whiskey' and soda
were lighting furiously in q wood
near the aerodrome of the Lafayette
Escadrille on the Meuse river near
Verdun that all OF the pilots their
mechanicians and even their cook
rushed from camp" and So escaped
the bombs and aerial torpedoes
dropped few seconds later by a
squadron of German bOmbarding
machines which flew overhead.
incidentally. this marked also the
first time that the United states
flag has been directly under fire on
the western front. as the Stars and
Stripes were floating from the flag-
pole at the edge of the aviation
field when the German raiders APP
peared The fiagpole was struck by
a shell fragment. and. although il
swayed and toppled perilously, il did
not fall and "Old Glory waved
triumphantly throughout the bonn
bardment II was the presence Of
the American hag that denoted to
the Germans that that particular
aerodrome was the home Of the La
fayette Escadrille.
More than a score OF aeroplanes-
: p. a. DIS of the latest type
were destroyed by the great high
explosive bombs which the German
Gothas sprinkled over the camp.
The environments in which the pilots
were housed we're blown 70 pieces
and the cookhouse and mess tent
We're also -llit The American avia-
tors were lodged with a French es-
cadrille stationed nearby.
II was late i'm the evening
dinner-when the aviators heard the
snarling and roaring Of the lions.
The noise proceeded from a patch
of wood close by the aviation field.
The aviators ran to the scene i'm
mediately. fearing that their mas
cots were chewing up some dogs
Instead they found Whisky
soda" locked in their first real bat
tie since they have been attached"
to the Lafayette Escadrille. Soon
the whole escadrille was gathered
around the two biting. snarling.
splitting lion cubs. and then there
was the sound OF a swish and a
boom. and the first German bomb
exploded.
The pilots looked up and decried
half a dozen great Gothas circling
overhead at an altitude of nearly
10000 feet They We're raining
down bombs. and the huge proiec-
tiles were decorating all over the
camp. The first bomb dropped
struck a hangar and made match
wood and scrap iron out OF half a
dozen of the lighting single-seater
aerOplaneS il housed. The next
the aviators slept. The frail tenn
porary, building collapsed like "a
+ house Of cards. The next bomb
| hurled "a splinter into the hagpole
/ and set il swayiug like reed. Two
more bombs then struck other han
gers. demolishing more aeroplanes.
There was not "a single casualty.
y however. owing 90 the fact that
/ everybody had left the camp and
! had rushed 20 the wood 10 watch
\ the lions night. But nearly every
I aeroplanc was "a total wreck.
The next day. however. the esca-
drille shifted its pcS'tion 10 another
sector OF the front. near scissors.
The unit was inactive for more than
q week through lack of machines
however.