The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-01-26

WINGED SOLDIERS
OF FORTUNE
| (Continued from page IL
over 200 horse power that brought
about the change so much as the won
derfuI Improvement in art OF flying
itself and it's just here that the
Anglo-Saxon and. Frenchmen beat the
slower minded German. It 10 Just
this reason why German soldiers leu
tiers are now SO full OF complaint
about over cautious German aviators.
When Pegoud invented looping the
loop the people asked why? WHAT'S
the use OF it? Pegoud was very con-
siderable inventor as well as flyer,
| is the answer, Looping the loop is
useful maneuver and 1t has been
succeeded by that extraordinary de-
yeIorment, the nose dive" in which
an airman seems to fall like stone
for thousand feet, till the specta-
tors hair raises from his head In hor-
ror-then suddenly the machine Tat
tens ont and SCOTS away and you
/! find it only a trick after all.
I talked with one of our wounded
boys-he was just 19-who had fallen
5000 feet owing to his rudder wire
connection being shot through. BY
a miracle his machine Strengthened
itself automatically within 100 yards
OF the ground and the boy is alive and
will fly again. I asked him his sensa-
lions. He Is probably the first man In
the world who has fallen eight thou
sand feet-more than ten times the
height of the Woolworth building.
He said that for long time-what
seemed like hours-he knew he was
failing at tremendous speed and then
he lost consciousness. AS in a dream
he found himself being picked up from
the wreck of his machine by people
who thought he was dead. At the be-
ginning of an air fight there Is man
euvering for positions and feinting as
in boxing. There are as a rule two
men in each machine. A pilot and an
observer, except in the smaller types
IL which the wings are clipped down
to nothing to get extra speed ana
climbing power. knowledge OF the
engine and plane power, quickness OF
decision and accuracy OF shooting
with the Lewis gun are essential to,
the pilot. His observer Is provided
with some form Of pistol and often
with bombs.
Rival planes. like giant hawks, hover
around, above Or below each other
till one more expert or more daring
than the other meneuvers his oppon-
emit into a position from which he has
either to fight or flee. The knockout
blow usually is sudden descent on
the enemy, accompanied by accurate
machine fire. Sometimes it becomes
q duel with Browning pistols, in which
men are so close they can see each
others eyes. The thing Is over pc
fore ycn realize g. One machine !s
of and away and the other whirls
and crashes down to earth. The Brit
fish army does not permit the names OF
its flying heroes to be published. In
telling you. therefore, OF American
flyers, I must deal with those Amer1-
cans with the French army. Lieuten-
ant Thaw, OF Pittsburgh, was one OF
IA number of Americans. who entered
the famous foreign legion OF the
French army at the outbreak OF war
and is now senior American flying Of
ficer In France. His name and that
of his colleagues are better known in
Europe than in their own country. In
giving a list Of those whose names
are known (some alas lying beneath
a wooden cross) I can say no more
than that they are worthy representa-
tfves of a great nation. Lieutenant
Thaw was followed by Bert Hall OF
Texas. Jas. Bach, d. Mason, Siiar
Lufberry, James Mcconnell, Of Chica-
go: Chouteau Johnson, OF New YORK;
Elliott Cowkin. Giffen Rockwell. Clyde
Balsley. Of Texas; Dudley Hill, OF
Peekskiu. n. Y; Victor Chaplin.
The policy of American aviatorS
serving with the French army is that
of the British and French, to attack.
They have played goodly part IL the
invention CT constantly changing tao
tics of fighting.
NV last recollection of American
soldiers was their. spread table at
which there was everything tired
man from across the Atlantic could
want from turkeys TO doughnuts.
Il put one question to a score OF
those whose mothers weren't ashamed
to raise them to be soldiers. I asked
then why they had come. The reply
of the American in France is the same
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES You meet him
with the Canadian army, the British
army Or the French army. They all
say words to this effect: The sort OF
thing that has been going on In
Europe as the result OF the horrible or
gained s2Tagefy OF fTuSsidns mas sot
to be stopped. We want to stop it De-
fore it reaches our own country. We
have come over here to do 1t and
thank God. we know we are helping
tn do It and that 1t is to be thoroughly
done.
To which one OF them added as l
said good night: IF any one asks
you what sort OF time the Amerl-
81 hand thpr,a
the one. good home woTd-bully.