The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-09-09
N~~~NN--~
LIFE is SAVED
BY HANDKERCHIEF
Aviator, Stranded in No Mans
Lane, Faces Fire of
Friend and Foe.
WAVED SIGNAL TO FRENCH
BY Fast Running Sergeant Bauuham
Reaches Comrades in Safety-Is
Rewarded With Military Med
al by the French.

Washington.-Flight Sergeant Jane
81. Baugham of Washington, who wa
transferred from the Lafayette esca
drille to the Paris Air Defense squad
ron, has been reported a prisoner IL
unofficial advices to his mother, Mrs
Mary A. Baugham, president of the
Dixie. Agricultural company of Wash
1ngton. Sergeant Baugham Joined the
Lafayette escadrille in 1917 when he
was eighteen years old and won the
Military medal, the highest French
honor to noncommissioned men.
The incident that earned the ser.
geant the medal was described in let
ter he wrote recently. Paying tribute
to the wonderful spirit of his French
comrades, Sergeant Baugham said:
1--WE had been sent out to patrol
back of the German lines and to at
tack anything enemy we saw. Having
incendiary balls in my gun, 1 was pre-
pared to attack q German sausage
or observatory balloon. Just as 1 was
beginning the descent to attack, saw
a Boche airplane going in the direction
Of our lines to do Photographic work.
put on full speed and signaled to the
other planes to follow. They evident
~ did not see my signal, for they
didn't 60 down with me. When got
100 meters from the Boche 1 started
firing. The enemy replied by turning
loose both guns at me. must have
got him, however. with the first blast,
for when / pulled up to make another
dive he was silent.
Then something happened that
would make the coolest man on earth
cuss, and as am. not one Of the best,
you can imagine that l left little I'M
said. Ny motor stopped absolutely
dead. There was only one thing for me
to do and that was to dive, lose the
Boche and try to volplane to the
French lines, AS l went past the Ger
man machine 1t Immediately came
down and, putting some nice steel very
close to him., did all the acrobacy
had ever learned. When had finished
found that had come down from
10000 to 1000 feet and there was no
Boche in sight.
Alone in No Mans Land.
81 then looked around for a place to |
land. I saw fairly good place off to |
the right and made it. / then stepped |
out of the machine-right on the face |
Of a dead German. 1t took me min
ute to realize what was happening and
I awoke to the sound of bullets whiz.
zing past my head. That didn't disturb
me much, because I was wondering
why somebody hadn't buried the Ger
man. Looking around, however, all ]
could see was dead Germans. 1t sud.
denly dawned on me that was in No
Mans Land. OF all the places there
ire to land in France and Germany l
lad to land between the two.
"Then realized what predicament
was in and began to think up some
way to get out Of it. The thought came
o me that if / was nearer the German
ines than to the French, / had better
ret rid of those incendiary balls in my
pocket, for if the Germans catch you
With them you are shot at once. 1
limbed back into my machine to the :
une of bullets and took out load OF
yer 300 cartridges, threw them on the
round and then removed my compass
nd altimeter.
'"The first thing struck was a grave,
with two of the enemy in
t. l eased myself down into 1T, lifted :
o one Of the Germans and put the
artridges beneath him. l started
talking back to my machine. AS J.
OF near it the Boche lines started
heir mitrailleurs and rifles at me, ana
ne French, unaware that / was one of
hem, also opened up. I had to walk
90 feet between the lines and it was
O Joke with all that fire concentrated l
nv direction. One bullet passed so
ose to my face that / really felt the
ind. / decided that I'd have to go to
ne of the lines, enemy or friend, but
list then l heard a machine overhead.
looked up and saw white puffs break G
g out all around it. h
signaIed With Handkerchief. {.
"On the way the fire got so hot l S
i'd to fall face down, and l didn't a
owe for, l guess, five minutes. There f
ling no good reason for my being n
lot like dog, I yanlSed out my hand
,rchief and waved it at the French
les. y
"They finally got it, after ten min h
es of waving, and I saw a French "
Ficer beckoning me from a bit OF s.
pods. If there ever has been faster :"
yard sprint l never heard of it. I b,
n so fast that / ran right into the Il
icer and very nearly knocked his re- 7,
liver out Of his hand. l showed him :,
' Identification card and then started i,
rising him for shooting at me. He
d been taking potshots at me out o,
ere. He apologized, saying that he al
nld only see my. head, because his T
sition was slightly lower than No 81
ms Land p;
They took me up to the divisional =!
neral, and reported that had seen 60 60
re than 300 dead Germans and only 81
Q Frenchmen, 1t made him SO happy
y he gave me asdinneT, and compii- tie
nted me Tor being good soldier" LEI