Imperial Valley press., 1934-02-17
MAIL SERVICE
KILLS THREE
ARMY FLYERS
Men On Assignments To Postal
Department Work Crash In
Two Accidents During Night.
ANOTHER FORCED TO LAND
Legalized Murder is Comment
OF Eddie Rickenbacker When
Informed Of Tragedies.
BY United Press

BY United Press
The U. S. army preparing to as
sumo it's new job of flying the mall
today recorded the deaths OF three
pilots whose planes crashed as they
flew toward their assignments IN
the postal service.
The bodies of Lieut.. Gen D. Gre
pier. Fort Crockett, Galveston, Tex
and Lieut.. Edwin D. White, March
Field, Riverside, Calf, were found
in the wreckage of their plane near
Oakley, Utah. last night. 1t. White
was a San Francisco resident and a
University of California graduate.
Near Jerome, Ida, James Y. East
man, %, of the army air corps re-
serves, was killed when his plane
crashed as he flew over an air mail
route between Salt Lake City anu
Seattle.
Another army pilot on an expert
mental flight made a forced landing
near Linden, N. j., when he ran out
of fuel
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. H.
U.P)-The U. S. army's first fataii-
ties in its new job of carrying the
air mail were recorded today with
the deaths of two military pilots
whose plane crashed during blind
ing snoWStormi in the hills near
Oakley, Utah.
A miner found the bodies of 1t.
Gene D. Grenier, Fort Crockett,
Galveston, Tex, and 1t. Edwin D.
White, March Field, Riverside,
Calf, in the wreckage of their
plane in the lonely stretch OF coun-
try near the headwaters of the
Weber river.
Grenier and White had left here
Yesterday for Cheyenne, Wyo.,
where they were to begin assign
ments next week to fly the air mail.
Search had already been started
for them when telephone call from
Kamas, Utah, last night told of
their fate.
A military board of inquiry flew
to the scene under orders of 1t. Col.
II. II. Arnold. The bodies were re-
moved to KamaS. Arnold is COM
mander of the western zone of the
air mail service the army will insti-
tute next week.
1t. White, who was 90 years OF
age, was a San Francisco native and
graduate of the University OF
California. He entered the army
flyine service in 1881. He was train
ed at Randolph and Kelly fields. Lit.
Grenier, who was reported TO have
all tl,a rlaI1n
ident OF Manchester, N. H., and
graduate of the University of New
Hampshire.
JEROME, Ida, Feb. II. U.H -
Second Lieut.. James Y. Eastman,
7th bombardment group, March
Field, was burned to death here last
night when the twin-engined Doug
las bomber he was flying from Salt
Lake City to Seattle in preparation
to the war departments carrying
mail crashed and burned.
1t was misty at the time OF the
crash and witnesses said the plane
was flying low just before the crash
According to Mr.. Clarence Wilson,
eyewitness, the plane came SKIM
ming in low over the trees, its mo-
tor roaring 1t passed over the
house, she said, then suddenly
crashed into the ground about 100
feet beyond, bursting into flames.
Mrs. Wilson Immediately ran into
the house and called the sheriff at
Jerome, six miles from the scene.
The Jerome fire department was
rushed to the place.
Eastman's body was dragged from
the still burning plane and taken
to Jerome mortuary.
The victim was unmarried. His
father is H. G.. Eastman, who re-
sides in Huntsville, Texas.
LINDEN, N. j.. Feb. II. U.P) -
Lieut.. Joseph w. Kelly, army pilot
scheduled to fly the mails, escaped
injury last night when he ran out
of fuel and made forced landing
in a wooded section.
Kelley was making an expert
mental flight from Columbus ONO
to Newark, N. j.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. IT, U.P) -
Informed of the deaths of army air
mail pilots in the Salt Lake DIVISION
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, World
War ace and present TWA official,
said:
"It's legalized murder; that's all"
He would not amplify his re-
marks.