The border vidette., 1922-11-04
HAS EARNED THE PREFERENCE

Were the people of Santa Cruz
 county fully aware of the patri ! otic and heroic services of Tracy Bird, Democratic nominee for
 county recorder. there would be
 no question about his election 1 and it would be unanimous. When the war with Germany
 was declared in April, 1917,
 Tracy wired Immediately to the
 War Department at Washington,
 making application for enlist,
 ment in the aerial service. May
 lst he received teiegraphic in struction to report at San An. tonic, Texas; and he was there within few days. Passing sue cessfully all examinations he was
 ordered to ground school" in
 the flying service at the Univer- slty of Texas, at Austin, the capital.
 In the ground school' Tracy
 was assigned to the junior wing
 of the school. the two wings con
 ssituting a battalion. Within a
 few days he was made & cadet
 captain, in command of the jun
 for wing. When advanced to the
 senior wing he was made battal
 ion adjutant, then cadet captain
 in com mmaud of the senior wing.
 Then he was promoted to. cadet
 major, and given command of
 the battalion, becoming it's in-
 structor in tactics. His military
 training had been in the Univer
 slty of Arizona, and the Military
 Institute at Staunton, Va.
 There were sixteen ground schools" in as many state uni
 versailles throughout the United States. From each of these six teen ten of the most proficient cadets were selected upon grad uation for their flying training to be given overseas. Tracy was one from the University of Texas, and he was put in com mand of the detachment to con. vey it to New York, to report there to go across the Atlantic with the 16O selected.
 Arriving in England the cadet aviators were sent to Oxford, England, in September, 1917, and were in 8 ground school" there several months. Then they were sent to a British fy- ing school, where they were taught management of aero. planes in air. In February, 1917, having completed the required course of instruction Tracy was commissioned first lieutenant in the American aero service, and with his commission came an order for him to report for ser. vice to the Royal Flying Corps of Great Britain, to which he was attached according to his rank, es pilot aviator untilJune, 1918. In that service the young American lieutenant Represents tive of Santa Cruz county) per- formed arduous duty patrollinR l the shore of the North Sea, to l ward off German raiding dirigi ble bom ping balloons, which had 1 lttacked the city of London and 1 many other places. With or ! ganization of that patrol bomb ng of English cities ceased, and ! Bird, of the Ameri. can army, performed excellent service there.
 h June, 1918, Lieutenant Bird vas detached from the Royal Flying Corps, and ordered to re port to the Air Service, in the American Expeditionary Forces n France, where he was assign I'd to the 3O5h Aerial Squadron, IS flight commander, a post cor to platoon command
 IF on the ground With the 5Oth Squadron he was in the opera ions at the Argonne Forest, and t St. Michiel, flying back and orth across and above the Ger 0an lines, and fighting their ghtiDg flying machines in up- ( Ter air. He received four cita- ions for bravery ahd efficient and was recommended { or promotion to captain. which