The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-11-08
Trail of Death Is Left by
Rickenbacker in Air War

1
+ breaking the formation Of the
others.
"on Sept. 2S, 1918. near Billy.
while on voluntary patrol over the
lines he attacked seven enemy
planes Give Fokkers protecting two
Halberstadts).
'Disregarding the odds against
him, he dove on them and shot
down one Of the Fokkers out of
control. He then attacked one of
the Halberstadts and sent it down,
also"
1T was for the latter fight-a dou-
L be victory-that Rickenbacker
was decorated with the Congress
sional Medal of Honor by President
Hoover.
These were not all of Ricken-
hackers victories. In September,
he was just getting started. Before
the arlnistice ended the war in
November. he bagged eleven more
planes and four German observation
balloons.
Balloon strafing." as it was
called, was thrill indeed and one
of the most dangerous jobs that an
airman was called upon to perform.
These stationary balloons. moored
h. a long cable. we're necessarily
close to the ground; each was
strongly defended by its own anti
aircraft battery, by machine guns
and often by lowering planes. They
were still more dangerous to attack
because their fixed altitude and
position made protection easy.
Rickenbacker's most thrilling ex-
psrience in balloon busting" came
unexpectedly when he was return
ing from an expedition Of ground
strafing (swooping low and ma
chine cunning columns of marching
troops off roads behind the lines.
1t was near Sivry- Mouse on
Sept. %, 1918.
Cruising along a shell-pitted road,
Rickenbacker suddenly came upon
a group of Germans towing an OBJ
servation balloon toward the front.
It was moored to a moving truck
and\ less than 300 feet above the
ground.
The German observer saw Ricken-
bakers little Spad coming for him
and jumped from the basket with
his parachute. A moment later a
stream of Rickenbacker's incen-
diary bullets struck the big bag and
| it exploded with binding fash
and deafening roar.
EAJORl LUFBERY, who took
| WI Rickenbacker on his first trip
over the German lines, died the
death OF a hero. A German in
cendiary bullet struck his gas tank
and his plane exploded in mid-air.
Ground watchers saw Lufbery
climb over the side and Jump from
the flaming ship. His body fell in
an aged peasant woman's garden.
. Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt was
another. Sergeant Thorn, flying a
red-nosed Fokker in Baron Won
Richthofen's famous Flying Cir
GUS" sent Roosevelt down in flames.
The Germans buried him with
military honors and that night they
sent a wireless message to his outfit
the Ninety-f1ft squadron-to tell
his buddies that he had died like a
hero.
Rickenbacker once tried to steer"
a Fokker with a dead engine to an
American landing field, rather than
shoot @ helpless enemy.
The Germans glide, however, was
not sufficient to clear the trees and
he crashed. He crawled from the
wreckage, uninjureo, and waved a
CHEEKY greeting to Rickenbacker just
as some doughboys rushed up and
made him prisoner.
A LII told, the Ninety-fourth pur-
"A suit squadron in which Kicker
hacker rose from lieutenant to COM
mander, shot down sixty-nine enemy
aircraft between April Id and Nov.
10, 1918. 1t was the first to go over
the lines and brought down the last
German airplanes to fall in the
World war.
And what about Eddie Ricken-
hacker today? Americas greatest
ace, who shot down twenty-six Ger
man aircraft. twelve of them fight
ing Fokkers, has quiet peace-time
/ iO0 IN NoUy VOrLr 110Uy
He is president of the Indianapo-
lis Speedway and vice president and
director of sales of the Fokker Air
craft Corporation-marketing the
machines he once shot down.