Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1918-07-17
POST HEARS FROM
BOY in FRANCE
Aviator Sends Clipping From
French Paper

paper puDllShed over lnere mas
been forwarded to this office by A. L
R. Homewood, of the 822nd Aero
Squadron, in France. Mr.. Home
wood writes to tell us of the re- .
ceipt of Newark Post of May Sth. /
He assures us that call the boys
over here get the fervor to get the
Huns"
l dived through the shoulder of
a huge white cloud, turned as l
came out on the other side, banked
steeply, and turned again, shot into
the cloud once more, came out on
one wing, Topped twice, and climb
ed over the highest pinnacle into
the dazzling sunlight.
| was alone up there, thousands
of feet above the sweating earth.
My eyes roamed the space around
me. Not a single aeroplane, not a
smudge of smoke even, could | see.
Strange, l thought, and looked
again; but no, the skies were bare.
So the sky was mine for the pre-
sent. No wonder the infantry in
the sitting trenches think us mad
at times! But what is there to do
but frolic in and out of those snow
white chunks of whipped cream
and pierce them through and
through, when you are on defen-
sive patrol, when the German
pilots are sitting on their aero
dromes, and when for miles and
miles British and Teutons are rest
ing behind their guns. If you were
; carrying bombs you would push
across the lines and drop few on
the biggest shell dumps within
reach. But l had no bombs on my
fighting scout" was wasp out
to sting and travel light, so l dart
ed in and out the clouds as high as
l could get-15,0OO feet with one
= eye on the distant horizon in the
+ east.
A partner
: was glad when at last | sighted
: Hun getting height over his
e aerodrome, for l was beginning to
y tire of gambolling all by myself
q Here, then, was possible partner
=. How shall l describe the fight that
ensued? More than five times run
ming we performed the same man,
9 oeuvers. Turn and dive, finger
trembling on the trigger. TURF
o again and climb, engine full open
. Two whole minutes went by anc
only fifteen shots had been fired
20 by me, at the start off. He hat
spoilt my aim by doing the OPP
lie posite to that which l had expect
s ed. Instead of turning he had KEEP
straight on, and l had found my
in self firing yards behind him. The1
in | had almost got on his tail. Be
fore | could fire, though, he ha
lie reversed the order of things, an
I in turn had escaped by going sla
into a cloud.
a' Realizing the futility of attempt
Ill ing to lay my machine gun on hir
at that necessarily close range,
nc suddenly altered my tactics, an
~ drew my Colt revolver from it
holster at my side.
IS At that moment he was som
at distance away, flying parallel to m
and waiting for an opportunity t
'at turn and get his sights on me, S
| edged in towards him until a bar
~ fifty yards separated us. Then b'
=, fore he had time to turn | pushe
no my revolver over the side, took
N steady aim, and fired. With a sta
which brought his shoulders cles
let of the nacelle, he clapped bot
hands to his face, while his macl
ce, inc tilted down almost VERTICAL
re. The next instant he was gone in
yht a cloud bank which lay unde
wn meath us.
re- Uncertain as to his fate, | dive
SITS after him. But when | came o.
of the cloud he was spinning roul
in corkscrew, quite out OF co
o'e troll. | waited until he had hit tt
ground, and then turned HON
nee wards. CHANGING back as | cross
'le' the lines | saw a blotch of yellc
in in the centre of a broad high TO;
surmounted by a cloud of viii
lille dust which drifted slowly aw
across a field of green clover.
l. --