The Washington herald., 1921-10-01
Rain and Wind Storm
Add Thrills to Aerial
~ Offense.
NIGHT BOMB TESTS
PROVE EFFECTIVE
Camp Named in Honor of
Harding Who Will Wit
ness Maneuvers.
By ]. HAROLD KEEN.


HARDING. WILDERNESS RUN, Va
Sept. so-(By AirpIane Courier).-
The enemy has been van
Quished. and the East Coast Ex-
peoitionary Force of the United
states Marines is in full possession
OF the area surrounding the Will
oerness, upon which some of thG
most important battles of the civil
war were fought more than half q
century ago.
with force headquarters estab-
nshed at ChancelIorsviIle the expe.
oltionary force today set up line.
or defense along the imaginary
coast line over an area of mort
tnan two miles as a means of pro,
lection from any possible attack BY
a hostile fleet"
Despite intermittent rains, which
Degan shortly after 9 o'clock, tht
executions of the maneuVers sched
uled for the second days problem.
were carried out. The maneuyer!
proved most entertaining to tn,
most of visitors present, which in.
Guided members of Congress anC
nigh ranking officers Of the army
and navy.
Attack by Bombers.
In the morning the fiiers staged
an attack by bombers on an area
marked on the ground to represent
the deck Of a battleship. while the
antiaircraft batteries endeavored tc
secure their range and destroy them
A squadron of four giant Martin
bombers, similar to those which
sunk the German battleship Ost-
friesland. delivered the attack, es-
corted and protected by a squadron
OF scout planes.
Owing to the windstorm, many
thrills were included in the exhibit
tion which were not on the program.
and the greatest difficulty and much
real danger was experienced by the
av1ators. Despite weather condi-
tions which were so bad that warn
ings were issued by the metereoIogi-
cal department. the Marine air force
completed its part in the exhibition
In the face of a steady fire. leaving
IL for the umpires to endeavor to
determine whether they had been
hit" or had succeeded in sinking
the ship"
Decisive Battle Day.
which yesterday landed and secured
a foothold on the north shore of
Wilderness Creek, succeeded in re-
pulsing an offensive launched from
their rear by a fresh force of the
enemy which had come up, and all
were prepared for the final phase
OF the problem tomorrow when the
force will complete the reduction of
the enemy's strong fortifications
which IL surrounded in the action
OF yesterday.
In the evening another demonstra-
tion of night bombing was held, and
a fresh trial was made of the new
Marine method of locating and Sc
curing the range of enemy airplanes
which IL is said will enable anti
aircraft guns to secure an average
Of so per cent hits should the at
tacking force venture within a
range OF 5000 feet. the maximum at
which II is claimed effective bomb
ing can be carried on.
Weather conditions were again
trying. but the attack was delivered
on schedule time and without a
hitch Army and navy officers pres
ent declared that the work of the
AFR force in the face Of such weather
conditions was little short of mar
veIous. and were high in their COM
rnendation of the work of Lieut. Col.
Thomas Turner. chief of Marine
aviation, and Capt. Robert Williams,
who directed the attacks from the
field, and of the fiers. OF these
cant. Davis, Lieut. Colling and Lieut..
palmer piloted the huge Martin
planes, while Capt. Mulcahy. Lieut..
Sanderson, Lieut. Kirkman and Mai
Geiger operated the small. fast
scouts.
Files I'm Hurricane.
The work of Lieut.. Sapderson in
particular. was spectacular IN the
extreme. After the attack he was
ordered to land, and, despite the
seyenty-mile hurrica0e. came down
in the tiny field in front of the
HEADQUARTERS tents, his machine
rolling less than 100 yards after its
wheels struck the ground.
A crash was narrowly averted
shortly before noon, when a plane
IN which Capt. Craig, aide to Mai
cen. Lejeune, was riding. nearly col
uded with an automobile. while
irving to make a landing during
a brisk wind. The plane was car
ried from its course by the wind
and forced to make a landing in a
field a half mile from the camp
Both Capt. Craig and the pilot, Gun
merry Sergt. Dunn, escaped injury.
The plane was slightly damaged.
Preparations for the arrival OF
President Harding tomorrow were
made today. Early this morning a
large force began the erection of
the canvass White House and, quar-
ters for the other members Of the
Presidents party, while in the af-
ternoon a rehearsal Of the demon
stration by the First Battalion of
the Fifth Regiment was held.
Erect Canvas white House.
y The President and his party will
be located in a field adjoining the
camp headquarters in the western
part of the camp, and the quarters
will consist Of seven tents beside
the White House tent
The white House. which will
contain sitting room. bed room and
hath. will be fify-four feet in
Iergth and eighteen feet in width.
All Of the rooms will have a hard
wood flooring and win be equipped
with electricity. .
Upon the request of Gen. Butler,
commandant of the expeditionary
forces, Secretary of Navy DENLY
today authorized that he Wilder