The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1944-02-03
Kept Busy On
India 10 China
Air Line
Lieut.. Dick Veldman In
Thick of Important
Work Aiding Chinese.
FLIES OFTEN AT
10000 FOOT ELEVATION

their son, Lieut.. D. r. (Dick) Weld
man, who is flying transport planexs
carrying supplies from India into
China
Veldman writes that he is kept
more than busy and flies every day.
The combination Of high altitude
flying, Importance Of the cargo they
are carrying the sometimes hid
weather, and the constant threat Of.
enemy Japs, is getting on his and
his buddies' nerves and they are
beginning to be nervous, he writes.
They fly at an altitude of from 10
600 to 10000 feet. There are two
pilots in each plane and each pilot
flies for two hours and then chan3x
es off with the other man. Recently
Dick wrote his mother and re-
marked that he had just turned the
plane over to the other pilot and
that he was writing the letter to her
her at an altitude Of 10000 feet
The average temperature at thats
height IS considerably below zero
Mount Everest, the highest known
mountain in the world, is 29,0o1
feet, SO when they fly at $1,000
feet they clear that famous noun
tain.
Other interesting notes from
Lieut.. Veldman were to the effect
that he spent Christmas in Calcutta
New Years in Bombay and had spent
q few days leave in one Of the
famous hotels Of India. Learning
through letter from home that.
Henry Skranak is in India, he
wrote back that he flies over Skra-
nak's base every day, distant about
200 miles, and remarked that he
might drop in on him some day.
Lieut.. Veldman also writes that
he flies over the laps nearly every
day, that he frequently sees them,
but hated TO say that when jap
plane appeared in the sky, the
American boys had to turn tail and
rum away - fast Is xhey could -
fighting.
Veldman also writes that he has
seen Generalissimo and Madame
Chang Kai Shek, Generals Chem
nault and Stillwell, Eddie Rfcken-
hacker and Joe Brown. He said he
did not 60 out Of his way to see
them, but did SO simply in the per-
Torrance OF his duties.
In another letter he wrote that
one OF the boys had just returned
from shooting Bengal tigers short
distance outside the camp As 1cr
his own hunting, he being armed
only with revolver, had confined
himself to shooting poisonous
snakes.
Another OF his experiences was
an encounter with an earthquake.
One time when his hut began to
shake violently, he rushed out and
dived through the netting on =
screened-in porch. All the huts in
the camp were shaken down expect
those built of bamboo poles and hig
was Of bamboo poles. However, the
floors Of the huts are Of cement
but despite that, he wrote that the
chairs were all tipped over BY the
violent shaking.
While Lieut.. Veldman never in
dicates in his letter his exact To-
cation and while he never tells
definitely what he is transporting,
yet it is believed that he is in 4
jungle camp at the base OF the
Himalaya mountains and not for
from the Burma border.
Since the above was written, Mr..
and Mrs. Veldman have received
letter from Lieut. VIM. j. Kath-
man who had recently arrived in
this country. He wrote that he knew
Lieut.. Veldman well, that they had
been in the same barracks, and had
been asked to convey to them as
surance that their son was well and
getting along fine He wrote that
he had worked with Lieut.. Weld
man In northern India but military
secrecy prevented his giving the ex-
act location. Lieut. Kathman had
been asked to convey greetings to
Veldman's parents and to his wife.
There is an excellent article in
the last Golfers describing the work
that is being done in flying sup
plies 'over the hump" from India
into China.