The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-07-16

vcml r. %, 1917, Capt. MrCuI,lcn was
aNHr,ed n bar to the Distinguished
Service Order. On this occasion he
DESTROYED four enemy machines, three
Of which fell within our lines, by fear
lcssnc.s and his clever manoPuvring.
Tie also drove his patrol against six
enemy machines, driving them off. y
II is hard to realize, on meeting
NrCuddon, that this mere boy, as he
both looks and acts, Is the greatest
air fighter that has yet revealed him
self The British champion, like all
flying men, is an extremely modest
and simple young fellow He hates
advertisement much more ardently
than he Toes Fritz" AMI his V. G.
would probably have made him com
pl,lcly happy If only it could have
been kept dark. When the writer last
saw MrCudden he looked acutely mis-
ernh'c. 1t was fortnight ago when
he was home on leave AM was being
{" iorizcd" at n fashibnabIc West End
house. A woman of title was cross
examining him about the DECORATIONS
ON his tunic, asking him what each
ribbon meant and how he got it. The
young hero escaped with snothored
gruan of relief.
Once Regular Soldier.
McCudden was in the army before
the war, which found him a private
in the Royal Engineers. Then he
transferred to the balloon section of
the Royal Flying Corps and went to
the front as an air mechanic. He rose
to the rank of fight sergeant, took his
pilot = certificate in 1916. and got his
commission last year. His elder
brother, who was afterwards killed
While flying, is said 70 have remarked
to their mother, "You viii see Jim
covered with medals SOM day.
If not exactly "coverpd with med
ais, " the youthful British champion
could not comfortably make room for
many more ribbons under the r. F. c
aDd its accompanying "wings' on his
tnic And what amazing individual
performances those bits of color re
cali Twire McCudder has totally
destroyed four twc-seater enemy aero
p'anns on the same day, and on the
latter of these occasions all four ma
chimes were "done in' in the space of
exactly one hour and thirty minutes.
While in his present squadron he
has participated in sevPmty-eight of
fensive patrols, and in nearly every
case has been the leader. On at least
thirty other occasions, while with the
same squadron, he has crossed the line
one, either in pursuit or in quest of
enemy aProplanes.
Takes Whole Flocks
As a patrol leader says the Ga
Zette, che has at all times shown the
utmost gallantry and skill, not only in
tie manner in which he has attacked
and destroyed the enemy, but in the
way he has, during several aerial
I'll ghts, protected the newer members
Of the flight, thus keeping down thell
rasualties to minimum.
The following Incidents are exam
ples of the work he has done recently;
con December %, 1917, when lead
ing his patrol, eight enemy aerOplane'
were attacked between two-thirty anC
three fifty P. m. Of. rtiIese two were
shot down by Capt. NIcCudden in ouI
lines On the morning Of the SAM
day he left the grouInl at 1880 anC
encountered four enemy aeroplanes
| of these he shot two dowr
con January 30, 1918, he, single
! handel, attacked five enemy scouts, a
| result of which two were destroyed
| On this occasion he only returned hom
when the enemy scouts had been driver
far east, his Lewis gun ammunition
was all finished and the belt of hi
| Virkers gun had broken.'