The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-11-15
HITCHCOCK PROVES
9ASHFUL AIR HERO
Westbury Filler Of Lafayette
Escadrille Puts Ban on
Public Welcome.
RETURNS ON MISSION
shyly He Tells Of Escape and
Flight From German
Prison Camp.

Lieut.. Tommy" Hitchcock. Jr., pride
Of the American daredevils Of the air.
who wrote In brilliant exploits the his
tory OF the Lafayette Escadrille. got
back to the United States and his IA
theirs home at westbury, L. l., yester-
day. to be revealed as perhaps the most
bashful hero OF the now defunct world
war
Lieut.. Tommy" which II the only
name he heard yesterday and last night.
came In aboard the United States naval
transport Plattshurg. leaving to the Red
Cross the detail of notifying his father.
Major Thomas Hitchcock Of the Ameri-
can flying service, that he was arriving.
With him returned large group OF
American officers and shlpload of
wounded men, who are on their wav to
various base hospitals in and near New
York.
But despite the heavy complement of
war heroes that came In aboard the
Plattsburg there was no doubling that
young Hitchcock. whose greatest boast
now appears to be that he has passed
dis eighteenth birthday. was the boss OF
the company He still II wearing the
officer--because the French army chiefs
have not yet agreed to part with his
services as fighter for France. They
wanted him to come home to see his
mother and his father. so he has been
entrusted with n special mission for the
French Government and will leave for
Washington In q day or two. After that
he intends to 20 back to France, unless
peace comes 80 fast that he and his
famous flying squadron are mustered
cut Of service earlier than young Hitch
cock expects will be the case
Puts Ran on Celebration.
There will be no big public celebration
by Lieut.. ''Tommy's'' proud Long Island
neighbors, who thought that would he
the best means OF welcoming the youth
ful fiier home. The central figure OF the
proposed celebration settled that point
finally last night, when tentative plans
for the celebration, first came to his
notice. He .thumped his hands down on
a table in the library OF the Hitchcock
home and announced .fatly that. SO far
as celebrations VENT there was moth
Ing doing"
As soon as Major Hitchcock received
word from the Red Cross that his son
was aboard the Plattsburg. he jumped
into an automobile and hurried into
town with Tommy's sister. Miss Helen
Hitchcock He greeted both affection
ately. but even bis relatives foLnd the
task OF extracting from the young Lieu
tenant a thrilling story of his exploits
almost as difficult as that which Cell to
the lot OF the German guard who failed
to keep the young man a prisoner. The
young fier fidgeted about on one foot
and then on the other and allowed that
he had had pretty good time In the
air and on the ground" That was about
the total of Tommy's story as II was re-
lated at the pier.
From the pier Lieut.. Hitchcock went
by automobile with his father and sister
to the Hitchcock home. As he stepped
out of the car there two figures came
bounding toward him. One was his
little brother Frank, who Is Just half
OF TouImy's age. but probably the most
proud of all the Hitchcocks over his big
brothers reputation as hero. The
other figure moved slowly al first. but
its efforts were Just as determined as
the little fellows. and Frank lost the
race to Louis Martin, so and short Of
wind, who has been valet IN the
Hitchcock family for exactly twelve
years longer than Tommy has been a
member OF IL
Martin proudly escorted the young
man in uniform UP 10 Mrs. Hitchcock
and Mrs Julian Peabody. young Hitch
cocks second sister. and then started
through the telephone book announcing
TO all of Tommy's neighbOrs In the
Piping Rock and Wheatley Hills sections
that Master Tommy" WAS home
Plainly the young aviator shows the
strain OF his war Job. Although he ia
only IS, the lowest estimate placed upon
his age by any who saw him yesterday
was IS. Some said he looked to be not
less than 80.
Many Welcome Hero.
/. wasn't long after Lieut.. Hitchcock
reached home that the efforts of the
butler. Martin, resulted in a stream Of
automobiles and other conveyances ar
irving at the house and the blushinx
Tommy declined gracefully at least
thousand times between then and last
midnight to relate in detail exactly
what happened TO him and how nc
escaped from a drowsy German guard
who was transferring him from one
prison camp to another and then walked
100 miles and more to Switzerland and
safety.
Instead OF greeting the reporters with
open arms young Hitchcock selected one
and between an accompaniment q.
bushes and a series of explanations
that there wasn't much OF anything TO
that" told a brief story Of what hap
pened 10 him.
while conditions are motor were
not--so bad in the prison camps" he
said. "the food was limited because the
Germans had precious little of II, even
for themselves. That left mighty little
for prisoners OF war. but We got along
all right. In some OF the prtsons-I was
in four OF them-the fare was worse
than in others"
That was long speech for the young
nier The rest Of his story was ex-
tracted from him In bits. He said he
was about 1000 meters in the air "up in
the Verdun section somewhere" flying
pretty fast one bright day when he was
attacked by three German airmen. The
fight was thrilling one while II lasted,
which was not for long, because a Ger
man machine gun bullet pierced young
Hitchcocks hip.
Hitchcock started his machine toward
the ground. 1t was pointed straight for
the German lines the last he remembers,
The pain from the wound became great
and he had to hold one hand down to
stop the fiow OF blood. Then his motor
went bad" and he woke up in the
midst OF a throns of Germans whose
prisoner he was
They carted him on to a hospital
where his wound was dressed. and there
was only one doctor. or surgeon. for $50
patients. He was treated we'll In the
hospital. Hitchcock said. but soon he was
transferred and then transferred again
and again TO other hospitals. Finally.
after about six weeks, nc had recovered
entirely, or nearly so, from his wound,