The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-05-23


as ne nears his home grounds that officially he
has nothing to show for his prOwess The great
day is still afar Of-the day when his fellow air.
men, already arrived at thu "ace' stage will well
come him of themSeives-when his relatives
and friends at home, and all the world indeed will
recognize that he is fighting aviator of France
out of the amateur class forever
Lieut.. Constant SOuer known as the Ben
Jamin" of the French aces, who has come TO this
country TO show the people of the United States
just what the fighting airmen of France are able
10 90 In the way of flying like most of the other
great French airmen, found that winning the lace
was not the task of day, but he won it. although
1t took the bringing down of u machines actually
before the coveted official" five were marked to
MS credit says writer in the New York Herald
He does not look like veteran of the western
'front.' this hero of many air battles. He seems
much more like a pleasant little military schOOlboy
he is SMALL with amazingly youthful face and
although he is serious and dignifed it is with the
dignity and seriousness of boy, such as is quite
in keeping with his simple and straightforward
manner.
But on the breast of this modest boyisb vouno
officer CLEAN medals which speak eIoouentlv of
extraordinary vaOr-the MedaiIle Militaire the
CroiX de Ia Virtu Militaire Of Roumana and the
CrolX de Guerre of France with seven palms and
a golden star.
These honors the little ace earned before he was
twenty years old, for before that time he had
accomplished 40 hours of flight had fought AZ
battles in the air. had killed or wounded a score
OF enemy aviatOrS and had brought down II ena1nv
machines His citations liz orders and in special
government communications cover two closely
typewriter pages.
a student at the EcoIe Polytechnic in Doris
when the war began, Constant Soulier fonnd If
impossible at first the service of his conn
Try as Il volunteer, as he was not considered in
sufficiently good health by the military authorities
Also he was but seventeen years old Presently
however. he succeeded in overcoming these obiec-
lions and became a volunteer in the artillery He
was placed in the Twenty-first regiment at An
gouleme.
But while in the artillery training camn like so
many very young patriots, he became intensely
Interested IN the new arm of the service. He felt
keenly that his vocation not for the artillery
but that he must become an airman He src
ceeded in persuadng the authorities to traDsfo-
MN to the aviation corps and became a student
at the school at LOngvic. He was transferred to
Eau IN March, 1916, and two months afterward
obtained the coveted brevet of pilot He had
studied devOtedly at the school and was q notable
promising aviator cadet.
Whle at the school he much liked by the
Older men, and day an episode occurred
which pleased them greatly. Young Soulier found
MS machine taken in the eddy of another air
plane which was flying over him He was blown
to the earth with violence His machine was
broken to pieces, and the witnesses of the acct
dent, without waiting to investigate, Immediately
sent in call for a medical officer
Imagine their amazement when they saw the
student aviator issue from the debris of his ma
chine without scratch
There are more superstitious people any
where than the of the aviation corps of all
the armies.
And it after this episode that the older
aviators declared to one another that he was born
to triumph.
The flying school training was followed by a
course at the school of mitraeurs at Cazeau
In June, 1916 Soulfer was appointed to the Es-
'cadrille N-26, under COmmandant Brocard.
The aviator remembers always his first engage
ment for matter how extensive his practice has
been the school it takes different personal quail
tiles TO enable a TO hold his own against the
enemy. No matter how well he may have done
practice, 1t is felt that the actual test of the
aviator's ability must in battle.
Soulier had no easy task in his first engage
ment
With a comrade, like himself a novice, he
was ordered patrol. Soon they envel-
oped in clouds, but they out of this snowy
of the enemy. They confronted by two
Fokkers, which were at that time considered very
much to be feared.
firmly fastened in place, and with the first fire it
shifted striking him in the head and almost knock
ing him out by the shock. But he held his own,
plotting with one hand and with the other try
ing to hold his mitrailleuse in place. Although
the gun struck him with each discharge, he
able to keep in the fight until the adversary, his
cartridges exhausted abandoned the light. The
French airmen then regained their lines
Some time after this Soulier. who had then
become sergeant, brought down in two success
sive days two German Drachens, one at the wood
of Vaux and the other of Mesnil Saint-Nibaise