Evening star., 1918-06-23

take place. and late the same after
noon a French counter attack re-
lieved the garrison, whose commander
sent note of thanks to his comrades
Of the air.
Achievements in Single Day.
One day during the battle for Com
tons of bombs. destroyed in air duels
five enemy airplanes and fired $4,000
cartridges against the enemy land
troops. Every elump of trees and
ravines along the enemy front was
bombed. and an aviator told me that
he seldom bombed a wood anywhere
near the battle front without seeing
soldiers rush madly forth seeking
more protection than that AFFORDED by
trees. Many pilots have made as
many as three sorties during the same
day. which is exceedingly fatiguing.
While fighting his way across the
lines to bomb a railway station a gun
ner bombarder was killed by Ger
man bullet through the heart. The
pilot Immediately left the formation
and started homeward. hoping that his
passenger was only wounded and could
be saved by a. doctors care. Six Ger
man pilots attacked the Frenchman and
all the controls of his machine were
shot away. Sure of their prey, the
Huns followed behind the defenseiess
airplane. riddling 1t with bullets.
Somehow or other the pilot succeeded
in getting down behind the French
lines without killing himself. His
heroic willingness to sacrifice himself
for his comrade gained for him the
military medal.
Youthful American "Bombarders."
I talked with two youthful Amer
leans belonging to the National Army
n n
group as gunner bombarders. Both
considered the work the most inter-
esting of the entire war service and
were highly contented with the kind
Eess shown them by their French
companions. There was a third Amer
ican with them. He was a passenger
in machine which fell in flames be-
hind the enemy lines during a
gigantic aerial battle in which more
than 200 airpla mes were engaged one
day last week.
Bombardment aviation as we'll as
the chasing branch has it's aces. but
their names are never published ex-
cept when some exceptionally auda-
cious long-distance raid is executed.
Bombardment fiiers work en- masse
individual exploits. The esprit de
corps" in every group is great. Each |
member feels proud of the glorious
work accomplished by his unit. Every
squadron flying in the vuillemin |
group has special insignia painted
on both sides of the fuselage. All the
work I saw must have been done by
real artists. The members of one
squadron patch every hole made in
the machipes by German missiles with |
Dit OF white canvas ornamented with |
a small black Maltese cross-the in
sigma M borne by all German airplanes
more than one machine Is thickly |
piastered with these scars of honor.
Commandaut a Pioneer Aviator.
Commandant vuillemin is one of
the finest figures in the entire avia-
ton service. A pioneer in French ,
military aviation, he has been flying |
since 1910. A captain when the war
oesan. he has been constantly at the |
engaged in various kinds Of aerial
work. For long time he led the /
famous escadrille "Caudron 46. 90 then |
composed of three-seated airpIanes |
and utilized for both observation and
COMBATING. Vuillemin has officially !;
planes. He has been cited in army /
orders many times and has been
awarded not only all the French mil |
itary decorations. but also several OF |
the allied medals. for valor. His |
pilots respect and admire him be-
cause he is yeritable leader and an !
iEdefatigable flyer An excessively |
modest man. Commandant vuillemin !
always refuses to be interviewed for |
or to give details Of his !
own explois. although he cannot saw
enough in praise of his men.
Lieut.. Dagnaux. who accompanfes
Sommandant Vuillemin on all his |
flights, is another rema-kab BILE soldier |
and real hero of the air. Dacnaux
served in the artillery during the earjv
days of the war A German shai, |
carried away his left leg above the i
knee. As soon as his wound Was
healed and he had learned to wajL
with an artificial limb Daenaux. with |
typicai French pluck and courage, in |
sisted upon getting back info fhe
ngnting. Unfit for service on land or
sea. he was accepted as mach,na
gunner by the aviation corps. For
two years he has flown with Command-
ant Vuillemin. Dagnaux's record !
shows that he has DESTROYED CIV
enemy airplanes, besides forcing
many others to quit the combat seri,
ously damaged
Seldom Get Official Recognition. |
These two men are typical of tbos.
engaged in bombardment work
which has been aptly stvled "ths /
poor relative of aviation" because
the exploits of it's members so seIdon
receive the official or public recoenil
tion merited. No branch Of the
aerial warfare is more dangerous % nr
more fatiguing than the bombard-
ment service, and surely nonn