The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-08-22


next two days. and cn the fourth day
NJ my captivity l was well enough to
write n brief message to my squad
ron. reporting that WIS prisoner of
war aud '-f,eling fine although. as Il
matter of fact. l WAS never so dc
pressed in my life. / realized, how
ever. that If the message reached nay
comrades il would he relayed to nay
mother in Afomence. H.. and I did not
want TO worry her more than was alb
solIiely necessary. II was enough for
her To know that was prisoner. She
did not have to know that l was
wounded.
had hopes that my message would
] he carried over the lines and dropped
by one OF the German flying officers
L-at i Il courtesy which Is usually
practiced on both sides. / recalled
how patiently we had waited in our
:irsiroiec for news of our men who ha,i
failed to return, and i could picture
my squadron Specializing on my fate
That is one of the saddest things
connected with service in the r. +. 4.
GoI don't care much what happens to
you, bnt the constant casualties among
your friends are very depressing.
Yon 20 out with your 'fiightr and
get into 4 muss- You get scattered.
. and when your formation is broken up
yot finally wing your way home alone.
Perhaps you are the first to land.
. Soon another machine shows in the
sky, then another. and you patiently
wait for the rest to appear. Within an
hour. perhaps, all have shown up save
one. and YOU begin TO speculate and
wonder what has happened to him
/ Has he lost his way? Has he landed
I at some other airdrome? Did the
Huns get him:
When darkness comes you realize
that, at any rate. he won't be back thar
. night, and Won hope for telephone
call from him telling of his where
abouis.
II the night passes without sign or
word from him. he is reported as miss
ing and then you watch for his cas-
ualty to appear in the war Office lists.
One day, perhaps month later. 4
message is dropped over the line by
the German flying corps with list OF
pilots captured or killed by the Huns.
and then. for the first time. you know
definitely why it was your comrade
failed 10 return the day he last went
over the line with his squadron.
/ was still musing over this melan-
choiy phase cot the scouts life when
an orderly told me there was a beauti-
full battle going on in the air. and he
volunteered TO help me outside the
hospital that 1 might witness it, and
1 readily accepted his assis,Suce.
/ Tha; afternoon l saw one OF the
gamest fights ever expect TO witness.
There were six of our machines
( against perhaps sixteen Huns. From
I the type of the British machines knew
1 that they might possibly be from my
own aerodrone. Two of our machines
/ had been apparently picked out by
1 six of the Huns and were bearing the
brunt of the fight. The contest seemcd
10 me To be So unequal that victory for
our men was hardly to be thought or.
and Yet at one time they so completely
outmaneuvered the Huns that |
thought their superior skill might save
the day for them, despite the fact that
they We're 50 hopelessiy outuumbered.
One thing l was sure OF they would
never give in.
| OF course, IL would have been a COM
paratively simple matter for our men.
when they saw how things were going
against them. TO have turned their
noses down. landed behind the Ger
man lines and given themselves up as
prisoners, but that is not the way OF
the II. F. c.
4 battle OF this Kind seldom lasts
many minutes. although every second
seems like an hour TO those who par
ticipate In IL. and even onlookers suf-
fer more thrills in the course OF the
struggle than they would ordinarily
experience in lifetime 1t Is appar-
ent even to novice that the losers
fate is DEATH
OF course. the Germans around tho
hospital were all watching and roofing
tor their comrades. but the English.
too. had one sympathizer In that group
who made no effort to stlfie his admira-
ton for the bravery his countrymen
were displaying.
The end came suddenly. Four ma
chimes crashed to earth almost stimuli
taneousIy. II was an even break--two
OF theirs and two of ours. The others
apparently returned To their respec. .
ti-as