Evening star., 1921-08-25
THREE MEN KILLED
IN WRECK Of zR-2
RESIDENTS Of D. c.
Commander MaxfieId, Lieut..
Commander Bieg and Lieut..
Ester!y Mourned.

Washington today is mourning the
loss of three naval officers well known
here. who yesterday lost their lives
in the destruction of the ZR-2.
Commander Louis H. Maxfeld,
thirty-eight years old. though origin
ally resident of st. Paul was re-
garded as a Washingtonian by the
men with whom he had worked for
the past two years here before being
sent to England by the Navy air
service in 1919. He was an Annapolis
man of the class of 1906. Three years
later he married Miss Harriet Page
of Norfolk. Va. who. with daughter
and son. Is now reported on her way
to this country from England. where
she had hesh En- with her husband sd..
detail in 1905 which located an
American consul after the Messina
earthquake. for which he was deco
rated by the Italian government. His
fellow Officers attribute to him a quiet
manner. beneath which he hid an il-
withal a satisfying store Of judgment.
His wife and children were to pre-
cede him to America, and await here
his arrival on the scheduled trip Of
the ZR-2. During his stay here he
made many friends in naval and mill
tary circles, and was known as an ex-
pert in both heavier than air and
lighter than air machines. Previous
to his departure to England in 1919 he
was aide in the Ighter-than-air Sec
tion of the naval air service.
Biex's Mother Courageous.
When the news of the disaster
reached Washington. Mrs. F. G: Bieg.
~
tine N. Bieg. senior engineer ofhcer
Of the ill-fated craft and second in
command. was in the downtown sec
ton of the city. In the offices OF the
Star she received first definite word
after initial dispatches OF the loss OF
the ship. and she took the news like
the mother Of q fighter.
II have been through this before"
she said. During the war was un-
der the same anxious spell. You need
that"
Mrs. Bieg is the widow of a naval
man. Capt. F. G. .Bieg. who compiled
engineering works now used In the
Naval Academy as text books. He
died twelve years ago, while still in
the service. and the son. Valentine.
chose the same course as his father:
He took engineering at the Naval
Academy, but his speciality was trans
ferred from ships Of the sea to ships
of the air.
He was but thirty-one years of
age. His wife. Mrs Aileen Bieg.
bride of a comparatively short time,
was Miss Barlow. She had been
with her husband at Howden. Eng
land, and had just returned to this
Ronald Barlow. her mother. at
Haverford, Pa. at the time Of the
accident Commander, Biegs mothers
city residence is at 223s Decatur
place. although most of her time is
spent in Alexandria, Va, with
relatives.
Educated In Schools Here.
Valentine Bieg was educated in the
local schools. He entered Annapolis
"a rapidly. In. his last letter home he
spoke Of notification for examination
to make his temporary grade per-
manent one. He was among the few
selections for this honor in his class.
Lieut.. Marcus Herbert Esteriy.
whose body. according TO TO aepor.s, a.,p1as:
of the trio of men from this city to
lose his life He spent only short
time here, specializing in radio work.
He entered active service at the
outbreak Of the war. Commissioned
an ensign in the reserves In 1913, ne
had advanced to such a stage as an
expert radio officer that at the time
of discharge for reserve officers he
was retained in the service. He was
well known in younger circles OF
official life here. His wife, Mrs. M. E.
Esterly. is now in Youngstown,
Ohio. During his peroid Of residence
in this city he lived at 2ls street
Lieut.. Clifford A. Tinker. publicity
officer of the ZR-2 organization, who
was not aboard the craft when the
accident occurred, although listed as
a Washington man, spent only q few
months in this city. His native city
is Westfield. Mass, where his family
Lieut.. Commander Richard E. Byrd,
another locally known officer who
was to have hoped on" on the
voyage, had been sta
toned at the Navy Department here
previous to going to England to
bring back the ZR-2. He came to
following the accident to
the C-5. which was about to make the
flight with the NC
flyers. but blew away in q storm at
st. Johns, Newfoundland. He made
the first two legs of that fight In the
NC-3, and had been transferred to the
dirigible C-5 just before its accident
He had charge Of navigation prep
arations for the transatlantic flight.
His family is not in this city. He is
q native Of Winchester, Va, and at
tended the v. M. ]. aud University Of
Virginia previous to his entry In the
class Of 1912 at the NaY0 Academy. h