Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-12
HERO MERE SPECK
SEEN FROM PLANE
Reception Described as
Viewed 5000 Feet in Air
at 100 Miles an Hour.

Three thousand feet in the air and
a hundred miles an hour.
Far below long gray silver cleav-
ing through a murky river a channel
of white. Thousands of vari-colored
specks lining the banks, from the air
a silent army waiting to greet the
conqueror of the air.
This is the way the home coming of
Col. Lindbergh looked to a reporter
for The Star strapped in a fast OBJ
servation plane behind Capt. l. Fl.
Edwards, Army pilot, who maneu.
vered his plane in q dress parade of
the air in alignment with two other
observation planes.
With the sensation of being sus-
pended in space, although our plane
was driving through the air at a
speed of more than 100 miles an hour
with the same regular vibrations that
heartened Lindburgh as he piloted his
craft steadily along the uncharted air
lanes over the sea. we passed over the
Memphis not once but dozen times
ere she locked.
Sees Flyer on Bridge.
White figures, looking like tiny
dolls, lined her decks. From our
height we just could discern a little
knot of figures on the bridge, one of
them the youth for whom the very air
buzzed with joyous tribute. His fellow
aviators. soaring through the element
in which he won his fame, afforded
him the homage of their skill and
daring
Looking as though some ogre of
the air had gathered a fleet of toy
boats in his huge hand and then
tumbled them heller SHELTER in a tiny
river far below, the unofficial escort
fleet which lined the river in the
wake of the Memphis appeared to
be composed of diminutive ships,
pointed every which way.
Although scores of planes were in
the air our little group appeared to
be isolated from the earth. Once a
great flock of planes passed over us;
several times planes cut beneath us,
and not far off, looking like giant
cigar wrapped in tinfold, coursed the
dirigible Los Angeles, appearing to
be dreamily floating in space.
No Sensation of Speed.
Although we were shooting through
the air at rate of nearly two miles
a minute there was no sensation of
great speed, the scenery far below did
not present a rushing panorama. But
one moment glance over the side of
the ship would reveal the Memphis di-
rectly below and the next moment as
we wheeled high in the air the green
hills of Maryland, miles away, would
be beneath.
From our plane the very country
side was seen to pay tribute to Charles
Lindbergh. AS the time for his ship
to dock approached, the roads leading
to the city were deserted, looking like
narrow steel gray bands, bare of the
tiny black bugs seen on land as auto
mobiles, which crawled through Wash
ington streets.
The people of the surrounding
country had gone to the river to
watch the passing of the Viking of
the air and in their absence the very
trees, ruffied by breeze which did
not touch our plane, appeared to bow
to the man of the hour.
The tumult and the shouting on the
land and on water did not penetrate
to the province of the air. Only the
sight of an occasional white puff of
steam from the whistles of ships gave
us an inkling of the riotous din which
must have been thrown from bank to
bank of the river. ...~a. =. 81.
Pass Over Memphis.
For the last time we banked. turned
and circled over the river. The saucy
coast guard patrol boat which we had
passed earlier as it led the Memphis
bearing Lindbergh to his triumph to
the dock where awaited his mother
and those delegated to do him formal
honor. had long since disappeared.
When we first sighted her we passed
over both her and the Memphis in a
few seconds, although she was half an
hour ahead of the cruiser.
The Memphis veered toward the
dock. We turned upward toward the
clouds and roared through the ozone
in final salute to the modest figure
who stood thousands Of feet below us.