Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1918-06-27
M ""'r"t'or must have been designed
to show the way to others.
CHAPTER ".
! Became :. ..iahtInn Scout.

had laundering for the air ever sine
/ can remember.
As youngster 1 followed the ex
PLOTS of the Wrights with the creates
interest, although / must confess
sometimes hoped that they wouIdn'
really conquer the. air until l had haC
q whack at 1t myself. / got more
whacks than 1 was looking for Later
on.
Needless to say, my parents were
very much opposed to my risking my
life at what was undoubtedly at That
time one of the most hazardous ''pas.
times" young fellow could select, and
every time l had a smashup or some
other mishap was ordered never to 20
near an aviation field again.
! So I went out to California. There
another fellow and l built our own
machine, which we flew In various
parts of the state.
In the early part of 1916. when trou-
Bile was brewing in Mexico, Joined the
American flying corps. 1 was sent to
San Diego, where the army flying
school is located, and spent about eight
months there, but as I was anxious to
get into active service and there didn't
seem much chance of America ever
getting into the war, I resigned and,
crossing over to Canada, Joined the
Royal Flying corps at Victoria, B. C.
was sent to Camp Borden, Toronto,
first to receive instruction and later to
instruct. While a cadet I made the
first loop ever made by a cadet In Can
ada, and after / had performed the
stunt I half expected to be kicked out
of the service for 1t. Apparently, how
ever, they considered the source and
let II go at that. Later on I had the
satisfaction Of introducing the loop
as part Of the regular course of in
struction for cadets In the r. F. c.,
and l want to say right here that Camp
Borden has turned out some of the
best tiiers that have ever gone to
France.
In May, 1917, 1 and seventeen other
Canadian fiiers left for England on the
Meganic, where we were to qualify
Our squadron consisted of nine
Americans @. C. Robinson, Il. A. Mil
Ter, F. 8. NcClurg. A. A. Allen, E. B.
Garnet, H. K. Boysen, II. A. Smeeton
and A. A. Taylor, and myself, and nine
Britishers, Paul H. Raney, ]. R. Park,
c. Nelmes, c. R. Moore, T. L. Akin
son. F. c. Conry, A. Muir, e. A. L. f.
Smith and A. c. Jones.
Within few weeks after our ar
rival In England all of US had won our
"wings"-the insignia worn on the
left breast by every pilot on the west
ern front.
We were all sent to a place in
france known as the Pool Pilots Mess.
Here men gather from all the training
'quadrons In Canada and England and
await assignments 10 the particular
squadron Of which they are to become
members.
The Pool Pilots Mess is situated a /
ew miles back of the lines. When
'ver pilot is shot down or killed the (
Pool Pilots Mess is notified to send an
'ther to take his place
There are so many casualties every {
lay in the R. F. c. at one point of
he front or another that the demand |
or new pilots is quite active, but when S
fellow is itching to get into the fight
S badly as / and my friends were / q
aust confess that we got a little I'M 1
atient, although we realized that
very time new man was called II 7
leant that some one else had, In all @
reliability, been killed, wounded or r
aptured. n
One morning an order came in for q
scout pilot and one of my friends
7as assigned. I can tell you the rest a
US were as envious of him as if it T.
'ere the last chance any of us were fl
yer going to have to get to the front. r;
S 1t was. however, hardly more than o
Tree hours had elapsed before an v
Their wire was received at the mess Il
nd ! was ordered to follow my a
lend. / afterward learned that as Il
BON as he arrived at the squadron he
revailed upon the commanding Off Il
n of the squadron TO wire for me. u,
At the Pool Pilots Mess it was the
lstom Of the officers to wear shorts" W
breeches that are about eight inches We
ng, like the boy scouts wear, leav- co
G a space Of about eight inches of tn
zen country between the top of the m!
lttees and the end of the shorts. The sp
lstralians wore them in SaloniA and on
the Dardanelles. tn
When the order came in for me, a
ID these shorts" on, and 1 didn't Wa
We time to change into other clothes. us
deed, was in such a sweat to get
the front that If l had been in my FIR
jamas 1 think 1 would have gone DO
at way. As 1t was, it was raining VIC
d / threw an overcoat over me, VIII
mped into the machine, and we made the
,ord time to the airdrome to which for
lad been ordered to report. chi
As / alighted from the automobile by
: overcoat blew open and displayed If,
manly form attired in shorts" in she
sd Of in the regulation flying #