The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-09-17
A|RMAN TELLS
OF HIS EXPLOIT
Engine Partly Disabled He
Helped Defeat IL
Hun Flyers
! HOME is IN TEXAS,
BELONGS TO MARINES

While Operating With British Force
Lieut.. Chamberlain Downed Five En-
envy Planes, Rescued French Colonel
and Captured a Reconsideration.
WASHINGTON, Sept 17.-Marine
corps headquarters has just received
the report made to the British authori-
ties by Lieutenant Edmund g. Chamber
lain of the United States marine corps, |
who while operating with the British |
air forces, recently downed five enemy |
planes, forced sixth TO descend, res
cued French colonial, and captured
German prisoner.
Lieutenant Chamberlain is Texan,
whose home is in San Antonio. He has
been recommended for captaincy and
a medal of honor. IN his report he
gives this account of his exploit:
I'VE left the grounds at 9:os in
formation and joined the bombers at
10 over the Marine The going was
calm. with some machine gun and anti
aircraft fire from the ground but not
much. and the hombers had a wonder
full time; hit a train which blew up and
raised an awful stew. Then we started
home and were attacked by thirty
strong. A good fight followed. We
lost three machines and the Hun three.
f He then withdrew and we were a bit
, scattered. but got together again. hay
! ing fought our way well eastward.
few miles further on. in forma-
tions of ten each. the Hun came at us
: again, and this time outnnmbered us
: nearly ten to one We had an awfu
: dog fight, and we lost two bombers and
s four fighters to one Hun. | got sevcra
e bullets in my plane, and one partly
disabled nv engine-made ii die on m,
z every few minutes or so, and then ruI
!. fine for a scotland one gun damned
t :" Two other fighters-myself and on,
n French bomber-found ourselves sep
: arated and bound home together. onl'
i | kept losing altitude and tried to fl,
= my gun but il wouldn t FIX. and | hal
only about 100 shots left in the remain
ing gun.
About eight miles from tie line
and in n fair anti-aireraft fire, | wa
irving to GET the damned shell ont 0
my gun when all was quiet. | knel
that meant enemy aircraft about an
| looked mp to see twelve enemy ali
craft fghtcrS-a circus lot-circlin
my companions quite ways above M
and one coming for me- NY engine wa
missing badly and it had Just gone daa
4 minute before, but | went to NEE
the enemv aircraft Just like | near
MI 70 l. 81
and he suddenly pitched and doy
straight for the ground and kept G
going rather unevenly. ! guess I .,
his engine. Just then my engine can
alive and | started up to join the bu
zard dance, of about ten to two, an
making it eleven to three as the cd
one was sitting hieh--evdently Il
leader-and watching for some one
slaughter
My companions were darting til
. way and that, trying to force the ei
Gle, but the Huns were manoeuvrin
tightening the circle gradually The
az, ididn t see me- so | got into a hai
III, sun Just over their circle. and as ty
jas of them went for Captain II. / we
'eC for them, nose down vertical, tn,
-, pulled my engine up, my 100 rounds
~ my one gun working, and he blew
ief and went down in burning pieces.
u lodged to miss him the second turn
square in front of me. and / got hi
with another burst of twenty-five sho
I'M at twenty yards and he spun with fam
all over the machine, the pilot jumpil
o, OF out
IL Then my engine commenced mi,
~ ~ ing and | turned around to see Il
- coming for me, including the lead
III in a grayyellow marked Albatross ii
chine. just then ! saw Captain L.
and Lieutenant H 90 after one eat
and one spun in flames, while the OF
er's wing fell off.
"Thcn my engine stopped altoget
or, and the Huns came after me
twos. | dove vertically second, tn
II pulled into loop without power a
. picked into vertical side-slip at I
top, and there, directly under me. "
ion plane with a dropping wing in
nd fantastical spin. ! then went for
the four remaining enemy airplanes a
of the leader was the first | saw.
we pulled a wonderful wing over at /
but | got his idea first and we met.
ter,