Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1918-05-16
From Ed Westbrook
Fl. Omaha, Neb., May

with which l am working this
morning is not flying as it is too
windy for successful work, so l
have nothing particular to do.
When the wind gets above 40
miles per hour it is difficult to
work, and if the wind is a little
choppy one is liable to get nigh.
ty sick unless he has a good pair
of sea legs" or perhaps l had
better say air legs. On Thurs.
day when l was mp the wind was
bad, and l got so sick I almost
wanted to jump ont of the has.
ket. l tried to throw overheard
every lunch l had eaten for q
month. l had plenty of company
in my misery asnearly everyone
of the boys who went up were
sick, that is the bad side of the
work. When the weather is fine
and the visibility is good it is a
joy to work up there. The work
is inspiring as we think that ev'
erything we are doing will help
US when we get over on the front
We take up a map of a section
northwest of Omaha and then we
try to locate on the ground for
several miles all the woods, fields
md farm houses and other OBJ
jects shown on the map. Then
men are sent out and they shoot
smoke bombs at different places
and we locate them from the bal
loon. This practice is to help us
locate a German battery when
we see the smoke from a shot.
From 1000 feet one can get a
wonderful view, especially in the
afternoon. We can see the Mis-.
souri, river winding for miles to
the north, the Platte river in q
majestic curve to the west and
the bluffs along the river to the
east and south of Omaha. Then
the country itself is beautiful.
1t is rough enough to remind me
of dear old Wright county. We
had an accident with one of the
balloons the other day. As the
men we're taking the gas out of
the balloon it caught fire and
burned two men to death and
burned 10 more or less seriously
Our balloons contain about $4,000
Gu # of hydrogen gas and once in
awhile it catches fire and then if
any one is close it is liable to do
damage. AS I looked at the boys
who were killed and injured
fine manly men everyone of them
l was deeply moved. I thought
what it meant, especially to the
relatives of those who had gone
west" but then / thought that
such things as this happen even
in civil life. In this case in all
the years to come these boys can
say they received those honor
able scars in the service of their
country. And those bereaved
relatives can know that their
dear ones were lost while serv-
ing their country in the most i'm
portant struggle in the history
of man and in the most righteous
war that was ever waged. When
our boys come back from "over
there" then we shall know just
how righteous this war really is.
When we hear their stories we
shall fully realize that the Devil
himself has been sowing his
seeds of viflainy for years and
years in the form of Prussian
militarism. It does my heart
good to know that Mansfield and
vicinity is doing her part so no
bly, and in every way. 1t is a
privilege to have a part in this
great war, however small that
may be, and in years to come the
unfortunate man will be he who
had a chance to help and failed.
to respond.
ED. WESTBROOK.
P. s. Don't worry about bal
loon explosions, it happens very
seldom and never if proper care
is taken and now they will take
proper care.-E 3.
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