The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-06
Roosevelt's Phrase Source of
the Gimpers' Emblem.
Use an Uncle Sam Hat in Red,
White and Blue.
MEANS WILL FIGHT ANY Time
Black Crosses With the Hat for
Foes Brought Down.
Christy's War Girl Decorates
One Gimper's Machine.
Copyright. 1918, by the United Press

Copyright, 1918, by the United Press)
With the American Airmen in
France, July 10 (by maiD.-"Al
gfmpers have to live up to the idea
Of the squadron emblem" explained
Lieut.. Eddie Rickenbacker, aII-Amer-
lean ace and former automobile racing
driver.
Every man has a picture of a hat
in a ring on his machine That means
he is 8dy fight at any time,
whether he ITS to or not. The
squadron is sometimes known as the
Hat-in-the-Ring squadron. But among
ourselves we call it gimpers. We
adopted the hat-in-the-ring as our en-
b1em back in our training days. Then
it was our hope to be the first fighting
squadron to get to the front.
Origin of Emblem
Our commanding officer who had
flown with the French, used to have
hat as the emblem on his machine.
Some one suggested that we take the
hat, but put a ring around it, carrying
out the idea of ex-President Roose-
velt'S famous statement that We were
ready to fight any time.
1.-THE hat we had in mind then was
d "
we were discussing the emblem that it
be made an Uncle Sans hat with stars
and stripes on it. The idea was
gimper itself and we soon designed
an Uncle Sans hat in a ring of red,
white and Blue on each machine.
For a long time we could say moth
ing of the emblem, but finally a couple
of the boys were forced down in Ger
many. I can't say we noticed any
difference in the way the German fly
ers treated US, for they never did have
the say as to whether we would fight
or not We always have had to carry
out the kat-in-the-ring idea and go
after them.
Cross for Each Foe Downed.
Doug Campbell added the finishing
touch to the hat-in-the-ring emblem
when he got his fifth Hun and became
the first all-American trained ace.
Somewhere he scared up a paint
brush and painted a little black cross
in the ring around the hat for each
German he had brought down. They
were regular German crosses, just like
the ones you see on German planes
before you let them have it.
You want to look at Doug's col
lection of crosses. He started them
in one end of the ring and made them
real small. There are now seven of
them in the ring, but they stretch
barely a Qdarter of the way across
showing his confidence in getting a
lot of boches before the war is over.
Doug wants to have room for all the
crosses necessary across the ring and
he's made them small
THE rest of the boys are now put
ting crosses in the rings as soon as
they land Germans and we're getting
quite collection of black iron crosses
in the gimper squadron. For holes
made by the German shells in our
planes we also make crosses provided
the holes are of large enough size.
Some of the smaller ones are too COM
mon, but the large ones can be
patched with a big cross.
One Has Picture OF Girl.
Not few of the gimpers put other
pictures on the planes by way of in
spiration. I think the best stunt was
that of a gimper who pasted Howard
Chandler Christy's war poster of the
liberty girl on the lower wing of his
machine, where he could always see it.
The poster has the words Buy Liberty
Bonds or Fight for Her. Which will
you dog
LAS the gimper explained to us, It
inspired him to fight Isee a boche
up there and then always look at the
girl on the wing he said.
"'It says buy bonds or fight. I
haven't any money and couldn't buy
bond IS there if wanted to. So there's
nothing to do but fight. That's the
way the girl inspires me- We've been
out here long enough now to know
that the gimpers will live up to the
hat-in-the-ring idea and they never
run away from a fight. The idea was
a happy one and 1t has had a lot to
do with the morale of the squadron.
The gimpers started out with the right
kind of spirit and enthusiasm and it's
worked wonders when we got into
fights with Huns