Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1918-07-05
With Our Soldier and Sailor Boy.

With Our Soldier and Sailor Boys.
|. GIL. Terry permits Us to make the
following interesting extracts from q
letter from his son Neil, q flying cadet
at Texas field:
II really try to write oftener but
somehow l seldom, find the time and
when l do find -tinssI ssI>generally- am too
lazy to exert myself to the extent of .
letter. This darn climate is nothing if
not enervating. It's so darned hot
here during the day that it just saps
ones energy and takes all the pep and
ginger out ora fellow. It's been 10s
degrees id the shade so far and no
shade to be found. Nights are gener-
ally quite cool for we generally have .
breeze from the direction of the Gulf.
I'm lucky in having a south window
over my bunk but when there is no
breeze we move out doors where we at
least escape the smell of a half hum
dred sweaty men.
BY the time get a commission I'll
be total wreck and all run down. If
l can make our flight surgeon believe it
he may recommend two weeks rest,
which would be fine indeed. I'm fig-
uring now on six more weeks to the
coveted wings and golden bars. Lord
knows I've worked hard enough for
them, much harder, indeed, than any
Of the present Lieutenants in other
services have. OF course it is by far
the best service of them all and I'll be
mighty proud to be a pilot in the Uni
ted States Air Service. That's our new
name now you know. We are to have
different uniforms, a sea green color
with the blouse more like the Marine
blouse and we're to wear (enlisted
men) green and black hat cords. The
new collar ensigna is pair Of bronze
wings with q silver propeller set in up
right between them. Quite some dolls,
eh? Oh! you won't know your son
when next you see him!
I'm now in second solo stage and
practicing spirsls and figure 8's. Its
much more fun than just practicing
landings for we 60 up to from 250O to
{, 900 feet. And to get that altitude it
takes sometime with these old training
ships so we have nice little ''jazz"
over the country each time we're up.
= d had some real thrills when l went up
with the Lieutenant for instruction
Monday night. In trying to safeguard
against accidents they now give Us tail
spins and vertical banks, ships and
skids to accustom US to the feel of
them we can come out Of any accident
al ones. In tail spin you are rushing
1T the earth pretty fast with the old
bus twisting and quivering at . great
rate. To correct-put both controls in
neutral and wait, and she'll come out
into straight dive, then pull up her
nose and you're righted. In q vertical
bank your wings are at an angle of
80 degrees to the earth, or to q hori-
1OusoA Au0 Va AI8AS ~ yVO Sou oSC
there isn't much holding you up. And
you feel quite queer looking % straight
down to the ground-you sure do turn
around quickly, too. But the thrill
that surpasses them all in my estims-
tion. is that one brief moment in . loop
when you are completely. upside down
and looking up 1T the earth. It isn't
long that you are in that position but it
does seem endless ut first. After get
through End solo. I 60 to Accuracy for
l week, then 2 weeks of Cross Coun-
try, l of Formation and l of Wireless
and Acrobatic. Perhaps z weeks will
be nearer right. I am going to try for
assignment to Rantoul If l am chosen
for an instructor and then I might be
able to borrowis ship once in . while
for . week end visit in Cresco.
Fred Roth recently received letter