Norwich bulletin., 1918-08-02
STORIES OF THE WAR
. An Aviators First Flight.


 An American aviator's first flight over the German lines is thus describ- cd in letter dated June 24, by Lieu tenant S:gournep Thayer, Aviation Corps, U s. A, to his mother:
 I must tell you about my first trip over the lines. Today was certainly an eventfui one for me. Last night l the bad weather which had stuck with us for nearly a week vanished, and 1 was posted for an early morning recon 1 naisance. Two planes were to go out, one to do the observing and the other 1 for protection. It being my first trip over, my plane was protection as you | follow your other plane and don't need 1 to be familiar with the sector.
 T was walked early this morning at quarter Of four and found cool beau tiful morning with the sun about to
 rise behind light faintly colored clouds
 and the river valley below us sunken
 beneath a sea of silver mist I ar
 rived at the hangars. and as my plane
 was not quite ready, rushed into the mess hall where I found some bread and jam and cheese, which helped a lot. I got my guns ready, arranged signals with my observer and started up. The other plane followed and we set out
 "Our sector is right at the foot ot
 the mountains; in fact. some of the lower hills are between the trenches
 and once you get up in the air you see range ofter range, They were
 beautiful this morning, grey and purple
 with the sun lighting up spots over
 them as it shone through the clouds
 We flew down the valley to the end ot
 our sector and then started up the lines. I flew a few hundred meters
 above the observing plane and little
 behind it. so that I could always have it in sight The lines looked yer!
 quiet. and wha tever white smoke there
 was here and there blended in the mist
 so that you couldn't tell them apart
 couldn't believe that i was fyine
 over the lines in actual warfare.
 felt like prince in a fairy tale ridins
 above the clouds on a magic carpet
 and like in all fairy tales. there below
 me was the boundary of the land 0
 cruel demons, where merely to align
 and set foot meant death.
 T was just about forgetting worldl,
 matters watching the valley below m
 slowly turn from dark shadows t
 broad sunlight when a black burst o
 smoke broke a little below me. It wa
 followed by another and another, eacl one nearer and louder than the last and I suddenly realized that I wa
 getting my first taste of ArChieS. The, were very close, and had our rang most exactly, so I began diving an climbing and twisting and turning t , confuse them and make it hard fo them to catch our range. T was greatly relieved when " . reached the upper end of the secto and turned down again to where tn batteries weren't quite so wide awak and early.
 . We patroled back and forth severa l times and each time we went dow, l the anti-aircraft got heavier an . nearer and my heart was surely in m
 boots. To add to the excitement, } saw a German balloon head on in - cloud, and it looked just like plan' t and I said to myself, my first Boche and shot. off both my guns to tes . them. The crack and the flash wer = very comforting, and I was just abou . beginning to enjoy life again when = large volley of shra pnel landed upo r and over and all around us. l counte = five flashes, so five batteries must hay g been popping at us at once. The ot l i serving plane below me shot down a q steep dive and then turned for hom s I followed, and we were soon safel = back on our field. By the time 1 ha S landed they were removing the ot r server from the other plane. TT
 l other plane was fit--one of the Ions
 irons was shot through and the le : hand elevator wire shot off. The ot !" server was shot through the knee ar y ankle. .'-Boston Transcript.