The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-12-17
Bombers Over Spain

- 3~
IN TWO PARTS-PART ONE
Published by Special Advancement With The
Chicago Trtbune-New York News Syndicate
Incorporated
By F. BRITTEN AUSTIN
THE MAN AND TRAG-
EDY OF TWO COMRADES
FIGHTING FOR A CAUSE.
MET him on a liner. It was a small
liner, ~westbOund in the nadir of the
out-of-season period. There was not
|. class. On the first night out, 1 sat
in the almost empty smoke room and
chatted to the friendly steward, He was
an old acquaintance. Looks as il it's
gong to be a dull voyage" I remarked.
Nobody worth talking TO-"
"We've got n interesting passenger,
SIR" said the steward. who was a well,
informed fellow. "Dirk Hansen-you
know he did a record flight across
Asia. Ten years G or so. It was AN
in the papers at the time" I vaguely
remembered. That's him sitting over
there the steward went on. "Gloomv
soTt ola chap he seems, don't he?"
=, 0s@SS OA1C oHdISElv OOO.
ulated smoke room where no pairs or
groups had yet formed themselves.
DIX Hansen was sitting alone at a
little table, an almost finished whisky
and. soda in front of him, staring
moodily into space. He was man OF
perhaps IS, by. no means handsomely
prepOSSeSslng-,ln fact, he looked rather
coarsely dissipated-but With consider
able force of character evident in his
beaky nose, the planes of his somewhat
puffy face and the thrust of his law.
HIS attitude suggested that he was as
bored as I was.
Aviators are out of my line, but he
would be someone to talk to. He could
not 90 more than snub me. I decided
the ship pitched a little in the first
unpleasantness of the English channel.
l vent across to see him.
w seem to be almost the only pas
sengers on this. ship" I opened, as af-
vlte you to a drink"
He looked at me with eyes devoid of
friendliness.
Have it with me- he said. He tossed
off the remainder in his glass and sum
moned the steward.
II had really meant to go on the
wagon for this trip" he remarked, hus-
kily and still without f%riendliness, as
" pay IosetAlel oyer CIle TWO 0COCcneS
n a n steward brought. Time I
sobered UP a bit. Whatever else we
in Spain"
which side were you flying for?" I
asked.
you sympathize them" I hazarded.
."S TSaa' Wb2E3S he growled'
Couldn't help myself. When Franco
first started his push, I went to Tetuan
and Ceuta with the idea of selling my
self to him. But there was a bunch of
Italian aviators with Franco, and when
they found out that I had been flying
for the Abyssinians they started to cut
gier and got across to Valencia"
you fly then for anybody that will
employ you?",
He Shrugged his shoulders.
II have to earn my living. I've flown
in China. And then in the Chaco."
He was unexpectedly more interest
of those modern mercenaries-a 10th
century version of the Landsknechts
and Condottieri of the middle ages
had never occurred to me.
Il suppose they paid you wel?"
"A thousand dollars a month n a
grand scale of compensation for injury
and wounds. Also a fully paid life in
joining up at Valencia. The boys they
recruited in New York got $50 a day
and a return passage"
Are most of the Red aviators for
eigners?"
I'm the early days they were all
French or American, with a few En-
glish. You see, when the show started
the Spanish aviation units shot their
officers. Now they don't need us, with
all the Russian army aviators coming
over who don't cost 'em anything. They
are keeping only a few of us as instruc-
tors. That's why they let me CO."
Are there any Spanish aviators on
the other side?"
"A few. Those who happened to be
on leave and escaped getting shot by
their men. Most OF them are Germans
or Italians"
you are out Of it now2"
Eyes, I'm out Of it,"
You must have had some interesting
experiences?"
Eyes. It wa interesting enough: But
I'm through with that sort OF thing.
1t was a queer setup down there pa
Spain" he said. In fact, IT'S only now
queef it was. When you're in the midst
Of it, the most fantastic things seem
normal. OF course, we aviators kept
pretty much to ourselves. :
"We didn't know a hundredth, part
of what happened to the SpaniardS
They. belonged. to a different Wor1a
things that weren't nice to u ideas;
we didn't pretend to be Marxists, OF
course, or anything else. We were Just
a hard boiled bunch of guys earning
our living. And I'll say we were hard
boiled. Most of us had been Tying ln
ali the little wars of the last 10 years
So long as we got Dur pay, enough
whisky and plenty of girls, it was Okay
with u.s."
I was silent and let him talk, since
he had begun.
There were plenty of girls, all right
Not the old-fashioned kind of Senior,
itas you've read about-tall combs and
o,tc with cronrad bair and short skirts