The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-09-20
UNITED STATES MARINE BORROWS
PLANE AND DOES AMAZING STUNTS
He Wings Five Foes, Captures Prisoner, Saves Wounded Man and
Gets ~captaincy-Whle Trying to Adjust Engine Trouble He
Sees Two Britons Attacked by Twelve Huns, He Dives
Into Melee and Shoots Down Four of Foe.
BY FRAZIER HUNT.
In the Chicago Tribune.

American Naval Aviation Camp on
the French coast.-Time was when the
United States marines were content
to be the soldiers of the land and sea.
Now they have added the air to their
provinces-and the everlasting luck of
the marines holds good, eve in the
clouds.
The other day a fighting Yankee
flyer of the marine corps, First Lieut..
Edwin C. Chamberlain of Texas, went
visiting a British flying squadron on
the Marine.
On the first morning of his arrival
Lieutenant Chamberlain borrowed a
plane and shot down one German in
flames and forced another to descend
so a British flyer could get him.
On the next day he went as an es-
cort for a party of French bombers
over the Marine. On the way back he
got into a fight, had engine trouble,
and one of his guns damned. While
flying low he saw two of his comrades
attacked by - Germans. He dove
into the mixup and shot down four
enemy planes. His engine stopped
again, but while gliding low he emp
tied his gun into German infantrymen.
He was forced to land in No Mans
Land. Leaving his machine, he ran
unarmed into a Hun patrol of three
men. Swinging his compass as If 1t
was a grenade, he captured one Ger
man. Then he picked up a wounded
colonel, forded a stream. and made his
way back to the French line.
The Marines Own Story.
He requested hat his work be re-
Land. Leaving his machine he ran
the British commander insisted on q
full report, and now Lieutenant Cham
berlain is recommended for a cap
taincy. Here is his report:
"We then started home and were
attacked by a force thirty strong. A
dog fight followed. We lost three ma
chimes and the Hun three. He with
drew. We were a bit scattered, but
got together.
"A few miles farther on the Hun
came at us In four formations of ten
each, this time outnumbering us nearly
two to one. We had an awful dog
fight, and lost two bombers and four
fighters. l got several bullets in my
plane, one of which partly disabled my
engine and made 1t die every few min
utes and then u fine for a spell. One
gun also jammed.
"Two other fighters and myself and
one French bomber found ourselves
separated from the rest, and started
home together. l kept losing altitude
while trying to fix the gun. / only
had 100 shots left in the remaining
gun.
about eight miles from our lines,
while flying in fair archie fire, and try
ing to get the jammed shell out of my
gun, all suddenly became quiet. i
knew this meant there were Hun
planes about. Looking up, I saw
twelve Hun fighters-a circus lot
circling about my companions, and
quite q way above was one coming
for me.
Engine Bad, Hunts Fight.
"My engine was missing badly, and
had gone dead a moment before, but !
went to meet him like / meant to
fight. / fired just to break the strain.
He suddenly pitched forward and dove
straight for the ground. Just then my
engine suddenly became very lively,
and I started up to join the buzzard
dance above, where it was ten to two
against us. The eleventh German was
sitting high. He evidently was the
leader and was watching for some one
to slaughter.
my two companions were darling
this way and that, trying to force their
way out Of the circle, but the Huns
were maneuvering so as to tighten the
circle. They didn't see M as / flew
into the hazy sunlight just over their
circle.
"As two went for my companions
I went for them, nose down, with the
vertical engine full on. / got the first
one in thirty yards with twenty rounds
from my one working gun. He blew
up and went down burning.
Second Goes Down Burning.
"As / lodged to miss him the second
enemy turned square about in front OF
me, and / got him with a burst Of
twenty-five shots at twenty yards. He
spun about, with flames leaping ovel
the machines. The pilot jumped out
"Then my engine commenced miss
ing. / looked around and saw five
coming at me, including the leader, In
a mellow gray Albatross. / saw my
companions go after a Hun apiece, and
each got one. One went down burning
and a wing fell off the other one.
'sThen my engine stopped full, and
the Huns came after me In twos, and
dove vertically for a second, pullet
into q loop without power, and kicket
into-a-xerticsl side slip at the ton