Franklin and Marshall College - Oriflamme Yearbook (Lancaster, PA)

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ORIFLAMME 17 LIEU'1'li1NAN'l' 11190116141 lll+iltlll'ilt'l' Zl'1IiliEltS, A. A. S. First Lieutenant George II. Zellers of the American Aero Service was brought to a hero's grave on June 30, 1918, while engaging in a. battle in midair. He was temporarily flying with the Twentieth Squadron of the Royal Aerial Forces of the British Army at the time of his death. Lt. Zellers was the most popular man in his flying squadron and all the members felt his loss keenly. Lieut. Zellers was a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College of the class of 1915 and received his Master's Depgree in 1916. Ile was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and the Cloethean Literary Society. I-le was on the stan' of the College Student and participated in the Inter-Society Debate and the Goethean Anniversary. 1le enlisted in June, 1917, and was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to the aerial school. From there he was sent to Mineola, .l,. 1., aerial field, but his training as a. flyer was received in England, at Oxford University. On completing his training, he ferried planes between l4hn,rland and France, and was then detailed for observation work. Ile finally became a fipqlitinp: pilot with the famous Twentieth Squadron of the British aerial service. A letter from Capt. lloover will best describe the conditions under which the lieutenant met his death. 'l'he letter reads As to the manner of his death I can only say that he died as a very gallant oflicer, and a. gentleman. 'l'he formation of Bristol figlitiiig machines which had already had a slight engagement with several of the enemy, had been reduced to six, when it was attacked by a formation of about thirty Fokker biplanes, Germany's best and most up-to-date fighting machines. 'l'he llristols gave battle, but being greatly outnumbered and handicapped hy a strong western wind, which was blowing them still further over the German side of the lines, were forced to retire. One Bristol and one Fokker had been brought down, when a Fokker which had been engaged in combat with Lieutenant Zellers' machine was seen to lmrst into Haines. Simultaneously Lieutenant Zellers' machine was seen to catch fire and to fall from the formation. Lieutenant Zellers climbed out on to one wing' of his machine and was controlling' it from there, while his observer crawled forward on to the engine Cowling. The English infantry, who saw the battle from below, stated that Lieutenant Zellers brought his machine to within 200 feet of the ground when it collapsed. Both pilot and observer were killed by the fall into No Man's Land. Both bodies wc1'e recovered und buried a little south of Ypres. Lieutenant Zellers was most popular in the squadron and all the members feel his loss most keenly.

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' A.r-v AA:-4 A LIEUTENANT GEORGE HERBERT ZELLERS, A. A. S

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CORPORAL JACOB Q. TRUXAL, JR