Evening star., 1935-10-20

YHAT shades OF heroic Qeed!
M by the personnel of thu
w Army Air Corps pass with
the passing Of control oi
Boiling Field from the Army to the
Navy! Deeds that have no superiors
and few equals in all the annals OF
sviation-Cousland, Gray. Ent, An
derson-and a host of others-deeds
that have won for their performers
the Distinguished Flying Cross -
highest award of the Air Corps to its
heroes.
Listen to this!
First Lieut.. Cornelius Cousland, one
Of the finest tri-motor pilots in the
service, official pilot of Government
notables, is flying over Gatun Lake
Panama. His motors are working
perfectly. Back of him and his CO.
pilot in the 12-seater plane are eight
passengers. They are enjoying every
minute of their cloudland ride-the
sparkling sunlight, the racing breeze,
the undulating greenery beneath the
azure sky.
And then! A terrible, rendering,
d
all is still Cheeks blanch, voices
stop, eyes search each other to fathom
Death. Death has already struck.
One of the three motors of the plane
has broken its moorings. been hurtled
into the on-sweeping plane. In the
cockpit by the side of Cousland, his
co-pilot has been crushed to death.
His body has fallen across that of
Cousland.
The happy journey has been
translated in second into tragedy.
One man is dead but what about
Cousland and his passengers? Death
stares in their faces; he stalks by their
side. The crippled plane must down;
1t Is careening crafty. But down
where? Not into that lake studded
with tree stumps. Not into that green
jungle bordering its side. where no
man would ever come out alive. But
1t must down. Cousland looks back.
His eight passengers are quiet. They
are looking to him to save them from
terrible holocaust or a sitting
watery grave. And Cousland rises to
the occasion. He sweeps from his lap
his bleeding companion. He swings
onto his controls with all his might.
He rights his plane as best as it can
be righted and descends to the lake
He has done superbly. Near the shore,
between the dead tree stumps he
brings it down without the loss of a
single life or great damage to his
ship. His reward-the Distinguished
Flying Cross.
EOUR Army flyers who long have
flown at Boiling are flying W
formation above Crissey Field, Calf.
They are executing a war maneuver.
On the ground below, fellow officers
are waiting to take off; superior of1i-
GERS watching the tactics of the dar-
ing war birds. In the twinkling of a
second that peaceful scene is turned
into fiery bedlam. As the ground
watchers look smoke is seen to burst
from one of the planes, then comes
to their ears the sound Of metallic
rendering. The engine OF one OF the
planes has disintegrated! The plane
is on fire. The flames are sweeping
back with demon fury over the
fuselage of the proud eagle. In a
moment the whole mass, carrying the
pilot, Lieut. Frederick Anderson and
his mechanic, Sergt. Duncan Mac
Vean, will plummet. like a flaming
meteor, to the earth. All that will
be left will be a twisted mass of steel
and gadgets; few charred bones.
But Death reckoned not with Lieut..
Anderson. His mind racing like a
whirlwind he orders Sergt. MacVean
to bail out" MacVean needs no Sec
ond order. Over the side he goes, his
parachute billowing in the wind as
the plane races earthward. Anderson
follows suit. Over the edge of his
cockpit he swings his leg. He's let
ting loose his grip on the burning
plane as 1t swirls downward when he
notices that 1t is over the suburbs
Of the city. To let that flaming pyre
race downward to earth Is to invite