The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-05-23
DIES MONIES BOY AccoMPLisHEs
THE IMPOSSIBLE
100 DOWNED ON ITALIAN FRONT
Peterson, Waiting to be Decorated
Gets Two Huns in TWO Minutes.
British Flyers Bomb Towns
Have Stiff Fight.
(By Frank j. Taylor

With the American Armies in Lor-
raine, May 1S.--Lieutenant Eddie Rick
enbacher, former auto race driver
of Des Moines, Iowa. collided with a
German aeroplane this morning. the
enemy machine crushing to the
ground. Richenbacker was saved only
by miracle.
He took to the air early at dawn to-
day and spotted three German planes
at an altitude of approximately Ave
thousand meters, One of the machines
was some distance behind the others
Rickenbacher pounced onto the low.
est Boche and was getting the best Of
i'm when the other two enemy planes
swung around and made an attempt to
get under Rickenbacher, and machine
gun him from the rear.
The Boches evidently misjudged the
distance and crashed into Rickenbach-
er who lost control.
He dropped about one thousand me-
tors and then gained control and man
aged TO limp back to the American
Ines despite left wing which had
been damaged considerable.
The German planes tail was com
pletely torn off and il dropped out of
control to within five hundred meters
of the ground and then flatened out
slightly when it was last seen. II is
believed that II crashed to the earth"
Lieutenant Rickenbacher, was dec.
Grated with the French war cross on
Wednesday, He assisted in bringing
down a German airplane IN enemy ter
ritory two weeks ago.
To Pass The Time.
Washington, May 18-Taking to the
air while waiting for a French Gener-
al to arrive with medals for American
flyers, Captain Peterson snot down two
German planes and destroyed them
within two minutes. One came down
in flames while the other one crumbled
as il fell
American Official Statement
Tie full text of the American Off
cial statement from the front follows:
Section A. In Lorraine patrolling
vas active and there was again in
creased artillery fighting which now
continues. The day was quiet at other
points occupied by our troops.
"Section B. While concentrating our
forces from the front about noon May
Is, as has been previously reported,
End while awaiting the return of a
French General with decorations
which were to be conferred upon our
troops the following incident took
place.
"Whilc waiting. Captain Peterson
tool to the air and spied several enc
my planes and had an encounter with
two which he shot down within one
minute The first plane which was
shot down fell in flames while the
second which had a broken wing
crumbIed and flattened out as it near
cd the earth. No definite information
rs to the third plane which was re-
ported shot down has been received
100 Hun Planes Destroyed.
Rome, May 1S.--The allied forces
have in the last thirty days destroyed
more than one hundEed enemy aero
planes on the Italian front il was Off
cially announced today.
British Bomb German Town.
London. England, May 1S.--In spite
of determined opposition by German
OF, n,;. ,el,
dropped bombs on factories and rail
way station at Saarbruecken, in Ger
man Lorraine, starting fire on the
railway. After bombing the town the
Britishcrs turned on the enemy and in
Gerial activity issued last night. de-
stroyed five of the enemy's machines.
One of the British airplanes was lost.
In intense aerial fighting on the
western front Wednesday thirty.seven
German airplanes were accounted for
by British aviators, while eleven Brit
ish machines are reported missing.
The official statement says:
Enemy aircraft was active In the
carly morning and again in tho even
lH6 NNtullCSudyD HOSllS SHOUTS dILdCh
ING our bombing machines with par.
tiegllar insistence. twenty-five German
machines were brought down and
twelve driven down out of control.
One was shot down by machine gun
fire from the ground. Eleven of our air
planes arc missing.
Fourteen Tons Of Bombs Dropped
After dark our night flying air
planes dropped over fourteen tons of
bombs on the railway stations at Chau-
Ines Lille and Douai, on the enemy's
billets at Peronne Bray, and Bapaume
and on the docks at Bruges. One of
our machines did not return.
EARLY Thursday our airplanes set
out to bomb the factories and railway
station at Saarbruecken, in Germany
On crossing the lines they were en-
} countered by ten hostile scouts and
a running fight took place along the