Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-03
HPBELL IS FIRST
REAL AMERICAN ACE
Sksined Entirely With U. S.
Forces, Californian Gets
Fifth Foe
PROVES MODEST HERO
llWo British Airmen, Falling Far
inside German Lines, Have
4 Thrilling Escape
BY EDWIN L. JAMES

lrged ~sss y-0ote 10 Evening Pu6uc Ledger
u Ats pr-Yoht. 1918. by NeW York Times Co.
f5S ~ .sSfff the American Army In France.
Ind was{-The first Anerican-trained ace
=, " rfrived. Lieutenant Douglas Camp
Of California. has brought down
mother fifth boche plane in fight back of
: 80 lines. Besides Campbell. America
,r1v5s two other aces. Major William
q Thaw and Captain u. NJ *. Peterson.
. but both Thaw and Peterson got their
training in the Lafayette Escadrille,
Campbell never trained with any other
outfit than the Americans, and never
I'D any air fighting before he arrived
IN the American front a few weeks ago.
: Campbell is the son of the Chief
! astronomer of the Lick Observatory.
x .taf Pasadena, Cal. He joined the
~ .merican air service after the United
.h2s ates entered the war and came to
!ke and began practice flying last
.une He is twenty-five years old. He is
nW frst to get the credit of being a
ne y =, non-pure American ace. He brought
= Down his first boche on April u. for
which he was awarded the CroX de
Guerre. He brought down his second
on May IS. third, May 19. and fourth
! May 81. On May 2s he shot down
ofncially confirmed
y sf Dete roe Benlnd our Lines
Campbell and another American fiier
.rA~ . boche two-seater observation
4 plane protected by a monoplane fighter
over the American lines. Campbell took
the biplane machine for his prey. The
2 German Avion started south with Camp
/ bell after him. The German observer
trained his gun on Campbell, but didn't
Z touch the doughty,American. The boche
was miles behind our lines before Camp
oell got its pilot and the machine
crashed to the earth
Campbell is the hero Of an attack by
,ttsix German planes a few days ago. and
heagain he saved wounded British pilot
Tfrom pursuing boche Albatross. He
lights much as Lieutenant Lufbery who
was known as the Lone Star" because
re preferred to be out hunting alone
Campbell is entirely modest about his
accomplishments and is not at all fluster-
about becoming an ace. He said he
ld only begun to shoot down the
2ches. The American outfit to which
,mpbell Is attached has distinctly made
I'D since its arrival back Ct the Amer
~. lines. 1t now has a score of seven
sW<a boches brought down.
eaks British Fliers' Escape
-thasutenant Leslie Kirk pilot, and
.r., Arr snant William Richards, observer,
Dug ftheir airplane brought down by
EaI1' san fire while on an aerial raid
sggr,Est a German city. They left their
some ten miles back in boche
kERtghory and made their way to the
~ cnsh and American lines. That is
lentiyAcial way of recording what ] be-
sSsntso be one of the most remarkable
~ ats Of this war. Lieutenants Kirk
sherichards belong to one of the Brit
Fouldr units which have been proving
wa, boche, since he has made aerial
tnSn tn common, that london and Paris
not the only cities to suffer.
n iras 10 80 o'clock On a bright moon
Wright when three machines set out
guop bombs on a certain German
q The big planes took the air and
I'd toward their objectives, The
~ had been given, and as they
ID in on the city a barrage fire
ant them. Two kept On, but piece
archie" got Kinks engine, and from
S'ltitude of 4500 meters he had to
" down quickly. He stuck the nose
e machine into the ground smash
{. and throwing Richards out. Mean
they had dropped their bombs.
leaped from the machine, resusci-
4 the unconscious Richards, and they
ked south.
Heard Own Aircraft
was then about II o'clock. The two
It&nfIlen frequently llt NOlINo
toches, but lodged them and kept on
lkinc until it began to get light. at
% T. m. Then they hid in a thicket.
6Ay came on they saw a refuge right
fhe midst of a nest of German guns.
rn1ries several times passed almost
11oso enough to touch them. The two
"a only half a cake of chocolate be-
se6en them for food that day They lay
Rsthe brushes until that night In the
~. IL Dt~l,o ~Iuf=
Unions had given them up as lost and
reported them. The hands of COM
Ides had tenderly packed their kits to
y sent back to England.
THAT night their comrades had staged
tohow over the same German city TO
teuge them. A big unit started out
hout 10 o'clock. Lying in their refuge,
Kirk and Richards heard their COM
fades ny north when the German guns
alf about them began to send up bar
rage to try to halt the raiders. Then
the two thought it was a good time 10
move. Carefully guarding their path.
they made their way through part or
athe third German line, then through
mart Of the second. Crawling out, they
leaped through the first German line
where it happened to be lightly held and
t6ound themselves up against barbed-
vire defenses. These were too high to
awl over without exposing themselves
great deal of fire. They tried to
under, only to find the wire of a
bbit-proef kind which they couldn't
vi ! through Fearing all the time
would strike a charged wire, they
3bout to pull UP the stakes one by
and burrow beneath the wire.
y an enormous amount of physical
they succeeded in getting beyond
wire, when they were discovered and
q started.
In Rain of Bullets
xheu,'s as Kirk told 'me his story,
: lay down, and the bullets began to
NJ + around u.s. They hit by my feet
my head and, believe me, between
koes We moved bit, and the firing
worse. I saw one boche, ten yards
banging at me, and l started
= .Kainerad' When the dirty
q would pay no attention at all. We
Ii we would go away from there
Gn't healthy, say"
Kirk told me how. with twenty
= guns and half hundred rifles
u them, they made their way TO a
hich runs in No Mans Land. This
VAS beyond mans depth and
very poor swimmer. Richards
TIE better swimmer and thinking
nirht be wire in the stream, swan
- - -. -, "a vp aIad Kirk who N, a a :