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diff --git a/old/62480-0.txt b/old/62480-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 215919e..0000000 --- a/old/62480-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2263 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Above the French Lines, by Stuart Walcott - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Above the French Lines - Letters of Stuart Walcott, American Aviator: July 4, 1917, to December 8, 1917 - - -Author: Stuart Walcott - - - -Release Date: June 26, 2020 [eBook #62480] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABOVE THE FRENCH LINES*** - - -E-text prepared by David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 62480-h.htm or 62480-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62480/62480-h/62480-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62480/62480-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/abovefrenchlines00walc - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - - - - -[Illustration: STUART WALCOTT IN HIS AEROPLANE] - - -ABOVE THE FRENCH LINES - -Letters of Stuart Walcott, -American Aviator: July 4, -1917, to December 8, 1917 - - - - - - -Princeton University Press -Princeton -London: Humphrey Milford -Oxford University Press -1918 - -Copyright, 1918, by -PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS - -Published April, 1918 -Printed in the United States of America - - -[Illustration: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS] - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - Introduction (from the _Princeton Alumni Weekly_) 1 - - From Princeton to France 7 - - Stuart Walcott’s Letters 14 - - The Final Combat 89 - - Stuart Walcott (a biographical note by his father) 90 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Stuart Walcott in His Aeroplane Frontispiece - - Stuart Walcott at the Front Facing page 38 - - War Cross with Palm, Awarded in Recognition of - Walcott’s Service Facing page 66 - - - - -ABOVE THE FRENCH LINES - - - - -INTRODUCTION - -[From the _Princeton Alumni Weekly_ of January 30, 1918.] - - -It is now seven weeks since the dispatches from Paris reported that -Stuart Walcott was attacked by three German airplanes and brought down -behind the German lines, after he himself had brought down a German -plane in his first combat on December 12, 1917, and that it was feared -he had been killed; but even now, after the lapse of nearly two months, -it is not definitely known whether his fall proved fatal, or whether -the earnest hope of his friends that he is still alive may be realized. -The reports are conflicting. A cable message of January 7 said that in -Germany it was reported that S. Walcott had been killed by a fall on -December 12 near Saint Souplet; but Dr. Walcott received a letter on -January 19 which holds out some hope that the fall was not fatal and -that his son may be a prisoner in Germany. This letter, dated December -17, is from a young aviator named Loughran,[A] who was Stuart Walcott’s -roommate at the flying station. He gives this report of what was told -to him by an observer and pilot who saw the combat: - - “On the 12th of December at 11:30 a. m., there were five pilots to go - out on high patrol, including Stuart and myself. But I was prevented - from going, because of a wrenched ankle. Stuart and the other pilots - left here at 11:40 a. m. for high patrol, which means they are to fly - above the thousand metres. Two of the pilots had to return because of - motor trouble, leaving one pilot whom Stuart was following. - - “At 12:50 a. m. they ran across a German bi-place machine. The - French pilot attacked first, but had to withdraw because of trouble - with his machine gun. He reports that the Spad [Stuart Walcott’s - machine], that had been following him, he last saw a thousand metres - above him, or the German. Also that the German had gone back over - his lines. The infantry and artillery observers report the French - pilot’s attack and combat. And that six minutes later the German - returned over our lines. And that the Spad that was seen flying - at a very high altitude, came down and attacked the German, and - succeeded in bringing him down in flames. In doing so he had to fly - quite a way over the German territory. And that the Spad had started - to return, when three German fighting machines were seen diving on - him, and forcing him down. The Spad was last seen doing a nose-dive - perpendicular, behind their lines. That is all the information I have - received up to date. - - “This is what makes all the boys think that Stuart is alive: - - “A nose-dive perpendicular is used very often in combat, but is very - dangerous, as it is very difficult for one to come out of and yet - have their motor running; that reason might force him to land; also - there was very little chance for him to get away from them by flying, - as they were above, and the only sensible thing to do was to land; - and as we were only three days in this _secteur_, the French think - he might have been mixed up as to the direction for home; or that - he was slightly wounded and could not turn his machine toward the - French lines. - - “I have tried every way possible to get information about Stuart. I - have sent the numbers of his motor and machine to Major S. yros, who - is trying to trace it through the Red Cross service. - - “One of the French pilots of this _escadrille_, who is a very good - friend of your boy, shot down a German biplane on 13th of December. - The machine fell behind our lines. The pilot was dead before reaching - the ground. But the observer was only slightly wounded, so the boys - of that _escadrille_ have asked the commander of the group if we - could be permitted to go and talk to the German, as he may know - something about the Spad that fell behind his lines the day before. - We hope to know whether we will be permitted to do so or not, - tomorrow. - - “It takes two months before we receive the report from Germany - officially. In the meantime you will read all sorts of reports in the - newspapers. But I will cable or have Capt. Peter Boal do so, if I get - any news that is true. - - “The case of Buckley, the American who fell Sept. 5, was reported as - being in flames from five thousand metres down, and fell in German - territory. The observers reported that it landed on its back and - burned completely. His parents were notified of his death; newspapers - reported the terrible death he died. Well, Sir, on November 25 we - received a letter from him, saying he was enjoying the best of health - and was satisfied with his surroundings in the prison camp in Germany. - - “So we are all hoping the same for Stuart. - - “I have all Stuart’s personal things, and will give them to Capt. - Boal the first chance I get. - - “Mr. Walcott, it is beyond words for me to try and tell you how - grieved we all are about Stuart, and how great a loss it is to the - Escadrille, for him to be away. He was more than liked by every - member and officer, and gave promise of doing great things, was - always up in his machine trying to better himself in combat flying; - there never was a minute that he was idle, if it was possible for - him to fly. And never a more generous and kinder boy. Only the night - before the patrol he last went out on, he gave me every care in the - world, got up during the night to make sure I was comfortable and to - do anything he could for my ankle. - - “From one who has been with Stuart through all his training, and - roommate on the Front, - - “Yours respectfully, - “E. J. LOUGHRAN.” - -This letter was written before the cable dispatch of January 7, from -the International Red Cross, which seems to establish definitely the -fact that Stuart Walcott gave his life in support of the endeavor to -“make the world safe for democracy.” In further and final evidence, a -letter dated February 5, 1918, informed Dr. Walcott that the Red Cross -agent in Paris had reported “Stuart Walcott’s grave has been found.” An -accompanying map from Loughran shows that the spot where Stuart Walcott -fell is on a hill a little South of Saint Souplet. - - * * * * * - -Benjamin Stuart Walcott was of New England ancestry. His earliest known -American forbear was Capt. Jonathan Walcott of Salem, Mass., 1663-1699. -Later, one of Capt. Jonathan’s descendants, Benjamin Stuart Walcott, -served in a Rhode Island regiment during the Revolutionary War. On his -mother’s side two ancestors served in the Continental Army and in the -Revolutionary War. - - - - -FROM PRINCETON TO FRANCE - - -Stuart Walcott was a senior at Princeton in the winter of 1916-17. -In view of his approaching graduation in the spring his father wrote -to him that he had best begin to think about what he was to do after -graduation in order that he might get on an independent basis as soon -as practicable. In response under date of January 7, 1917, he wrote: - - “You spoke of my being independent after I graduate in the spring. - If I go to Europe, as I want to, to drive an ambulance or in the - aeroplane I will be doing a man’s work and shall be doing enough to - support myself. If the work is unpaid, it is merely because it is - charitable work and as such is given freely. If you want to pay my - way, I will consider it not as dependence on you, father, but as a - partnership that may help the Allies and their cause. I will furnish - my services and you the funds to make my services available. If not, - I will be willing to invest the small amount of capital which has - accumulated in my name. I have been thinking of this work in Europe - for over a year now, and am still very strong for it. I don’t know - what the effect will be on myself, but if it will be of service to - others, I think that it is something I ought to do.” - -Being assured that the expenses would be provided for, he then began an -investigation as to the best method of procedure to obtain training as -an aviator. In a letter dated January 26 he said: - - “Many, many thanks for sending me the book on the French Flying Corps - by Winslow. I read half of it the night that it came and stayed up - late last night to finish it. He gives a very straight, interesting - and apparently not exaggerated account of the work over there, which - has made it somewhat clearer to me, just what it is that I want to - get into. Now I am even more anxious than I was before to join the - service over there. The more that I think about it and the more that - I hear of it, the more desirous I am of getting into the Flying - Corps. If a man like Winslow with a wife and daughter dependent on - him is willing to take the risk involved, I see no reason why I - should not. - - “You mention the Ambulance service in your last note. I have thought - of that quite a little and would definitely prefer the aviation. - The ambulance is worth while, I think, in that it gives one an - opportunity to be of great service to humanity, but not so much so as - the other. There will be a number of my classmates who will enlist in - the American Ambulance this spring, but the air service appeals to - me.” - -He then made arrangements with the American representatives of the -Lafayette Escadrille to go to France on the completion of his college -year. On January 29 he wrote: - - “I will get a physical examination in a few days. In regard to - getting the training over here first, I do not think that it would be - worth while. The instruction over there would be first hand, bright, - for a definite purpose and on the whole superior to what I could get - here. I could also be picking up the language and the hang of the - country at the same time.” - -On February 24 he received word that his papers presented with his -application for admittance to the Franco-American Flying Corps assured -him on their face of a welcome when he presented himself in Paris. He -was informed that if he utilized his spare time in availing himself of -any and every opportunity to familiarize himself with flying, it would -shorten his stay in the Student Aviators School in France. On March 26 -he wrote: - - “I haven’t been able to find out anything definite about the school - at Mineola. As yet, no change has been announced to my knowledge, in - reference to hastening up the course in event of the coming of war. - Over a hundred men have left college [Princeton] already to start - training for the Mosquito Fleet, and the rest of them are drilling - every afternoon. What do you think of the advisability of stopping - college and going to some aviation school? Considering that it takes - several months to become at all useful as an aviator and that war is - practically inevitable now, I think it would be wise to get started - right away.” - -And again, on April 3: - - “I saw in the morning paper that the American fliers in France would - be transferred to American registry immediately after the declaration - of war. When you next see General Squier, I wish that you would sound - him on the probability of a force being sent to France to learn to - fly according to French methods. That is the one thing above all - others that I want to get into. If there is any chance of that I do - not want to get involved in anything else.... - - “It is quite certain that seniors who leave college now, to go into - military work, will receive their degrees. I would not object to - losing the work as it is not my present intention to keep on with - theoretical chemistry and that is what I am devoting my time to this - spring. From the standpoint of education alone, I think that my time - could be more profitably spent in the study of aviation.” - -Leave was granted by the University, and on April 6 Stuart Walcott -was appointed a special assistant to Mr. Sidney D. Waldon, Inspector -of Aeroplanes and Aeroplane Motors, Signal Service at Large. He -immediately reported to Mr. Waldon and worked with him through April. -May first he went to Newport News, Virginia. May 2 he reported: - - “My first trip up was this afternoon with Victor Carlstrom. We were - out 16 minutes and climbed 3,500 feet. It was all very simple getting - up there--a little wind and noise and some bumps and pockets in the - air--a glorious view of the Harbor. Then we started to come down. - First, I saw the earth directly below through the planes on the - left. Then the horizon made a sudden wild lurch and Newport News - appeared directly below on my right. This continued for a little - while and then we started down at an angle of about 30 degrees to the - perpendicular, turning as we went. I later learned that Carlstrom had - executed a few steep banks or sharp turns and then spiralled down. It - ended with a very pretty landing, following with a series of banks to - check speed. Flying from my first impression is a very fascinating - game and the one I want to stay with for a while. I have signed up - for 100 minutes in the air. While this hundred minutes will not make - me a flier by any means I think it is well worth the while in that it - gives me a little element of certainty in going abroad. I will know - if all goes well that I am not unable to fly.” - -The next day he wrote: - - “Two flights this morning, 25 minutes _in toto_. The greatest sport - I ever had. Wonderful work. I did most of the work after we got up a - safe distance.” - -Having obtained a certificate of 100 minutes flight and passed the -necessary physical examinations, he left for France, arriving at -Bordeaux May 31, and soon reported at Avord for training. - - - - -STUART WALCOTT’S LETTERS - - - - -I - - - AVORD, - July 4, 1917. - -Dear H----: - -... My work here is going well, although slowly. Those in my class -ought to get out by October if nothing goes wrong. There are some -150 Americans learning to fly now in France, besides the ones the -Government may have sent over--more than a hundred at this one school, -and the oddest combination I’ve ever been thrown with: chauffeurs, -second-story men, ex-college athletes, racing drivers, salesmen, young -bums of leisure, a colored prize fighter, ex-Foreign Légionnaires, ball -players, millionaires and tramps. Not too good a crowd according to -most standards, but the worst bums may make the best aviators. There’s -plenty of need for all of them. - -There are lots of Frenchmen here also and a big crowd of Russians, -mostly happy youngsters having a very good time. They’re always in a -hurry to get up in the air and are continually breaking machines and -their necks. The Americans have an endless streak of luck in being able -to fall out of the air and collect themselves uninjured from amidst a -pile of kindling wood which was the machine. As yet I haven’t done any -piloting in the air, so can’t talk very wisely about the glories and -thrills of slipping through the ephemeral clouds. All I have learned is -that almost any kind of a dub can be a pilot, but that there aren’t a -lot of very good ones. The idea is to get enough practice to become a -good one before arguing with the elusive Boche at a high altitude. - -It looks over here as though there would be about two years more of -war, judging from what most people say. It is to be hoped that after -twelve to eighteen months we will be able to take France’s place at -the front, for she deserves to be relieved and will have to be. Even -now, France is almost spent; it will be England and the United States -who will finish the war. This war is a terrible thing, but for America -it is an opportunity as well. I am glad that we have at last come into -it and that it will be no half-way fight that we must put up. The -Canadians have been about the best regiments in the war. Why shouldn’t -America be as good?... - - STUART. - - - - -II - - - ESCOLE D’AVIATION MILITAIRE - AVORD, CHER, FRANCE. - Friday, July 13, 1917. - -You see it’s Friday, the thirteenth, my lucky day, and I’m happy -because the work is going well. First, I’ll tell you about a smash I -had a week or so ago. - -The roller or _Rouleur_ class which I smashed in has the same machine -as those that fly with a 45 P motor. Only it is throttled down, and we -are supposed to keep it on the ground--just about ready to fly, but -not quite getting up--a speed of about 30 m.p.h. When there is the -slightest wind we can not roll, because the wind turns the tail around -and swings the machine in a circle--a wooden horse--_cheval de bois_. -I rode about the end of the list Saturday--and the wind had come up as -the day got on. Work stops at 8:30 a. m. always because there’s too -much wind. My first sortie or trip went O.K. with a considerable breeze -on the tail, but on the second there was too much wind and after I got -going pretty fast--around she went. The wind caught under the inside -wing and up it went. Smash went the outside wheel, and a crackle of -busting wood. All the front framework of wood that holds the motor was -smashed--a pretty bad break. The monitor was a bit mad and talked to me -a bit in French. - -The next morning I was called in to see the chief of the Blériot -school, Lt. de Chavannes, a very nice officer. He told me that my -monitor was not satisfied with me--that he had told me to do something -(cut the motor when the machine started to turn) three separate times, -and that each time I had intentionally disobeyed, that if anything like -that happened again I would be radiated (discharged from the school). -That was quite the first I had ever heard of it and I was so mad at the -monitor that I could have kicked him in the head. I tried to explain to -the Lieutenant but he never heard a word, so I just gurgled with wrath -and didn’t do anything. But yesterday we got another monitor who is a -different sort. - -The class after _rouleur_ is _decollé_--it is the same machine, but one -gets off the ground about a metre or two, then slacks up on the motor -and settles to the earth. It is strictly forbidden to _decollé_ in -the _rouleur_ class. This morning I had a sortie in the _rouleur_ and -all of a sudden noticed that I was in the air a bit--managed to keep -it straight and get out of the air without smashing. The monitor said -nothing so I _decolléed_ on all the sorties. When I got out the monitor -explained that it was strictly forbidden to go off the ground in the -_rouleur_ class, that I shouldn’t have done it, and then asked me if I -would like to go up to the other class. Whereupon consenting, I am now -in the _decollé_ class, leaving sixteen rather peeved Americans who -arrived in the _rouleur_ the same time I did, who can perform in the -_rouleur_ quite as well as I can and who will remain in the _rouleur_ -for some time yet. They’ve no grudge against me, however, as it was -only a streak of luck on my part. Later in the morning I had some -sorties in the _decolleur_ and got up two or three metres. The wind was -too strong, so my trips were a bit rough, but nothing was damaged--so -hurrah for Friday, the thirteenth. - - - - -III - - - July 17, 1917. - -The work has been going very well since last I wrote you, which was -only two or three days ago. I told you about at last leaving the -blessed roller; I never was so relieved in my life. The first evening -in the _decollé_ class, I was requisitioned to turn tails and the -morning after there was too much wind to work. The _decollé_ is the one -where you go up two or three metres and settle down by cutting speed. -The first time I had three sorties in the wind, bounced around a lot, -but did no damage. The next time was first thing in the morning. Two -metres up on the first, four or five on the fifth--strictly against -orders. I even had to _piqué_--point the machine toward the ground--a -little, which is not at all _comme il faut_ in the _decollé_. But these -Frenchmen are funny chaps--sometimes they will get terribly angry and -punish one for disobeying, and again they will be tickled to death -with it. If I had smashed while doing more than I was told to, there -would have been a lot of trouble; as it was, no objection--and the -monitor personally conducted me to the _piqué_ class with a very nice -recommendation. - -Now there are two _piqué_ classes: one with a _piste_ about a -quarter of a mile long, in which one is supposed to do little more -than _decollé_, get up about five metres and _piqué un tout petit -peu_--hardly at all. After comes the advanced _piqué_ with a much -longer _piste_ on which one can get up 100 metres (300 feet). On my -first sortie in the _piqué_, I was told to roll on the ground all the -way, so continuing my policy, did a low _decollé_. Next I was supposed -to do a two metre _decollé_, so went up ten and _piquéd_. Had ten -sorties in that class one morning, getting as high as I could--about -twenty metres--and went to the advanced _piqué_ that night--last night. -Four sorties there last night with a machine with a poor motor, so -didn’t get up over a hundred feet. - -And this morning I did my first real aviating. There was a bit of wind -blowing, so the monitor, Mr. Moses, only let a Lieutenant and me go -up, as we had gone better than the others last night. First it was a -bit rainy and always bumpy as the deuce--air puffs and pockets which -require the entire corrective force of the wing warp and rudder to -overcome. My last sortie was decidedly active. The wind had developed -into a bit of a breeze which is to a Blériot like a rough sea to a row -boat. Two or three times I got a puff that tipped the machine ’way -over--put the controls over as far as I could and waited. It seemed a -minute before she straightened. The trouble was that the machine was -climbing and therefore not going very fast. If I had _piquéd_, it would -have corrected quicker. I had no trouble at all in making the landing. -Hopping out of the machine, I saw the head monitor rushing over to -Mr. Moses on the double, shouting volubly in French and berating him -severely. I gathered that he had been watching my manoeuvres, expecting -something to fall every instant, and that he strenuously objected to -Moses’ letting me go up. Work stopped there for the morning, and it was -very fully explained to me what the trouble was. If I have some sorties -there tonight, I go to _Tour de Piste_ (Flying Field) in the morning. I -may be on Nieuport in two weeks. - -I am now beginning to see the advantages of the Blériot training. There -is a great deal of preliminary work on or near the ground. In all -other aviation training, such as at Newport News, 90 per cent of the -work is in making landings--in piquéing down, redressing at the proper -moment and making gradual connections with the earth. I haven’t made a -really bad landing yet and the reason is that I have been in a machine -so much on and near the ground, that I have sort of developed a sense -or feel of it, and almost automatically redress correctly, and settle -easily. Also I can tell pretty closely what is flying speed because of -the work on the rollers. It’s the same way with all the other students -only I know it now from my own experience. - -And this morning I began to realize that my hundred minutes at Newport -News was invaluable. I not only found out some of the tricks of a -master hand (Carlstrom) but also developed a bit of confidence in the -air, and air sense, without which I could have got into trouble this -morning. My bumpy ride this morning is absolutely invaluable. I’ll -probably never have so much trouble in the air again, because a fast -machine or even a Blériot with a good motor, would hardly have noticed -these puffs. It was a bit risky, I guess, or the head monitor would not -have been worried, but now that it’s over, I know a lot more. - - - - -IV - - - August 11, 1917. - -Dear ----[B]: - -You have certainly developed into a wonderful correspondent. -Honest-to-goodness, a letter you started my way about a month ago was -quite the most satisfactory and amusing thing I’ve received since I’ve -been over here. Based on practically no material, yet it was alive -with interest, every line. There’s nothing like a finishing school -education. If I thought that you could knit, I would immediately -appoint you as my _marraine_ (godmother), for it’s quite possible for -one person to have more than one soldier and I am but a soldier of -the second class in the French Army. As I understand it, the chief -duty of a _marraine_ is to write letters--you’ve started that in good -style--and to knit wool scarfs, which the devoted soldier hands to a -French peasant woman to unravel and make a pair of socks out of.... - -Many Yale boys have wandered in upon us of late, Alan Winslow, Wally -Winter, George Mosely, and others. Also Chester Bassett, late of -Washington and Harvard University, who I believe has the good fortune -to be acquainted with you, a very recommendable young man. They tell me -that Cord Meyer is aviating at some camp nearby, but, not having any -machines, they have to spend their time touring the country in a high -powered motor. - -Had a long and gossipy letter from Pat the other day, containing -details of many weddings and engagements, even unto young ---- ----. -All my classmates are doing the same stunt. How about being original -and waiting until the war is over and seeing who of the competitors -are left? I quite expect to be, but it’s luck I’m trusting to; there’s -a lot of war left in the nations of Europe. One never can tell; I -may come home on permission in a French uniform with a wing on my -collar.... When the American Air Service is a little further along, it -may be that we will be taken over from the French Army. - -I finished up in one division of the school the other day and passed -to another for brevet, the tests for a military aviator. I sort of -have the impression that I wrote you a few weeks ago about it, but -not being sure, run the risk of repetition, which, if any, I hope you -will excuse. This epistle is being written out at the _piste_ (flying -field), waiting for the wind to drop enough to fly, and with me seated -amidst a bunch of Russians, so if there are any superfluous “iskis” or -“ovitches” in this, you will understand why. The Russians are great -fliers; in fact they know so much about it that they never listen to -their monitors and as a result break more machines than all the other -pupils combined. A month ago five of them went to the next school for -acrobacy and in a week every one of them had killed himself. I pulled -a bit of the same Russian stuff in the spiral class of the Blériot. -All the work is solo--never a flight double command so one has to get -instructions on the ground and follow them in the air. - -I used my head and senses in performing my first spiral, instead of -shutting my eyes, doing what I had been told and trusting to God. The -result was that I made one more turn than I expected to and that quite -perpendicular, not at all _comme il faut_ in a Blériot. Why something -did not break has been the wonder of the Blériot school. But nothing -did and we got down all right. Another time I planted a cuckoo on -her nose, which is not at all encouraged by the monitors. ’Tis quite -a trick to balance a monoplane on its nose on the ground, but I did -it--quite vertical she lay, with me in the middle struggling with the -safety belt and wondering which way it was going to fall. My final -appearance in the Blériot school was likewise spectacular. The left -wing hit a hole in the air which the right one didn’t. Naturally things -tipped; then they wouldn’t straighten and the only thing to do was to -dive to the low side. I did, but forgot to shut off the motor. A very -steep and fast spiral resulted in which I lost 500 feet in a half-turn -in about two seconds, I think, all with the motor going to beat the -cars. I must have been travelling at many hundreds of miles an hour. -Once again nothing broke, but it was no fault of mine that it didn’t.... - - Sincerely, - STUART. - - - - -V - - - August 25, 1917. - -I started for my altitude test three days ago. The requirement is one -hour above 2,000 metres. I got to 1,950 metres and one cylinder refused -to fire, so I was forced to come down. The next morning I tried again, -got to 900 metres and the magneto ceased to function, thereby stopping -all progress. I glided toward home, but didn’t have quite the height -to make the _piste_, so had to land in a nearby field, just dodging -a potato patch. A flock of curious sheep came around and carefully -examined the machine, getting considerably mixed up in the wires of -the open tail construction and leaving considerable wool thereon. When -the mechanics eventually got the motor going, I started off, didn’t -get quite in the air before the motor went bad and then I ran into -a bean patch, gathering about a bushel of beans with the same tail -wires. Yesterday morning I tried again, climbed to 2,000 in fourteen -minutes and to 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) in forty minutes. I went -up through some light clouds and when I got to 3,500, the top of my -recording barograph, more clouds had formed and I was practically shut -off from the earth, nothing but a beautiful sea of clouds below me, a -very beautiful sight. One other machine was in sight, far below me, but -on top of the clouds. Not wanting to get lost I came down through the -clouds and stayed out my hour just above 2,000 and below the clouds, -where the air was very much churned up, keeping me very busy. Just as -soon as the time was up I came down with a pair of very chilled feet, -making the 2,000 metres in five minutes to the ground. No work since -then on account of bad weather. - -This morning I attended my first Catholic funeral, that of the -commandant of the school who was the victim of a mid-air collision, a -very unusual accident. The other machine got down safely though badly -smashed. Everybody in camp attended the funeral in the chapel of the -Artillery Camp next door. I understood none of the service, but the -music by a tenor and a ’cello was excellent. While the cortege was -going down the hill to the cemetery, a Nieuport circled overhead very -low for half an hour or more and dropped a wreath. It was a very -impressive ceremony. - -I expect to start on triangle and _petit voyage_ in a few days. When -they are done, I will be a breveted flier in the French Army. Then -comes _perfectionné_ work and acrobacy, so it will be quite a while yet -for me. - - - - -VI - - - August 31, 1917. - -Dear ----[C]: - -Here it is almost September and I am still a dog-goned _élève pilote_. -Verily, every time I think of how the time passes along without -results, I go wild. My complaint is caused by the west wind, which -has blown about twenty-five days during the month of August and seems -likely to continue well on into September. The only variety is an -occasional storm. For the past two weeks I’ve been waiting to start my -voyages, two trips to a town forty miles away and back and two other -triangular trips about 180 miles long each. When they are done, one -becomes a _pilote élève_; and there’s a great if subtle difference when -the words are reversed. An _élève pilote_ is the scum of the earth, -looked down on by mechanics, pilots, monitors, and everyone else; a -_pilote élève_ can wear wings on his collar and is as good as any one -else. He is permitted to fly in rough weather, to take chances and is -not in so much danger of getting radiated if he gets in trouble. The -proper thing to do on a triangle or _petit voyage_ is to have something -bust directly over a nice château; make a skilful landing on the front -lawn under the eyes of the admiring household and then be an enforced -guest for a few days until one is rescued by a truck and mechanics. One -has to be very careful where the _panne de moteur_ catches him lest he -have to make his landing in a lake or on a forest, which is apt to be -a bit awkward. One chap, an American, has been out on a triangle for -two weeks, staying at some country place, and there are four others at -another school near a big town waiting for weather to return. Reports -give us to believe they are having a much better time there than we are -here. - -Between here and the point for the _petit voyage_--a little bit off the -route, is the big future American aviation camp and also an Artillery -camp. There are quite a bunch of fellows there, Quentin Roosevelt, -Cord Meyer, etc., I think. Every American that has left on his voyages -in the last month has stopped there against all orders and been -bawled out by the monitor. One has to keep a recording barometer or -altimeter machine, a barograph, during the voyages, which indicates all -stops. One chap came back home the other day with a barometer record -showing beyond the shadow of a doubt that he had made a stop of about -fifteen minutes _en route_. The monitor saw it, said, “_Alors_, all -you Americans stop off there, I don’t like it.” Then the chap tried to -explain how he had had a _panne_ and come down in a field out in the -country somewhere, fixed the motor and come on home. He almost got away -with it, but the monitor happened to snook around a bit and noticed on -the tail very clearly written a good Anglo-Saxon name, the name of the -town, and the date--quite indisputable evidence. I fully expect to have -a _panne_ there myself before long. - -By the way, to declare a short pause in my chronicle of aviation, how -about all those “letters that are to follow”? If you try to tell me how -good you are to your Belgian soldier, I refuse to believe a word until -you treat me in the same way. And I also refuse to accept anyone as a -_marraine_ (isn’t that what you call these fairy godmother persons one -is supposed to correspond with during the war and marry afterward? -How inconsiderate some of them are, to take three or four soldiers, -just assuming that not more than one will survive; however, they may be -wise to have more than one iron in the fire. But my parenthesis grows -apace.)--I say I refuse a _marraine_ until she approves her ability. -But let me see again. Does said _marraine_ have to be a complete -stranger? It seems to me that is customary, and also usually they are -of different nationalities. All of the foregoing weak line will be -interpreted as a mere plea for that other letter. I’ve never made this -“absence makes the heart grow fonder” stuff at all. Even ---- has given -me up; I remain to her only another of the forgotten conquests (?) of -the dead past.... - -This odd person, Bassett, wandered in all dressed up like a patch of -blue sky and I just had to let you know he was here. With absolute -confidence in each other’s integrity, we put our loving messages side -by each. By the way, he _is_ a good scout, don’t you think? I have -gotten to like him immensely since he has been here. I never had a -better time in my life than one evening in Paris with Chet. However -quiet the party, he is the life of it. - -It must be that I take my weekly shave--in cold, cold water, with a -dull, dull razor. Oh, happy thought! Tell the father and brothers hello -from me. Also tell ---- to drop me a line of what he’s doing and when -he’s coming over. - - STUART. - - - - -VII - - - September 1, 1917. - -The wild man in the Nieuport was out again this morning giving some one -a joy ride. There is a long straight stretch of road in front of our -_piste_ and he came down that several times, a nasty puffy wind blowing -which bothered him not at all, flying only two or three feet off the -ground. In front of the _piste_ is a telephone wire crossing the road. -He came along the road 100 miles an hour until almost on top of the -wire and jumped up just in time to clear it by a few feet--really -beautiful work. He goes all over the surrounding country flying low, -hopping over trees and houses, sometimes turning up sideways to slip -between two trees a bit too close together to fly through; sometimes -dragging a wing through the space between a couple of hangars or doing -vertical _virages_ just in front of them. It doesn’t seem possible that -any man can be so much a part of his machine, can be so consistently -accurate that he never misses. For this chap, Lumière, has never had a -smash.... - -A chap named Loughran started off on one of his brevet voyages a few -days before I got ready for brevet. He got quite a ways along, ran into -a storm, went above it, got caught in a cloud, kept on for quite a long -way being drifted by a strong wind, then came down through the clouds -and found that they were only 400 feet above the ground. After a while -he found a place to land and came down safely. He went to a farmhouse, -got his machine guarded and tied down. In the meantime word had spread -over the countryside that an aviator had come down there and the entire -population came out to look him over. A grand equipage drove up with -a Count who lived in a nearby château. He insisted that Eddie come to -the château and accept their hospitality. There the fortunate Ed stayed -five days; the Countess talked English, and also some house guests. He -hadn’t brought a trunk so borrowed razor, etc., from the Count; went -down to see the machine every day in the baronial barouche. Whenever -he went to the little town in the vicinity all the kids followed him -around the streets and when at last he left, he was presented with a -multitude of bouquets and had to kiss each and every donor. He brought -back pictures of the château--a delightful looking old place--and -numerous addresses. - -[Illustration: STUART WALCOTT AT THE FRONT] - - - - -VIII - - - September 4, 1917. - -At last the two weeks of wind and rain has ceased and now it is -perfect weather--a bit of a breeze and lots of sun for the last two -days. Yesterday morning there weren’t enough machines to go around so -I did not work, making the eighth consecutive day I hadn’t stepped -in a machine. Last evening I at last and with much rejoicing started -out on my “maiden voyage” to another school about 60 kilometres away -(37.5 miles). It was delightfully easy--nothing to do but climb two or -three thousand feet and just sit there and watch the country unfold, -comparing the maplike surface of the earth spread out below with the -map in the machine. In good weather it is very easy to follow, spot -roads, towns, woods, rivers and bridges. Railroad tracks get lost at -high altitudes and are harder to find anyway. One has to keep an eye -open for a place to land within gliding distance in case of a _panne_ -always, but the country is so flat and so much cultivated around -here that it is absurdly simple. I endeavored always to keep some -pleasant looking house or château in range in case of trouble, for the -French are proverbially hospitable to aviators _en panne_ (lying to, -descending). - -Coming back yesterday evening, the sun was pretty low and the air -absolutely calm, nothing but the drone of the motor and the wind; the -only movements necessary an occasional slight pressure on the joy -stick to one side or the other to keep the proper direction. I came -very nearly going to sleep, it was so peaceful up there; several times -closed my eyes and swayed a bit. As a matter of fact one is perfectly -safe at that altitude--anything over a thousand feet--because the -machine, at least this particular type, won’t get into any position -from which one cannot get it out within 200 metres at most. But -nevertheless I haven’t tried any impromptu falls as yet. - -This morning I repeated the same identical performance, because for -some reason we have to do two _petits voyages_, and had much the same -kind of a time as yesterday. On the way home one cylinder quit its job -and threw oil instead, covering me from head to foot and clouding up my -goggles so I had to wipe them off about every minute. When I got back -the mechanics decided that that motor had died of old age and would -have to be repaired, so I am again without a machine. Have watched a -beautiful afternoon pass by from the barracks when without my luck I’d -be working. But with a machine and weather, I can be finished tomorrow; -two triangles to do about 200 kilometres (125 miles) each and I can do -one in the morning and the other in the evening and then I’m breveted. -Perhaps by day after tomorrow I’ll start _perfectionné_ on Nieuport. I -hope so. - - - - -IX - - - September 9, 1917. - -Since my last to Father, I have had some very interesting times. First, -I finished my _brevet_ with very little excitement, made all my voyages -and only got lost a little bit once. Then I saw two machines on the -ground in a field, made a rather dramatic spiral and steeply banked -descent amidst a crowd of villagers and got away with it; then found -that the machines belonged to two monitors who were bringing them -from Paris and had effected a _panne de château_. Being asked what I -was doing, I fortunately found a spark plug on the burn and got that -repaired. The rest of it was very easy, a bit of flying in the rain -which stings the face a bit, but is not bad otherwise. - -Since I have been on the Nieuport. There are three sizes of machines on -which one is trained, starting with the larger double command and going -to the smallest. At Pau, we get another even smaller, about as big as -half-a-minute. Four times I went out without a ride--bad weather, -crowded class and busted machines, the same old story. Then last night -I had my first rides with a monitor who is rather oldish, crabbed and -new at his job, a brand new aviator. As you know, when an airplane -takes a turn, it does not remain horizontal but banks up: _comme ça_ -(if you can interpret that illustration--it shows signs of remarkable -imaginative power)--_alors_, one banks to take a turn and uses the -rudder only a very little because the machine turns along when banked. -There is a sort of falling-out feeling the first few times until one -becomes a part of the machine. - -To get back to the story, this monitor does not like to bank his -machine and sort of sidles round the corners, keeping it quite flat -and almost slipping out to the outside of the turn. I have done many -fool things in a machine and made many mistakes, but never have I been -so scared in anything in my life as when riding with this monitor. A -monitor is supposed to let the pupil drive as much as he is able, but -this bird never let me make a move, and when we got through told me I -was too brutal. I was never madder in my life and cursed nice American -cuss words all the way home. There’s a fifteen kilo ride in a seatless -tractor back to camp to improve a bad humor. - -Well, this morning I saw some more rides impending and didn’t like it, -so asked the _chef de piste_ to put me with another monitor. He had -to know why and I registered my kick, which practically said that the -first monitor didn’t know his business and couldn’t drive, that I was -scared to ride with him. The _chef_ was a bit sarcastic and told me -to take two rides with another monitor to show how _I_ could make a -_virage_. I did it the way I’ve been accustomed to, made a fairly short -turn; when we got down, the monitor said “_Epatant_” (Am. “stunning”) -or something like that to the _chef_. The _chef_ had meanwhile -communicated my complaint to the first monitor and he was the maddest -man I ever saw. Demanded what “_Ce type là_” (indicating me) wanted, -said the _virages_ I had just made were dangerously banked (the monitor -I was with didn’t mind, though) and then all three started arguing -at once at me and I spelled all the French I knew. About that time I -thought of what you had just told me in a letter about trusting in -Latin, which advice and remarks I have come to agree with very much (my -admiration for the French has waxed less daily), and here I realized -that I had very successfully made a fool out of a man who was supposed -to be my teacher, and he fully resented it. - -Then, of all things, the lieutenant, without further remarks, said I -was to continue with my first monitor. My heart sank into my feet. -I had visions of staying in that class without rides or with only -rides and fights for months; I rode no more this morning and what was -my delight to find this evening that my bewhiskered pal had left on -permission. I got another monitor, a fine one who put his hands on the -side of the machine and let me do everything with a bit of assistance -on the landing, which is different from what I’ve been doing on the -Caudron. Seven rides and a finish--the twenty-three-metre tomorrow -morning. I wasn’t very good, but got by. - - - - -X - - - September 14, 1917. - -Things for me are going all right. Have made progress on the Nieuport -since last I wrote and will fly alone soon. As regards the U. S. Army, -things are at a standstill until I get to Paris which will be a week -or so. I hope to go to the front in a French _escadrille_ and in an -American uniform. Some say it can be done; some that it cannot. It -sounds so sensible that I am afraid there must be some regulation -against it. - - - - -XI - - - September 27, 1917. - -Since last I wrote a regular letter, considerable has taken place. -First, I am now at Pau, having finished up Avord. Have sent postcards -to Father right along to keep track of movements. After _brevet_ was -over, I did not take the customary permission of forty-eight hours, but -went straight to work on Nieuport, D. C. (double command). One cannot -learn a great deal riding with an instructor--only about enough to keep -from smashing in landing, because one never knows when the instructor -is messing with the controls, when it’s one’s self. There are five -kinds of Nieuports--differing mainly in size, the smaller being faster -and more agile in the air, better adapted to eccentric flying. They are -28, 23, 18, 15, 13 (the baby Nieuport). At Avord I had about a week of -D. C. on 28 and 23 (the numbers refer to size of wings) with several -days of no work. Then some days on 23 alone and finally on 18 alone. - -The landings are a bit different from those of the machines I had been -flying as they are faster and the machines are quite nose-heavy. In -the air the nose-heavy feature makes them “fly themselves”--that is, -according to the speed of the motor the machine will rise and climb -or _piqué_ and descend, with never a touch from the pilot. If the -weather is not very bad, the Nieuport will correct itself automatically -from all displacements. But in landing the nose-heavy feature causes -a great many _capotages_. If the landing isn’t done about right with -the tail low--over she goes on her nose or all the way onto her back. -It is a very common occurrence and has become almost a joke. When a -pupil capotes, everybody kids him--no one hurries over to see if he is -hurt, not at all; he climbs out from under, usually cursing, and in ten -minutes the truck is out to salvage the wreck. - -It is astounding the way smashes are taken as a matter of course. -Yesterday one chap in landing hit another machine, demolishing both but -not touching either pilot. Being worth some $15,000 or $25,000, but no -one seemed to worry--it’s very much a matter of course. The monitor -was a little peeved because he will be short of machines for a few -days, but that was all. I’ve seen as many as ten machines flat on their -backs or with tails high in the air, on one field at the same time. For -myself, I haven’t capoted or busted any wood since the Blériot days. -But I’m knocking on the wooden table now. On several occasions it has -been only luck that saved me, as I’ve made many rotten landings. - -Well, to get back to the diary. After finishing at Avord, I waited -around for two days to get papers fixed up, requested and obtained -permission and then decided not to use it and left straight for Pau -after fond farewells to the friends I’ve been with for three and a half -months. Looking back, I didn’t have such a bad time at Avord after all, -though I did get terribly tired of the living conditions. - -My trip to Pau I put down to experience. I discovered one schedule not -to travel by in future. Leaving Avord at 2:15 I got to Bourges at 2:45 -and found that the train left at 7:29. Fortunately, there was another -chap from the school on the train, Arthur Bluthenthal, an old Princeton -football star, whom I have gotten to know quite well, so we managed to -waste the afternoon together. At 7:29 I started another half hour’s -journey, at the end of which the timetable said that the train for -Bordeaux left at 10:30 (this is all P. M.). - -At this town there were some American engineers, so I embraced the -fellow countrymen in a strange land. Finished up a not very gay evening -by attending the movies, a most odd institution. Clouds of tobacco -smoke obscured the screen, and most of the action was around the bar -at one side of the hall. Nobody was drunk, but nearly every one was -drinking and very gay. This was merely Saturday night in a small town -of the Provinces--not in gay Paree. At 10:15 I got in a first class -compartment and tried to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. -At 2:15 A. M. I had mussed up my clothes considerably, lost my temper -and not slept a wink. Then we had to change again. The rest of the -morning I sat opposite an American officer, a queer old fogey, and -we tried to kid each other into thinking we were sleeping, with no -success. Arrived at Bordeaux at 7 A. M., and found that the train for -Pau left immediately, so I missed out on breakfast, too--Oh, it was -a hectic trip. My idea of a very unpleasant occupation is that of a -travelling salesman in France. - - - - -XII - - - October 22, 1917. - -Ah, ----[D]: - -Once more I take my pen in hand to lay at your feet the burdens of an -overwrought (how is that word spelled?) mind, said burdens being caused -by a most unpleasant captain. Just because I was in Paris for a day and -a half without a permission, he handed me eight days of jail, and today -for nothing at all he hauled me out in front of the entire division -and got quite angered when I told him in extremely broken French that -I hadn’t understood a word. But as the jail doesn’t mean anything and -doesn’t have to be served, I am not worrying very much. The afternoon -is misty and there isn’t a chance of flying, so he takes particular -care that nobody leave the _piste_ though there is absolutely nothing -to do there, no chance to get warm or comfortable. Which at least gives -me a perfect alibi for poor penmanship as I’m sitting in a machine and -quite uncomfortable. - -Thoughtless creature, so much like the rest of your sex, why did you -not tell me where Albert was to be over here, or what he was going to -do, or what service he was in, or at least that he was in France? I -cleverly deduced the latter from your letter, but did not know where to -find him. When I got your letter I was at Pau, not far from Bordeaux -(Didn’t I write you or postal-card you from there?). Afterward at -Paris, I talked to a few very dressed up ensigns with wings on them -somewhere (Walker is the only name I remember), and they told me that ----- was near Bordeaux and in the same group with themselves. So if, -etc., I might have gone to see the Big Boy. - -Yesterday I went to see Billy and another classmate in an artillery -camp the other side of Paris. They are officers of the U. S. A. and -live as such, which incites in me much envy as I am still a mere -corporal of France and treated with no more than my due--not quite as -much I sometimes think. That was the expedition that brought the jail. -Lots and lots of people are getting over here now. I’ve seen Heyliger -Church and Kelly Craig who are about to become aviators somewhere. -Porter Guest just became breveted (that is, a licensed pilot) and was -considerably seen in Paris shortly after--no end of college friends are -over here and even an occasional American girl is seen in Paris. No -friends as yet. - -Your letter--I asked at Morgan Harjes about Miss ---- and found that -she is at the front in a hospital, so I can’t very well find her in -Paris. I’m sorry as I would very much have liked to. What one might -call permanent people are very nice to know in Paris. I don’t know -anything about the front yet, but if I’m near Miss ----’s hospital, -will try to get acquainted. - -What you said about ---- and his going, I can pretty well appreciate. -There isn’t a thing in the world to worry us unmarried and very -independent young men over here. If something happens to us, it will -bother you all back home a great deal more than us. It’s very, very -true that women have the heaviest and worst part of war. I had to -write a letter the other day to the mother of a pal over here who -shot himself when out of his head. A fine pilot and an exceptionally -charming fellow, how I pity his poor mother. It’s almost unbelievable -the number of women one sees in black here in France. Thank God, it -can never become that bad at home, for the war will never get so close -to us as it has to the French. - -I haven’t the inspiration to compose an imaginative aeronautic thriller -today about the experiences of a boy aviator. Since last writing, have -finished Nieuport at Avord, went to Pau and there did acrobacy, came -here to Plessis-Belleville and started Spad, now await assignment to an -_escadrille_ which ought to come within a week. Haven’t broken any wood -since Blériot days, but have been a bit more rational and done about -average good work. The preliminary training is over--combat training -doesn’t amount to anything till we get to the front. I’ll be on a -monoplace machine surely. So in my next you can expect to hear mighty -tales of combating the Boche at a high altitude. I’m beginning to hear -that it’s nothing but a lot of routine work, few combats and pretty -soon a frightful bore: I refuse to believe it and hang on to romance -for all I’m worth. - -Give my regards to a whole lot of people and tell them I haven’t quite -given up all hope of a letter though almost. My friends as a group are -not very strong on letter writing. There are only a very few shining -exceptions like yourself and verily they do make of me the heart glad. - -But enough of this, ’tis bootless, so I sign myself, - - Thine as of yore, - STUART. - - - - -XIII - - - Escadrille Spa-84, - Secteur Postal 181, - Par A. C. M.--Paris. - November 1, 1917. - -Well, I’m here--in sight of the front at last. To date I haven’t been -out there yet and won’t for a few days more as they take lots of care -of new pilots and don’t feed them to the Boche right away. Probably day -after tomorrow the lieutenant in command will take me out to show me -around the lines and after that I’ll take my place in patrols with the -others. The work is exclusively patrolling, establishing as it were a -barrage against German machines and preventing as far as possible any -incursions of the French lines. As the big attack is over, there is -comparatively little activity. Sometimes one goes for a whole patrol -without being fired on and without seeing an enemy machine anywhere -near the lines. During the three days I’ve been here, the group has -accounted for several Boches without any losses whatever. Young -Bridgeman of the Lafayette Escadrille had a bullet through his fuselage -just in front of his chest, but suffered no damage except from fright. - -There are several _escadrilles_ in the group, a _groupe de combat_--it -is called--all have Spads which makes it very nice. The Lafayette, 124, -is of our group and have adjoining barracks, which makes it very nice -(I seem to repeat) for us lone Americans in French _escadrilles_. We -drop in there far too often and the first few nights I used the bed -of the famous Bill Thaw’s roommate, away on permission. Did I write -you that one morning he brought in Whiskey to wake me up, and my eye -no sooner opened than my head was buried under the covers. Whiskey is -a pet--a very large lion cub, which has unfortunately outgrown its -utility as a pet and was sent yesterday, with its running mate, Soda, -to the Zoo at Paris, to be a regular lion. - -They are a very odd crowd--the members of the Lafayette Escadrille, -a few nice ones and a bunch of rather roughnecks. Their conversation -is an eye opener for a new arrival. Mostly about Paris, permissions, -and the rue de Braye, but occasionally about work and that _is_ -interesting. Nonchalant doesn’t express it. When Bridgy got shot up as -mentioned above, they all kidded the life out of him and when he got -the Croix de Guerre, they had him almost in tears--just because he’s -the kiddable kind. - -But in talking about the work--for instance, Jim Hall: “I _piquéd_ on -him with full motor and got so darn close to him that when I wanted to -open fire I was so scared of running into him that I had to yank out of -the way and so never fired a single shot.” Or Lufberry just mentions in -passing that he got another Boche this morning, but those ---- observer -people won’t give him credit for it. He has fourteen official now and -probably twice as many more never allowed him. Some days ago during the -attack he had seven fights in one day, brought down six of them and got -credit for one. Which must be discouraging. - - - - -XIV - - - November 5, 1917. - -Well ----[E]: - -Here I find myself writing to you without waiting for the usual two -or three months to elapse. Do you realize that it was over five and a -half months ago that I left my native land? It doesn’t seem near so -long to me. Just at present I have about thirteen hours a day to write, -read the _Washington Star_ and _New York Times_, eat an occasional -meal (we only get two over here, worse luck), build fires in the stove -and stroll for exercise. The rest of the time is devoted to sleep. A -terribly hard life that of an aviator on the western front! No _appels_ -(meaning roll calls), discipline or inspections. Only, if there should -happen to be a good day, one might be wanted to fly a bit. So far (I -have only been out here a week) we have had perfectly ideal aviators’ -weather--nice low misty clouds about 300 or 400 feet up, which quite -prevent aerial activity and yet one is not bothered by mud or -depressed by rain. In the morning, one awakes, pokes his head out the -window, says “What lo! more luck, a nice light _brouillard_” and closes -the window for a few hours more of sleep. Really I have done more -resting the past week than most people do in a lifetime! - -To get statistical, I finished up at Pau (from where I sent to you -a letter, _n’est-ce-pas?_) a month ago, and then spent two very -unpleasant weeks at Plessis-Belleville near Paris, at the big dépôt -for the front, waiting to be sent to an _escadrille_, with nothing to -do but a little desultory flying, nurse the system, food, weather, -lodging, discipline, etc. Eventually my turn came and, with another -American, I was dispatched to Esc. SPA 84, where we arrived after the -usual delay passing through Paris. That’s one nice thing about this -country: all roads lead to Paris. Sent from one place to another, it is -a safe wager that one goes _via_ Paris, and always takes forty-eight -hours there and gets permission for it if he can. There are a few -Frenchmen there still, but on the streets one sees almost entirely -American, British or British Colonial officers--occasionally a French -aviator and of course clouds of sweet and innocent young things--yes? -Nearly all of my classmates are over here and get to Paris every once -in a while, so all I have to do is to sit at the Café de la Paix and if -I wait long enough, some one I know will surely come along. - -Well, to get back on the track, we eventually found ourselves members -of le-dit Esc. SPA 84--one esc. of a _groupe de chasse_, which means -that we will have patrolling work to do mainly and not protection -of observation or photo machines--which they tell me, is fortunate. -Also we have good machines--the best there are, which might not have -happened had we been sent to another type of _escadrille_--purely good -fortune. The much advertised Lafayette Esc. No. 124, is a member of the -same group, is located near us and does the same work, which makes it -much pleasanter for lone Americans. We use their stove and tea of an -afternoon quite freely as our quarters are new and not fixed up. But -say, when we do get going, everybody will be in to see us. We’ll have -a cosy, beautifully wallpapered room clustering around a stove.... The -men of 124 are a rather good crowd--not much different from any crowd -of Americans, a bit rough but most of it affected because they’re -away from home, very hospitable, rather daredevil or hard-hearted -(whichever you wish to call it--the way they talk about each other’s -narrow escapes, coming falls, the mistakes or misfortunes of departed -brothers, and there have been several) and very mixed, centering around -Lieutenant Bill Thaw, of the French Army, who impresses me as being -very much of a leader and an unusually fine type. There is one tough -nut from a Middle Western Siwash-like college, who was probably still -ungraduated at 27, and a quiet, innocent looking kid who seems to have -just got out of prep school; of course, the tough guy tears the little -one. Then there are a couple of old Légionnaires--rather superior and -terribly tired of war, quite unenthusiastic, but I dare say congenial -when one gets under their hide or fills it full of booze. And Jim -Hall, the author chap--quiet, reserved, almost simple in his lack of -affectation and boyish in his enthusiasm. (Gad, how he wants to get -his Boche and he almost thinks he did the other day, but it wasn’t -verified. He followed him down from 1,500 to 200 metres, shooting all -the time, and thinks he must have brought him down).... - -Did I mention above that I am at present in the status, practically, -of a non-flying member? On arriving at the front, one is not rushed -straightway to the cannon’s mouth, but rather allowed to get acclimated -a bit first, to have a few preliminary voyages to look around, etc. -During my week here, there has been little flying and I haven’t even -seen the front, only heard the guns occasionally. Of my three flights, -two were just short _tours de champs_. But the other: never in my -wildest Blériot days did I do a wilder one. Coming from Pau where I had -tried some stunts, I thought I was a bit of an acrobat, second only -to Navarre, Guynemer and a few others. So arriving at a safe height, -I started to go through the _répertoire_. First came a loop which -got around to the vertical point--a quarter turn and then slipped, -ending in a vertical corkscrew or climbing barrel turn or whatever you -want to call it--then losing momentum and just naturally tumbling. I -didn’t know what was going on--only that it wasn’t right; they told -me afterward. After that came the _renversements_ and vertical turns, -etc., and not a thing came out. Lost--I got lost thirty times and -had to hunt all around to see where I was. Nothing went right and -I kept getting madder and madder and poorer and poorer. They were -all laughing down below and wondering what was going on up there. -Eventually the party ended--one of the old pilots told me that that one -flight equalled about thirty hours over the lines and the commander -advised against a repetition of the performance, and so I went and lay -down. Two hours later I began to feel that perhaps I could stand on my -feet again; did you ever have _mal-de-mer_? - -So now I really ought to begin to learn something, having acquired that -all essential first knowledge of ignorance, which all good students -should have. And in the meantime perhaps I shall go and combat the Wily -Hun. Said W. Hun need not worry about my bothering him if he doesn’t -keep fooling around under my nose till I’m ashamed not to go after him. -I’m not bloodthirsty a bit, especially till I learn to fly, and the -lack of combats isn’t going to keep me awake nights for a while yet. - -But the bunkmate seems to have gone to bed; it’s almost ten--a most -unprecedented hour for me to be up, so the end approaches. Kind -remembrances as usual--use your discretion and don’t forget that long -tale of “Washington Social Tid-Bits” you spoke of--gossip if you -prefer.... - - As ever, - STUART. - - * * * * * - - The Next Day. - -Addenda: - -Your letter on just arriving home has been with me some time and truly -brought joy to my heart in this desolate land. (The “desolate” seems to -fit in though not applying to the land in question at all.)... - -Chester Snow is aviating under the auspices of the U. S. Government. I -last heard from him in a postal written on the last stop of the last -triangle of his brevet, so he should be through training before much -longer. The other Chester, Bassett, is still at Avord, so I can not -deliver your note to him.... - -Your other question referred to the army I am in, and is easily -answered by saying that the U.S.A. has as yet done nothing but talk -about taking us over. “Us” now refers to upward of 200 Americans, I -think, either in French _escadrilles_ or well advanced in the French -schools. Constantly all summer, we have been “going to be transferred -in two weeks.” - -Another quiet, non-flying, slightly rainy day has passed. This isn’t -perhaps the most ideal spot in the world for a winter resort, from the -point of view of comforts, but, considering the ease of conscience -because one is not in the position to be called _embusqué_, it is -really not half bad. It’s starting to rain again rather harder; I -wonder if the roof will keep out water? - - Yours, etc., - B. S. W. - -[Illustration: WAR CROSS WITH PALM, AWARDED IN RECOGNITION OF WALCOTT’S -SERVICES] - - - - -XV - - - November 10, 1917. - Evening. - -You know November in France. I’ve been here almost two weeks now and -am still _à l’entrainement_, that is, I haven’t started in to do any -regular work yet. Only five times have I been able to fly in two weeks. -But I’ve got my own machine, and mechanic, everything is in order and -I’ve been assigned to a patrol the last two mornings when it rained. -Tomorrow again at 8:50 with four others--patrol for one hour and fifty -minutes at about 15,000 feet, back and forth over our sector, sometimes -over our own lines, sometimes in Bochie. I’m getting very impatient -to get started. In what few flights I’ve had, I’ve been working on -acrobacy a bit and am gradually learning a few simple things; twice I -stayed up a little too long and had to lie down a few hours afterward, -almost seasick. - -I like Spa 84 very much indeed. The Frenchmen there are much more -regular fellahs than most of those I’ve been with in the schools. - -Wertheimer, a sergeant, is a sort of informal and unadmitted chief -of the _sous-officiers_. It is he that speaks English and has helped -us a lot in getting settled, etc. Very much of a gentleman he is, -and understands a bit Anglo-Saxon customs and eccentricities, always -gay and an indefatigable worker. We have all been arranging the one -big room of our barracks--dining room, reading room, and probably -eventually American bar. The walls are covered with green cloth, -green paper (of two different shades and neither quite the same as -the cloth), red cloth (on top as a sort of frieze) and red paper. The -ceiling is done in white cloth to keep in heat and lighten the room. -A monumental task it has been, especially as materials are hard to -get and expensive. Wertem (as Wertheimer is called) and Deborte have -done most of the work. Deborte is also _chef de popote_, which means -housekeeper, and a very efficient man. For four francs per day we are -fed amazingly well, especially when one realizes that we are near the -front in a country which has had three years of war. Deborte hasn’t -the pleasantest manner in the world at times, but usually is very -agreeable, willing to tell me things about flying or the _escadrille_, -always ready to work, and a dependable man in the air. And Verber who -rooms with Wertem,--he speaks a little English, has a great deal of -trouble understanding it, but is picking up. Wears a monocle all the -time because he’s got a bum eye, carries a stick and has an extremely -eccentric appearance, but withal is very agreeable and a very valuable -man. He has the habit of taking long trips all alone far into Germany -just to see what is going on. Pinot is the name of the little roly-poly -chap everybody calls Bul-Bul, who used to be a mechanic and now is a -very good, merry pilot. He has a great _pension_ toward Pinard, is -violently but not at all objectionably non-aristocratic, is forever -laughing or kidding some one, walks on his hands to amuse people, and -is the delight of all the _mécanos_. Demeuldre is a very quiet sort of -school boy type who has been a pilot of biplanes and reconnaissance -machines for a long time. He came to the escadrille recently with a -record of two Boches as pilot of a biplane (that is, his machine gun -man did the shooting and they both get credit), and a few days ago -brought down a German in flames, his first as _pilote de chasse_. There -are two others away on permission, whom I don’t know yet. - - - - -XVI - - - SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE, - November 13, 1917. - -Dear Father: - -Campbell was in the Lafayette Escadrille and they are a member of the -same group as Spa 84, so I have asked them about him. He was on a -patrol with another chap, they attacked some Boches and when it was -over the other chap was alone. Campbell was brought down in German -territory and so reported missing. I believe that the chap he was with -has seen and talked to Campbell’s father or some close relative since. -Another chap named Bulkley was brought down in similar circumstances -about the first of September. Ten days ago, word was received from -the American Embassy that he had communicated with them, a prisoner -in Germany. There are many similar cases, where men brought down with -crippled machines or wounded escape destruction by a miracle. The only -sure thing is when a machine goes down in flames or is seen to lose a -wing or two. - -For instance, there are two officers in the group who are in the best -of health and daily working. Several months ago, they were on patrol -together, collided in the air. One cut the tail rigging completely off -the other and they separated, one without a tail and the other with -various parts of a tail mixed among the cables and struts of one side -of his machine. They both landed in France, one on his wheels followed -by a _capotage_ or somersault turnover, the other quite completely -upside down. Then a term in the hospital and back they are again. -Kenneth Marr, an American, had the commands of both his tail controls -cut in a combat, the rudder and elevator, leaving him nothing but the -_aileron_--the lateral balance control and the motor. He landed with -only a skinned nose for casualties and got a decoration for it. - -Another chap in an attack on captive balloons, _drachens_, dove for -something like 10,000 feet _vertically_ and with _full motor_ on, -thereby gaining considerable speed as you can imagine. He came right -on top of the balloon, shot and to keep from hitting it, yanked as -roughly as he could, flattening out his dive in the merest fraction of -a second. Imagine the strain on the machine! When he got home, all -the wires had several inches sag in them; the metal connections of the -cables in the struts and wood of the wings had bit into the wood enough -to give the sag. - -Machines are built to stand immense pressure on the under side of the -wings. In some acrobatic manoeuvres I was trying the other day, I made -mistakes and caused the machine to stall and then fall in such a way -that the full weight was supported by the _upper surface_--by the wires -which in most machines are supposed merely to support the weight of the -wings when the machine is on the ground. Yes, the Spad is a well built -machine, the nearest thing to perfection in point of strength, speed -and climbing power I’ve seen yet. Of course it’s heavy and that’s why -they put 150-230 HP in them. The other school, that of a light machine -with a light motor--depending for its success on lack of weight rather -than excess of power, may supplant the heavier machine in time--I can’t -tell. So, as anyone who knows has said right along, there is a long -way to go in the development of the J N or even the little tri-plane, -before American built planes get to the front. Of the bombing game, I -don’t know anything at all. - -Yesterday there was a _revue_ here in honor of Guynemer, and -decorations for the pilots of the group who had won them. Three -Americans received the Croix de Guerre--members of the Lafayette -Escadrille. Lufberry, the American ace, carried the American flag -presented to the _escadrille_ by Mrs. McAdoo and the employees of -the Treasury Department--besides the two aviation emblems of France. -He was called to receive his decoration “for having in the course of -one day held seven combats, descended one German plane in flames, and -forced five others to land behind their lines” (which means that he is -officially credited with one, his thirteenth, and that the other five -though probably brought down, do not count for him because there were -not the necessary witnesses required by the French regulation). Being -the bearer of the flag, he was a very worried man to know what to do -with the flag when he should go up to get his medal, till one of the -fellows in 124 (the Lafayette) came to his rescue. - -For a military _revue_ it was decidedly amusing. Aviators are not -very military. The chief of one of the _escadrilles_ was commissioned -to command the mechanics who are plain soldiers with rifles and -steel helmets for the occasion. He is a bit of a clown and amused the -entire gathering, kidding with the officers. The pilots of each of the -five _escadrilles_ were in more or less formation, most of them with -hands in their pockets for it was chilly, and presenting a mixture -of uniforms unparalleled in its heterogeneity. Every branch of the -service represented and endless personal ideas in dress. Because of -the occasion, _repos_ has been granted to the entire group for the -afternoon, another group taking over our patrols. So that after the -_revue_, everyone had the afternoon to waste--a sunny day which is -quite unusual this month. Within a half hour, every machine that was in -working order was in the air--forming into groups and then off for the -lines, just looking for trouble--a voluntary patrol they call it. Which -opened my eyes a bit to the spirit in the French service after three -years of war. - -Word from Paris that those Americans in the French service who have -demanded their release to join the U. S. A. have obtained that -release--which probably means that all we wait for now ... is the -commissions. - -This afternoon I took another trip with one of the old pilots to look -over the sector. We stayed over France and didn’t get into trouble -although there were lots of Boches around. Hope to get really started -soon.... An amusing one this morning: two pilots from the group were -on patrol and attacked a single German about two kilometres behind -the German lines. They completely outmanoeuvred him, he got cold feet -and started for the French lines, giving himself up. The funniest -part about it is that the machine gun of one of the attackers was -jammed and he couldn’t possibly have hurt the Boche--just had the -nerve to stay and throw a bluff. They came back to camp just before -dark this evening, one of them flying the German machine and the -other guarding him in a Spad. The machine is an Albatross monoplane -(biplane)--finished in silver with big black crosses on the wings and -tail--a really beautiful thing. It flew around camp for several minutes -before landing. It is the second machine that has been scared down -since I’ve been out here. - - - - -XVII - - - AT THE FRONT, - SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE, - November 17, 1917. - -At present things are hopelessly slow on account of bad weather, so -I have a good deal of time to write and naught to write of. I still -am waiting for my baptism of active service which is assigned for -each day and held up on account of fog, low clouds or rain. In the -afternoon it usually lifts a little, not enough to fly over the lines, -but sufficient to permit a little _vol d’entrainement_, a practice -flight around the field. I’ve been taking every chance to learn to -fly, practicing reversements, vertically banked turns, 90° nose dives, -etc. Two day ago, we had a very interesting mimic combat in the air. -The Boche machine, which has been captured, and a Spad, both driven by -very clever pilots, manoeuvred for position during fifteen or twenty -minutes at 1,000 feet or less, back and forth over the field, doing -almost every possible thing in the air--changing direction with -incredible rapidity, diving, climbing, wing slipping, upside down -dives--everything under the sun. - -Two of them were at it again today in two Spads, just manoeuvring. -What a lot there is to learn! When I got through acrobacy at Pau, I -had the impression that that kind of stuff was relatively easy--now I -know different. For the present I’m working on the system of try one -thing at a time--get that fairly well and then commence another. And -small doses--ten or fifteen minutes for an acrobatic flight, not more, -because one can easily get dangerously sick in a very short time. Not -that there is any particular peril in getting ill in the air, only it’s -beastly uncomfortable! - - - - -XVIII - - - AT THE FRONT--SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE. - November 30, 1917. - -The rumor at the Lafayette Escadrille this evening is that they have -been at last transferred. Of course they had similar rumors many -times before. For myself I am becoming rather indifferent, very well -satisfied here except for weather, and getting what I came over here -for. - -Father mentioned something about a monitor’s job (after I had had -experience at the front). My present inclination is decidedly against -the idea. There is no job in the world I like less to think of and -there are plenty of people who want to get comfortably settled in the -rear, so let them, say I, and may they enjoy it. It is not a very -pleasant job. As a retirement after a period of service at the front -it is another matter. Of all people I can think of I have the smallest -right to an _embusqué_ job at present--so here I hope to stay. Whether -I fly with an American or French uniform I don’t care very much at the -present moment. I had rather get a Boche than any commission in the -army, but one cannot always tell about the future; perhaps after a few -good scares I’ll be ready to jump at a monitor’s job. - - - - -XIX - - - AT THE FRONT, - December 1, 1917. - -I tried to give you all some idea of the strength of a Spad in a letter -a while ago. At home people speak of a factor of safety, meaning the -number of times stronger the machine is than is necessary for plain -flying. The Spad is made so that a man can’t bust it no matter what he -does in the air--dive as far and as fast as he can and stop as brutally -as he can--it stands the racket. Of course, motors do stop and if it -happens over a mountain range--well, that’s just hard luck. - -Have had a few patrols since last I wrote. One at a high height, -4,000-4,500 metres, considerably above the clouds which almost shut -out the ground below, wonderfully beautiful sight but beastly cold, -and a couple when the clouds were low and solid. The patrol stays at -just the height of the clouds, hiding in them and slipping out again -to look around. If it gets below, the enemy anti-aircraft guns pepper -it whenever near the lines and at a low altitude that is rather -awkward--so the patrol shows itself as little as possible. - -It’s lots of sport to try to keep with the patrol: be behind the -chief of patrol, see him disappear and then bump into a fog bank, a -low-hanging cloud and not see a darn thing. Then dive down out of the -cloud wondering whether the other guy is right underneath or not; -shoot out of the cloud and see him maybe 500 yards away going at right -angles. Then bank up and turn around fast and give her the gear--full -speed to catch up and so on. See a Boche regulating artillery fire, -start to manoeuvre into range and zip! he’s out of sight in the clouds -and the next you see he is beating it far back of his lines. Not very -dangerous this weather, but lots of fun. - - - - -XX - - - December 3rd, 1917. - -Dear ----[F]: - -Thanks for the merry, merry wishes for the gay Xmas season and I’ll -try to remember them when the day comes along. Sundays and holidays -are not very much noticed here at the front, except that on Sunday the -mechanics all get full of _pinard_ and song and devilment--the _pinard_ -(meaning cheap red ink used by the French in place of drinking water) -is of course responsible for the two latter. In the villages, the -entire male population likewise drinks much wine and everyone--man, -woman, child, dog, and domestic animal, parades the streets--dressed -up all like a picture book (applying mostly to women and children). -Occasionally they cross the sidewalk, but the middle of the street is -_the_ place to walk. - -One Sunday, I went to church, the first time since last Easter, I -think, to attend the mass given for the departed brethren of the -_escadrille_. The chapel is in a little town a few miles from our -camp. Along in the Middle Ages or anyway a long time ago, there was a -beautiful cathedral there--now the town is insignificantly small. The -front of the cathedral is standing almost in its entirety and the walls -for a little way back, dwindling down into glorious ruins and finally -tumbled masses of rock and stray pillars. Where the back wall once -stood, there now runs a little brook (I almost called it bubbling, but -it happens to be an unusually dead and not over-clean little stream). -The chapel is a place about as big as a minute, snuggling in beside the -big front wall of the ancient cathedral. The service was meaningless -to me--what wasn’t Latin was French. I followed the fellow in front of -me and didn’t miss it once on the getting up and down (fortunately, -_militaires_ don’t have to kneel, I suppose because they appreciate the -fact that most of them wear breeches made by French tailors). - -But they fooled me once. What must have been the village belle (what -a village!) passed a little button bag affair in baby blue ribbon, -and gathered up the shekels. I dropped mine in and horror--here comes -the young sister with an identical bag and asks for more and I was -unprepared and had to turn her down amidst my blushes. I thought she -was working on the other side of the house as we used to do at evening -service and to this day I don’t know why they took up two collections -though it has been explained to me three times in French. - -Have had some very pleasant trips over the German border (present, not -1914), have watched a few Archies bursting at a safe distance away and -seen some specks which were Boche planes, but am not ready to write a -book yet. Yesterday morning we had the first sortie at 6:45 daylight. A -solid bank of clouds over the camp here at 2,000 metres. The lines are -parallel to a river and a few kilometres north. The edge of the cloud -bank was over the river, sharp as if cut by a knife and all Germany -cloudless. We slipped out from under it and back on top just in time to -see the sun get over the horizon--almost as far away as Rheims, which -we just cannot see. The river and canal were just silver ribbons on a -black cloth stretching for miles due east. Under us we could make out -the ground on one side and the clouds on the other, and to the west -the cloud bank continued to follow the lines, a gloriously beautiful -panorama. The cloud bank stayed nearly the same the two hours we were -up. From a distance above or below, a cloud is just a big, soft, quiet -cushion of cotton fluff, but near to it is a seething, irregular, -tossing, furious jumble of mist. - -We saw a few Boches, far behind their lines. An hour after we were -back, they said that Lufbery had just brought down another machine, -his 15th, in flames. He was using a new machine and the gun was not -properly regulated--seven balls were in each blade of the propeller, -yet it held together and brought him home. I was down at the Lafayette -hangars talking to Bill Thaw, and here comes the mighty man in a -hurry from reporting his flight. With fire in his eye he got in his -old machine and off again for the lines. At noon he had brought down -another, which hasn’t yet been officially _homologué_, but is none the -less sure for that. Thaw brought down one this morning. They are doing -well, these men of the American Escadrille--still French, however, -though shortly to be transferred, we hear. - -May your Xmas be a happy one, and the new year and those to follow -bring you ever better fortune than the last one. - - STUART. - - - - -XXI - - - Châlons-sur-Marne. - December 8, 1917. - -Dear ----[G]: - -I got the Sunday _Star_ a few days ago and there was that same old -picture and ---- staring me in the face! A very nice write-up, I -thought it. What a bunch of big-wigs they did gather together! We -packed up bag and baggage yesterday and flew off to a new place, and -here we are waiting for the baggage to catch up. I have grave fears -that there may be some fighting one of these days, and if so, I think -it will be about time for me to get out of this war. Cheery oh! - - STUART. - - - - -XXII - - - CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE. - December 8, 1917. - -Yesterday we were awakened at 6 and told that we were going to move -out, bag and baggage at 2. So now as new barracks were not ready we -came down here last night and have been seeing the sights of the town -since. It is full of Americans, ambulances, doctors, Y. M. C. A. -workers, everything but fighting men which I trust we’ll see before -long. - - STUART. - - - - -THE FINAL COMBAT - - -On December 12, while on patrol, Stuart Walcott met a German biplane -carrying two men. Three cable reports agree that he shot down and -destroyed this machine about two and a half miles within the German -lines. He then started back for the French lines and was overtaken by -four Albatross German planes. He was overcome and his machine went down -in a nose dive within the German lines, it being assumed that either he -was shot or his machine disabled. - -There was still a hope that he might have escaped death. Inquiries were -at once instituted through the American Red Cross and the International -Red Cross, with the result that on January 7 a cable came from the -International Red Cross stating that it was reported in Germany that S. -Walcott was brought down during the afternoon of December 12 near Saint -Souplet, and that he was killed by the fall. - - - - -STUART WALCOTT - -[A biographical note written by his father.] - - -Benjamin Stuart Walcott was sturdy and self-reliant as a boy and very -early developed strong personal initiative, good sense and courage. I -find in my notebook under an entry of July 6, 1905, a few days before -Stuart’s ninth birthday, that with him and his brother Sidney I had -measured a section of over 10,000 feet in thickness of rock with dip -compass and rod in northern Montana, and that that night we slept out -on the Continental Divide after a sandwich apiece for supper. On July -16, “Went up the Gordon Creek with Stuart and cut a few trees out of -the trail.” And on the next day, “Stuart assisted me in collecting -fossils from the Middle Cambrian Rocks.” - -In 1906 Stuart helped in gathering Cambrian fossils in central Montana, -and in recognition of his effective work one of the new species of -shells was named after him, _Micromitra_ (_Paterina_) _stuarti_. - -He also assisted in British Columbia in geological work during the -summer of 1907, and in 1908, when twelve years old, he was placed with -one packer in charge of a pack train operating in what is now the -Glacier Park, Montana, and in southern British Columbia. On this trip -one morning I heard faint rifle shots, and upon overtaking the pack -train found Stuart shooting away with a 22 gauge rifle at a grizzly -bear, which was some distance down the slope below the trail. On -reminding him of the danger, he said he wanted to drive the bear away -to prevent a stampede of the animals. - -Both at home and in school his actions were largely influenced by a -determination first to know what was the right thing to do, and guided -by this habit, when it looked as though the United States would enter -the European War, he decided that it was his duty to take part in it. -When the Lusitania was sunk he felt strongly that the United States -should take a positive stand in favor of the freedom of the seas, that -the rights of Americans should be protected even if it meant war, and -he was ready to fight for it. - -In common with the majority of the youth of America, he had the feeling -that it was a patriotic duty and privilege to offer personal service -to the Nation when its ideals and motives were assailed by a foreign -foe. He first offered his services to the Signal Corps and received a -temporary appointment. Realizing that training as an expert aviator -could be more quickly obtained in France than in this country, he went -to France and enlisted in the French Army with the expectation of being -transferred later to the American forces. This would have been done -prior to his being shot down within the German lines on December 12, -had he not been awaiting action by the United States Aviation Service -in France in examining and arranging for the transfer of the American -aviators in the French Army to the service of the United States. - -Throughout his life the dominating thought was to be of positive -service wherever he might be placed. At the same time he was thoroughly -a boy and enjoyed a frolic and fun as much as any one of his companions. - -He prepared for college at the Taft School, expecting to enter Yale, -and passed the examinations for that university before he was sixteen. -Upon further consideration he selected Princeton, largely because of -the preceptorial method of training, and was a senior when he decided -to enter the service of his country. - -Stuart was an unusually well balanced boy and youth; his moral -convictions were sound, definite, and expressed by action rather than -words. - - CHARLES D. WALCOTT. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[A] Loughran himself was killed in combat, in February, 1918. Attacked -within the German lines, by four enemy planes, he succeeded in getting -back over the French lines, but was there brought down. He was buried -near Châlons. The Lafayette Escadrille attended his funeral. - -[B] One of his school friends. - -[C] One of his school friends. - -[D] One of his school friends. - -[E] One of his school friends. - -[F] One of his school friends. - -[G] One of his school friends. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - On page 4, the name Major S. yros appears. 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