Crawfordsville High School - Athenian Yearbook (Crawfordsville, IN)

Page 16 text:

THE ATHENIAN and to all sides to ayoid collision But the drizzle persisted in cloudlng my goggles and obscuring the yision It was necessary to remain within fiye hundred metres of the ground in order to see the course And skimming along at that height would afford little opportunity to select a landing ground in case the motor failed Already one bus was circling back in an attempt to limp to camp with crippled engines and the others w ere hopelessly scat tered Under such conditions we would be unable to pick up the escort of chasse planes which were to meet us before reaching the lines lhe prospect of a trip oyer enemy territory without such protection w as not encouraging Almost at the Piaye another plane was forced to drop the race due to misbehay mg motors It had plugged along gallantly with one engine failing from the first but when a second failed it had to seek refuge Skimming over unfriendly country with a full load of bombs when the motors are apt to expire at any moment is worse than running the anti arrcarft But ten other machines continued It was an anxious evening that we spent on the field while aw aiting the return of the other w anderers or at least the news of their fate just as darkness w as settling one bus fluttered into camp with a spar shattered by shrapnel and part of the controls Jammed It had reached the objective bombed the bridge and machine gunned the troops on the road but in descending too low it was caught by an archie How the boys eyei accomplished the return trip is a mystery A heayy night fog creeping in from the sea obscured the camp and we feared for any belated crews caught up there ln the darkness in their efforts to reach home rl hree large searchlights turned their beams into the sky but the futile rays lost themsely es in the mist Flares were lighted oyer all the field rockets and Verey pistols were discharged into the air in an effort to attract any derelict seeking safety Presently we heard the blll0I'l The efforts were not in vain for the ghastly white object came gliding through the mist and ettled ln the glare of the searchllght It also had reached its objectiye but almost came to grief at its own lair The pilots reported that while circling aboye and endeayormg to locate the field a dark jagged mass suddenly loomed up ahead and only by banking up dangerously did they avoid crashing into the crest of one of the mountain hills that girdled the camp Night w as now on and four crews had failed to return It w as useless to continue the rockets because the gasoline supply of the machines would have been exhausted long ago so we gathered at the squadron mess hall still cherishing the hope of receiylng some message concerning the safety of the others It was a silent meal that eyening with so many places yacant The usual bolsterousness seemed to be dampened somehow Fyen those who had returned scarcely mentioned their experience Before long howeyer the gloom was relieved by telephone messages with tidings from the stranded outfits One plane had been forced to descend at Padua on the return trip another had lost its course and landed near Venice and a third came to earth at an enemy ayiation camp which only the day before w as occupied by the Allies Before the eyemng w as oy er messages were TCCCIN ed from all the crews and strange to say not a casualty had occurred Only three planes out of the nine reached the OlJjE'CllYC' but they had accomplished the work and best of all the expected sacrifice of comrades had not been required The operations for the next day would be sorely crippled with so many machines stranded out of camp but at the front the completion of a day is sufficient the morrow will take care of itself I4 v' I I , v y - V ' , . ' ' ,- V I , I s Y ' .. . . Y U V - , ' I V I V U ' V V . - , drone of a machine circling aimlessly over head, and we redoubled the pyrotechnic exhi- ' ' , ' 9 Y n v V 1 V X ' ' ' , V , . ' ' 3 . . ' . 5 . 1 y. . V . , . ' ' V ' , , V ' V V ' x C L V' K 'V 1 ' V . C -. K 'S V V' , . ' . A . I Hr v 1 'Q ' v. K ., I L Z i t .' '. . I 3 ' Y. ' . .

Page 15 text:

THE ATHENIAN around the machmes the mechanrcs always ln attendance the pllots and crews ln their flying mlts all lmpatlently awaltrng developments We had been Ykaltllig ln our hot fur lmed Teddy bears srnce noon Twlce we had cllmbed mto the seats adjusted helmet and goggles and started the motors only to be Interrupted by orders suspending the action Wuth each false alarm the fretful ness Increased The afternoon w as wearing on and the weather thlckenlng whlch gave llttle promise of any actlon that day but the command w as to stand fast and be prepared at any moment to start for a new objectne It w as now three o clock and the mlst was turnlnv mto a sllght drizzle maklng It dlfficult to see much beyond the boundarles of the camp A general clamor w as arlslng to taxl mto the hangers when suddenly the gray Flat tourlng car of the commandant rushed out on the held The Italian major jumped out and shouted for all the crews to gather for a conference Word had armed from headquarters that the Austrlans ln their retreat were attemptmg so cross the Tagllamento Rner and we were to destroy the brldges oxer that stream at Palmanowa and Latlsana at all costs It w as as rf a bomb had dropped ln our midst The order seemed Incredible For a moment we looked at each other dazedly and ln consternation It would be utter folly to attempt an expedltlon mto that mist xt would hardly be possible to follow the course to such a dlstant objectne and It would be necessary to fly low ln order to see the ground that the antl alrcraft would hawe easy plcklng Moreower the hour was so late that darkness would arrlve before we could return and what machines survtved collisions and Arcfhles would become lost ln enemy terrrtory These were a few of the thoughts that flashed through our minds But the hlgher authorltles knew best the condltlons and the emergency Ours was only to obey The scene was soon one of bustling actlvlty Pilots bent oxer maps endeaxorlng to puck out the route whlle their attendants fastened on addltlonal flying garments Me chamcs labored w'th the motors many of which persisted ln balkmg at the wrong moment but soon thlrty propellers were splnnlng When I climbed lnto the carlnlga wrth my com panlons It was with the convlctlon that more than half of the crews would never return Disaster perwaded the atmosphere Yet no farewells were said As my companion pllot took his place beside me a broad smile through his grotesque face mask was hls only comment The major urging haste took hrs place before the llne and fired a Hare shell as a slgnal for the first machine to depart The low hum of tts ldllng motors burst forth Into a roar as lt charged down the held a stream of mud flying from the wheels While manv of us were still adjusting our apparel other planes followed ln close succeslon One machine broke a propellor on leawlng the ground and was out of commlsslon As the slgnal for our departure came I settled lnto the seat fastened the safety belt and tried out the llght swrtches whrch mrght be necessary on the return trlp I opened the three throttles the bus lowered nts head and rushed through the soft held and soon we were ln the alr off agam to the unknown A jagged hlll surmounted by the rums of a medlewal fortress was the chlef land mark of our regions But as we swung around thls outpost ln the dlrectlon of the front tts outlmes were scarcely dlstlngulshable Companlon machlnes a few hundred yards dlstant were lost ln the murk It soon became ewldent after prellmlnary clrclmg that a squadron formatlon would be rmpossrble Every bus must strxke out for Itself and steer clear of the others Nexer dld I peer so intently into the haze stralnmg my eyes ahead V 1 c, . . . . . U ,, . . V V v -V - v n 1 . . 1 - . . . . . Y 5 1 .V V V , . , ., s s . . ' . . - V V V V - v V V n V r 1 - s ., ' - v n V V V V V , . V s 1 , . V y - V . s , . ' s V V .. ,

Page 17 text:

THE ATHENIAN St Mahitel BY LIELTENANT BYRON MANSON 'ZQJ 'qs T x as the n1ght of September llth Inslde a dugout at the edge of dj-,ge the llttle rulned town of Beaumont an artillery offlcer sat at a rough ' l table upon x hxch lax a number of maps books and miscellaneous papers fhe other occupants lay asleep on the bunks built IH at the ,ie f 9 end opposlte the table The held phone buzzed and the offlcer took 'PX 01 ' up the comblnatlon recener and transmltter Command Post l..aRoche One une speaking he sand latest weather report All rlght let s have tt lemperature I3 Barometer 734 Wind at ground dlrectlon Z6 weloclty 4 at IO0 meters 26 D at 200 meters 23 D at 300 meters 21 7 That s as far as It was Unen slr All rlght Thanks ones A the ofhcer land dos n the phone he glanced at his watch on the table beslde htm make the necessary corrections on the hrlng data which he had already calculated Any changes ln atmospherlc condltlons mean changes ln the pomt of Impact of the shells and durmg an attack when the lnfantry follows closely the lme of bursting shells even a slight varlatlon ln the range mlght mean losses to our own men At last he completed hls hgurmg and checked the corrections for the hrst hour s hrlng As he dlo so the phone buzzed a second ttme Command Post l..aRoache One une speaking he repeated Correct time slr It IS now twenty four thlrty wo I2 32 a m All rlght Thanks Tell Sergeant to report at the Command Post Yes slr T e ofhcer stood up yaw ned stretched and walked owen to the nearest bunk H shook the sleeptng occupant Hey Hull come on roll out Come on LaRoache rlse and hlne lt s twenty fue tlll one e sleepers threw off the blankets rubbed their eyes swung their feet out onto the floor and dressed for golng out by simply putting on sllckers gas masks and tm als Heres the correct time sand the hrst ofhcer as he pointed to the watch on the table and here s your data for the firing from one tlll one forty I ll have the new data out by the time vou are ready for It While the ofhcers were svnchronlzlng their watches some one scratched on the gas curtaln which hung ox er the dugout entrance and wtthout w altlng to be mvlted stepped mslde It was the sergeant Hate you tested both llnes between here and the Executive post sergeant3 3 es slr Both are all rlght Good It IS ralnlng pretty hard outside and we may get some mustard gas thrown oxer on us as soon as the show opens so you had better hate the men p.1t on their gas clothes and boots Send both runners here and have all the gun crews turned out Put Carson on the phone for Lleut Hull at the evcecutne post too Vers well slr replied the sergeant and turnlng he hfted the heavy curtain and xamshed lnto the darkness outslde I5 fi o 0 , ' , ' rr E . Ls' - Y-Q , s' ' . I Qui: gf . , . I E, . L 5 Y n 1 U I vt 1, ' .Q x U , , g- .- Z' 1 ' . 1 ng . ,. In . . - . H Qefggmg CJ ' ' A' - . ' , sir. s ' v . ' ' ' ' . It showed 23:50 tl l :50 p. m.D. He picked up his range table and set to work to . .I A . ' , '. ' '- - , ' -t ' C : . lt . ' , . , ' - C S . y - . Y A V . Th . ' ' , ' ., ' ' h