Muni has closed the Twin Peaks tunnel for refurbishment. While they are at it, they are working on the outer portions of the K-L-M lines. People have to ride buses to Castro Station.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Bus Substitutions -- July 31, 2018
Muni has closed the Twin Peaks tunnel for refurbishment. While they are at it, they are working on the outer portions of the K-L-M lines. People have to ride buses to Castro Station.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Frank Linke-Crawford -- July 30, 2018
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| Summary of Information, Vol 3, page 895 |
I couldn't find any US newspaper accounts of his death, but I found the official Austrian communique for 03-August-1918, which includes this: "On July 30 one of our most successful pursuit aviators, Lieut. Frank Linke-Crawford, died a hero in the course of an air fight."
Notice that the German dispatch mentions Ernst Udet, Lothar von Richtofen and a Sergeant Thom.
I'm going to have fun with this book.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
We Have No Agents -- July 29, 2018
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| Scientific American, 05-April-1902 |
Friday, July 27, 2018
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus -- July 27, 2018
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| Fergus Falls Ugeblad, 03-July-1918 |
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Flyer Who Downed 58 Foe Aeros is Missing -- July 26, 2018
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| Washington Times, 03-August-1918 |
The article above reports him as missing. I liked the other articles, so I included the whole block. His final score was determined to be 61.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Monday, July 23, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Ardenwood Farm Train Ride -- July 22, 2018
Today we visited Ardenwood Farm and took a ride behind their Plymouth locomotive, Katie. Katie pulled two nicely painted picnic cars. The handicapped car has dry rot, so it is being worked on. The brakeman on our car said that they can't give rides behind the Porter steam locomotive for the Labor Day Railfair this year for legal reasons. They are rebuilding the runaround track at Deer Park Station.
The 2018 RailFair flyer.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Explanation of the Decapitation Trick -- July 21, 2018
From The Book of Magic: Being a Simple Description of Some Good Tricks and How to Do Them, with Patter by Archie Frederick Collins, 1916.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
U.S. Cruiser San Diego Sunk Off Fire Island -- July 19, 2018
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| New York Tribune, 20-July-1918 |
U-Boat Sinks Big U.S. Cruiser Off New York
San Diego, Hit By Torpedo, Goes Down Fighting
Battle With Camouflaged Submarine Occurs 8 Miles Off Fire Island
Many Lives Lost; Hundreds Rescued
Quartermaster, Left Aboard, Salutes Comrades as Boats Depart, Then Dies
The United States cruiser San Diego was sunk eight miles off Fire Island at 11:10 o'clock yesterday morning in a battle -with a German submarine. The vessel was torpedoed amidships during a fierce fight at close range, listed and went down within fifteen minutes after she was struck.
The number of men killed in the explosion of the magazine and boilers, and who went down with the sinking ship, was not known at a late hour last night. Thirty-five survivors who landed in lifeboats at Point o' Woods said that a number were lost, one or two estimating the casualties at 300 or more.
One of the men, a member of the ship's starboard gun crew, declared he and his comrades continued to blaze away at the submarine after the deck was awash. He insisted he saw one of the shells strike forward of the submarine's periscope and she immediately disappeared.
Barrel Conceals Periscope
According to the story of the rescued sailors the attacking submarine disguised her presence by concealing the periscope under a floating barrel. The lookout noticed that the barrel was moving toward him against the tide, grew suspicious and sounded the alarm.
When the attack came the gun crews fired at the barrel, but it is believed the U-boat already had dived. The majority of sailors on the vessel were recent naval recruits. Stories of coolness and heroism were told by the survivors. All stayed by their posts.
Several explosions were reported, the boilers going first and the magazines blowing up a few seconds later. The ship heaved up clear out of the water and then immediately began to settle. One of the most heroic deaths was that of a quartermaster, who had been ordered to stand on the bridge while the men were being sent to the boats. This officer stayed at his post until it wag too late for him to save himself or be saved.
Salutes as Ship Goes Down
Just as the San Diego was going down, the quartermaster turned, facing to the sea where hundreds of his comrades were in boats and in the sea, and calmly saluted. The last seen of him the ship was going down and he was still at salute.
There was no excitement after the explosions. The men were piped to their battle stations and life belts were quietly donned. The gunners stood by to the last, fighting waist deep in the water that washed up over the sloping decks. It was feared that several of them were carried down by the sinking ship.
The captain and the first officers stayed until the ship made her final plunge. It was reported that the engine room crew was trapped below and lost to a man.
The Navy Department early this morning received information that two steamships, which are proceeding to an unnamed port, have aboard 1,1S6 officers and men of the United States cruiser San Diego. These are in addition to the one officer and thirty men previously reported landed.
If this should prove true, it would leave only fifty-eight men unaccounted for.
Other Ships Reported Attacked
The men are said to be in good condition. So far as is known none was injured.
There also were reports last night, though not confirmed, that other ships had been attacked, one being described as a coastwise passenger ship.
The coastwise steamer is reported in marine circles to-day as having sent out wireless signals of distress on account of a submarine attack, had among her passengers a detachment of marine recruits. She carried a large quantity of freight.
Intermittent cannonading was heard all day and evening along the coast, causing intense excitement among the villages within radius of the sound. Residents believe generally that the San Diego encountered enemy raiders early in the morning and was torpedoed after a sharp engagement.
A dispatch from Washington stated that information from reliable sources indicated that a submarine flotilla is operating off the port of New York. Rumors that the San Diego had collided with another ship or struck a mine were discounted.
Coast guard patrols sighted a submarine off Fire Island between 10 and 10:30 a. m., according to persistent reports at Bayshore. A half hour later the guns were heard.
Cause Not Stated
Telegraphic reports from Washington failed to determine the cause of, the vessel's sinking. The Navy Department earlier in the day issued this statement:
"The Navy Department has received reports from the 3d Naval District stating that the U. S. S. San Diego was sunk ten miles southeast of Fire Island at 11:30 o'clock this morning. One officer and two boat's crews were landed at Life Saving Station 81, on Long Island. Other survivors are in boats, and four steamers are standing by.
"So far as it can be ascertained there appears to have been no loss of life. The cause of the sinking has not yet been ascertained."
Residents of Point of Woods, on the south shore of Long Island, said an aviator had landed there with a story of hundreds of sailors struggling in the water as he circled overhead. The aviator telegraphed to the wireless station at Sayville. and a S O S call sent a half dozen vessels to the scene of the disaster.
Thirty sailors, one lieutenant and one ensign made Fire Island in life boats, landing at a point about eight miles from Point of Woods. Telephone communication with shore has been taken over by government officials, and civilian residents were unable to learn the story of the survivors.
Explosions at Sea Heard
Citizens of Bay Shore and Babylon heard explosions at sea early in the morning, which were described as sounding like heavy gunfire. The fact that submarines have been expected off the coast was made known by orders issued to masters of coastwise vessels within the last few days, warning them to steer as close to shore as safety permitted.
All the boats at the naval training station at Sayville were sent across Great South Bay to Fire Island Beach, according to a report. It was understood that these boats had been assigned to transfer rescued survivors from the island to the mainland. None had returned last night.
Inquirers who besieged the naval station and the headquarters of the Third District for information were all referred to Washington.
Measures to deal with a new U-boat raid were said to have been taken promptly by naval and military officers. Flotillas of destroyers and patrol boats were reported to be scouring the waters in the vicinity of New York Harbor. Later in the day airplanes joined in the extending search.
Airmen Hunt for U-Boats
When the first news of the disaster reached the aviation field at Hempstead, the student fliers stampeded for the hangars. Every available machine was manned, and the squadron proceeded across Long Island and turned out to sea in a hunt both for survivors and lurking submarines.
A thick mist bung over the ocean all day, adding to the difficulties of the rescuers.
The members of all the boat crews at the Fire Island and Oak Island coast guard stations put to sea early in the afternoon, and none had returned, at a late hour last night. The men were said to be assisting in the transfer and rescue of sailors from the sunken ship.
It was reported in marine circles that wireless calls for help had been picked up by coastwise steamers, and all within radius proceeded at full speed toward the point where the vessel sunk, which was located definitely a short distance off Cherry Grove.
Hundreds Rescued
The crews of incoming vessels declared later in the day that they had passed rescue ships at sea with hundreds of survivors aboard. Several tankers and one naval vessel were declared to have joined the searching flotilla. One tanker reached Quarantine late last night, but the survivors were not landed.
A return of the undersea raiders has not been unexpected. The sinkings in May and June had forewarned the navy against the possibility of future attacks. The sinking of a war vessel, however, had not been anticipated.
The San Diego is the first major naval vessel the nation has lost since the beginning of the war. Nothing but coastwise vessels were victims of the submarine flotilla that visited American waters earlier in the year, and only destroyers and submarines have been successfully attacked in the war zones.
The vessel itself is not regarded as a serious military loss, and naval officers were more concerned about the probable casualty list.
Preparations have been made at the United States Base Hospital at Fox Hills, Staten Island, to receive wounded men. The authorities there were not certain whether these belonged to the crew of the San Diego, although it was considered highly probable.
Firing Preceded Explosions
In elaborating on the story of the firing they had heard off shore, residents of Bay Shore stated that there had been a few shots at first, and later a series of heavy explosions, as though a vessel were blowing up. There was silence for several hours, and then the firing broke out again. This continued all of the afternoon and into the evening, and indicated that patrol boats may have brought a submarine to bay.
Outside of the firing a veil of mystery concealed the events that were taking place at sea. The story told the villagers by the aviator who flew over the scene of the sinking, however, was reported by credible witnesses.
The aviator was flying along the coast when his attention was attracted by the report of guns. He turned off his course in the direction of the sounds and a few miles off shore found himself hovering over a naval vessel which was awash with the waves and on the point of settling.
He wheeled above in the air for a while in an effort to make out some point of land through the fog that would help him in marking down the exact location of the sinking ship. In the meanwhile the vessel went under and the aviator later described the scene below him of sailors floundering in the water and clinging to boats and life rafts.
He turned back to shore and came down in an open field in the outskirts of the village of Point o' Woods. As soon as he had telegraphed his news to the nearby wireless station he left the village and his identity was not ascertained.
Several residents declared the aviator had told them of sighting a submarine on his return trip to land.
The San Diego served for many years as the flagship of the Pacific fleet. She and other craft of her type have been' used in convoy work, although classified as of no service in fleet maneuvers. She carried an armored belt, fore and aft extending above and below the water line. This belt was five inches thick. The armament consisted of four 8-inch guns, fourteen 6-inch guns and eighteen .3-inch rapid firers. Her cost is estimated at $5,341,754.
U-boats appeared east of Cape Race a week ago, sank the schooner Manxman and unsuccessfully attacked other vessels. It is believed that these submarines continue to lurk in American waters.
The San Diego was southward bound from the Portsmouth (N. H.) Navy Yard when she was sunk, running her course in near the shore. She was commanded by Captain H. H. Christy, and had a compliment of 51 officers 1,030 enlisted men and 63 marines. The vessel formerly was the California, but was rechristened when the dreadnought of that name was launched. She was an old type vessel, laid down in 1902, and was not equipped with the newer devices of protection against submarines. Her speed was twenty-two knots.
San Diego Colors, Saved by Survivor, Cheered by Crowd
By William J. Carver
POINT O'WOODS, Long Island, Jul. 19. -- The first men to reach shore from the cruiser San Diego, sunk ten miles off the coast and nearly opposite this place, landed here at 3:15 o'clock this afternoon. They rowed ashore in twelve lifeboats.
Many of them were nearly naked none more than half clothed. One carried a bundle, held tightly beneath his arm. As the lifeboat grounded on the sandy beach he was the first to sprint into the water and stagger up beyond the reach of the surf.
Then, while willing hands were helping his companions from the two small boats, he slowly unwrapped the bundle and shook out into the breeze the color of the San Diego. The effect was magnetic.
Many of the sailors, as it was learned later, had been in the water for hours before being dragged into the boats All were tired, hungry and thirsty Many could scarcely stand. Yet, a sight of the strip of bunting, every man stiffened to attention, and another instant, fairly shattered the air with cheers, half exultant, half defiant. For an instant, theirs were the only voices heard. Then the several hundred summer visitors who live, either at the hotel or the cottages, took up the shout. Another instant and this sailor reverently folded the flag, and with an ensign at his side, led the handful of survivors up the beach, two by two. and singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as they marched.
Thirty-five Men Reach Shore
Thirty-five men in all came ashore Six were officers, the others members of the crew. They had started ahead of the other boats to make the nearest point of land and give the first complete tidings of the disaster, as well as to summon aid for their companions.
Their arrival had been anticipated by the summer Folk. Shortly after 11 o'clock the sound of firing and one tremendous explosion had given ample warning that, something unusual was taking place off shore.
All through the rest of the day the shore was lined with members of the summer colony. Most of them had no other aid in their eager scanning of the sea than the shade they secured from a hand over their eyes. Some few, however, had binoculars. And it was these who first gave word that far out on the ocean were two small boats headed here.
As the two lifeboats broke into the surf and dropped down into a roller one moment, only to be lifted high the next, on wild shouts of encouragement after another greeted the men pulling at the oars.
Scores rushed out well into the surf to meet the incoming boats. As the keel of one and then the other grated on the sand eager hands laid hold and rushed them high up on the beach.
Food Awaits Sailors
Most of the men were wet to the skin. Those on shore whipped off coats and sweaters to wrap around them. Up at the hotel big pots of coffee and huge piles of sandwiches had been prepared at the first word of the approaching boats.
Escorted by practically the entire summer colony, the thirty-five survivors went to the hotel. There, fitted out with warm, dry clothing and still carrying sandwiches in their hands, the men asked for the telegraph office. Their first thought was to get a message off to their homes.
Hundreds on the San Diego were naval reserve men, only recently assigned to the ship. Many came from California.
Despite the willingness of the men to tell what they could of the loss of the San Diego, it was clear that they had only a partial knowledge of the events that had taken place themselves .Of one thing they were certain -- a submarine had sunk their ship.
Several of the men declared they had seen the U-boat. Two of them, members of a gun crew, declared they had shot at it, and one was certain he had seen at least one direct hit scored.
The officers, however, were not certain whether it had been a torpedo or a mine which accounted for their vessel. They said that the huge cloud of smoke which spread out over the water an instant after the explosion made it almost impossible to tell what had sent the ship down.
Although they had only a brief moment to sense the extent of the disaster. the men this, afternoon expressed the opinion that at least three hundred of their companions had been lost. They waited around the telegraph office and the telephone most of the afternoon, anxious for definite word.
Discipline Is Perfect
Discipline on the boat, every man agreed, had been perfect. They were making ready for the shore leave that had just been granted them at the moment of the explosion. Some were shaving, some, bathing, most only half dressed and all planning just how they were going to spend the free hours in town. Then came the explosion.
The San Diego floated for at least fifteen minutes after the explosion. Every one of the 1,114 members of the crew had dashed to their posts within a few seconds after the shock. They stayed there until ordered into the boats.
The gun crews were the last to leave the ship, and some of them were forced to dive into the sea, so fast did the big cruiser go down during the last minutes it remained afloat.
Many of the sailors stood at their positions along the decks until they became flush with the water, and then calmly stepped off and swam until picked up by the boats which had been launched in perfect order and without a hitch.
All through the afternoon the two lifeboats lay side by side on the beach. The sailors were hurried to the hotel and the cottages and made as comfortable as possible. Back from the men to the boats and then back again to the hotel, the summer visitors wandered in an endless procession.
Hour after hour every pair of binoculars in this place swept the sea, the owner of each eager to be the first to discover the next boat that came in. No more arrived, however, through the afternoon, but the watchers were rewarded along toward the middle of the afternoon by the sight of five tankers which swept past the shore line in single file, the decks of two of them crowded with white-clad sailors believed beyond doubt to have been other survivors from the warship.
As the afternoon wore on and word came that they were to be taken on board a navy patrol the men, with the people here, spent the time in watching the seaplanes and dirigibles which shot out to sea to lend a hand at rescue or possibly take a shot at a U-boat.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Nelson Mandela 100 -- July 18, 2018
Nelson Mandela was born 100 years ago today, on 18-July-2018.
I remember him being in prison much of the time I was growing up. I didn't see how apartheid could end without bloodshed. But then I couldn't see how the Soviet Union could fall without a war. Mandela could have called for a revolution when he got out of prison, but he was willing to talk and negotiate.
He was a great human being.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
RMS Carpathia -- July 17, 2018
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| New York Tribune, 20-July-1918 |
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard ocean liner that went into service in 1903. In 1912, she rescued survivors of RMS Titanic. During World War One she carried Canadian and American troops to Europe. One hundred years ago today, on 17-July-1918, while sailing from Liverpool to Boston, Carpathia was torpedoed and sunk by U-55. Five crew members died.
Torpedo Sinks
Carpathia Off
Irish Coast
Five on Transport Killed,
but Crew Escapes and
Lands in Safety
Rescued Passengers
in Titanic Disaster
Vessel, Returning From
Trip With U. S. Troops,
Is Victim of U-Boat
AN ATLANTIC PORT, July 19 -- The British transport Carpathia, bound westward, was sunk off the Irish coast some time last night by a U-boat. Five men who were in the engine room when the torpedo struck the ship were killed. All others on board escaped in lifeboats and landed at the nearest port.
Three torpedoes in all were fired at the Carpathia and all found their mark. Despite the fact that the ship sank rapidly excellent discipline prevailed and. so far as is known now, not one single accident marked the lowering of the lifeboats and the abandonment of the ship.
The Carpathia, which was of 13,603 tons gross, belonged to the Cunard Line. Prior to the war she was engaged in the transatlantic service, but was taken over by the British government immediately on the outbreak of the war and has done transport duty ever since.
Used to Carry Troops
From the time this government began, the big rush of men across the ocean the Carpathia had been one of the ships to do valiant service. Her last departure from an American port was late in June.
The Carpathia was built in 1903. From the time she made her first trip across the Atlantic the liner enjoyed wide popularity among ocean travel1ers. This feeling became one of genuine affection for the ship following the sinking of the Titanic.
The Carpathia, 100 miles away, in answer to the calls for help sent out by the sinking Titanic, rushed through fog, mist and storm in an ocean filled with icebergs to the side of the sinking vessel. In all, she rescued 806 persons from the Titanic.
A few days later the survivors were landed in New York, and since that day the names of Carpathia and Arthur Henry Rostron. her commander, have been known in more out-of-the-way places than those of any other ship and navigator of the mercantile marine.
Honors Paid Sailors
Britain and the United States united in showering honors on Captain Rostron and his crew. Medals and loving cups were numerous. Then he and the old Cunarder resumed their trips to and from the Mediterranean, until he left the vessel for another post.
When the war began the Carpathia, like all other vessels of the British lines, became a munition ship and transport. Since this country joined the Entente she has been almost exclusively a troopship, and little had been heard of her until the news of the torpedoing came yesterday.
Numbers of times she has escaped U-boat attacks. In March, 1915, a terrific gale encountered off New York followed her through an entire voyage and laid her on her beam ends several times. Captain William Prothero, her commander on this occasion, said it was the worst storm he had ever encountered.
Hero Is Modest
The last heard of tfhe Carpathia, prior to yesterday, was on November 12, 1916, when she went aground off Ambrose Lightship and remained for a few hours stuck in the mud.
Of Captain Rostron hut little has been heard since the time of the Titanic disaster. He was the wearer of five medals, including one from Congress, before he left his berth as commander of the Carpathia. In his own eyes he was no hero and declared that most heroes were "accidents of fate."
"No man is a hero of his own volition," he explained. "But every man has the power to live up to the best of his manhood and duty."
215 Are Rescued
The survivors number 215. Some who have been landed say the vessel was sunk by a German submarine at about 9:15 o'clock Wednesday morning. All of the passengers and crew were saved, with the exception of three firemen and two trimmers, who are supposed to have been killed by an explosion in the engine room.
Members of the crew say that just after the passengers had breakfasted a torpedo struck the vessel slightly forward of the engine room, and a minute or two later a second torpedo crashed into the engine room. There was no panic. Passengers and the surviving members of the crew got away in the ship's small boats without difficulty.
For a time it appeared as though the Carpathia might remain afloat, but the U-boat came to the surface and fired a third torpedo. The liner tilted rapidly and sank about two hours after being struck by the first torpedo. After her disappearance the submarine approached the Carpathian boats, hut did not fire on them.
Monday, July 16, 2018
No Prior President Has Ever Abased Himself More Abjectly Before a Tyrant -- July 16, 2018
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| Attribution: AP |
“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
"It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout — as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.
"Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.
“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are — a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.”
#TrumpTreason #ImpeachTrump
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Menko -- July 15, 2018
Many early Japanese baseball cards were printed on thick cardboard and used to play menko, a game where a player throws down a card to try to flip his opponent's card.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Happy Bastille Day, 2017 -- July 14, 2017
 |
| Washington Times, 14-July-1918 |
Roosevelt's Son Killed on Marne In Aeroplane Combat -- July 14, 2018
 |
| Chattanooga News, 17-July-1918 |
ROOSEVELT'S SON KILLED ON MARNE
Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt, Youngest of Teddy's Family, Falls Hun Victim
IN AEROPLANE COMBAT
Over Chateau -Thierry Sector. Was Third Flight of Gallant Young Officer.
COL. ROOSEVELT'S TRIP TO NEW YORK CANCELED
Oyster Bay. N. Y., July 17. -- Col. Roosevelt learned that his son Quentin was missing through press dispatches this morning. He said he had nothing to say at this time, but would make a statement later. The colonel had planned to visit New York today, but canceled his visit when the news came that his son was missing.
London, July 17. -- Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt, son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, was shot down and killed on the Chateau Thierry sector of the Marne front on Sunday, according to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Paris today. According to the dispatch Philip Roosevelt, from his station in the trenches, saw the young American aviator fall a victim to a German air squadron.
According to the dispatch Philip Roosevelt, from his station in the trenches, saw the young American aviator fall a victim to a German air squadron.
Lieut. Roosevelt, the dispatch says, was returning from a patrol flight when he was attacked by a German squadron.
It was seen that Roosevelt suddenly lost control of his machine, having probably received a mortal wound.
Quentin Roosevelt was the youngest son of the former president and shot down his first German airplane in a fight north of Chateau-Thierry one week ago today. This was his third flight over the fighting front.
Lieut. Roosevelt received his commission in the aviation service on July 14. 1917, after being graduated from the Mineola, N. Y training school.
Dispatches Unquestioned.
Washington, July 17. The war department today was without any official confirmation whatever of the London reports that Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt had been shot down behind the German lines while in combat with a German machine. Officers, however, did not question the accuracy of the press dispatches. They said they would beat official confirmation by many hours, as Gen. Pershing would not report on the matter until all of the details had been obtained. Officers of the air service expressed the most keen regret over the loss of the gallant young officer, of whom great things had been expected. The last reports received dealing with him indicated that he was on duty about the section where he is said to have met his death.
Gravely Quiet.
New York. July 17. Col. Theodore Roosevelt was momentarily stunned when informed-over the telephone that his son Quentin was reported a victim of a German airplane on the Chateau-Thierry sector in France.
The colonel had just finished breakfast at his Oyster Hay home when the dispatch was read to him.
He was gravely quiet and listened without interruption. When asked if he had anything to say. he said:
"Nothing at all; nothing at all."
Col. Roosevelt said, however, that the press dispatch was the first intimation he had received that anything had happened to Quentin. Me left for New York shortly after receiving the message.
On April 13. 1917. Roosevelt, then a sophomore at Harvard university, came to Washington with letters from Representative Longworth, his brother-in-law, and Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, asking that he be allowed to enlist in the aviation section of the signal reserve corps, that he might train for a commission. He was examined at Walter Reed hospital the same day and easily passed the physical tests. He was enlisted the following day and assigned to the flying school at Mineola, L. I., where he attained the rank of sergeant. He took final examinations for a commission on July 2, and was sworn in as a first lieutenant on July 7. He left almost immediately for overseas and after a short course at a French aviation school was, on Sept. 13, of last year, admitted as a fall-fledged aviator.
With Patrol of Thirteen.
Lieut. Roosevelt was last seen in combat on Sunday morning with two enemy airplanes about ten miles inside the German lines In the Chateau-Thierry sector. He started out with a patrol of thirteen American machines. They encountered seven Germans and were chasing them back, when two of them turned on Lieut. Roosevelt.
Glad of Boy's Play.
Oyster Bay, N. Y., July 17. -- "Quentin's mother and I are very glad that he got to the front and had the chance to render some service to his country and to show the stuff there was in him before his fate befell him."
This was the statement issued by Col. Roosevelt today after press dispatches had furnished confirmation of earlier reports that his son, Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt, had been killed in an aerial battle In France.
In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle. I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two. The museum's Nieuport 28 is an original. It is painted in the colors of Quentin Roosevelt, the son of Theodore Roosevelt, who died in a Nieuport 28.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Statue of Liberty Sheltering -- July 13, 2018
Some people feel that images of Lady Liberty are insulting to our so-called president.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Canal Street New Orleans, LA -- July 11 2018
Monday, July 9, 2018
Britain's Ace is Severly Wounded -- July 9, 2018
 |
| Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram, 06-August-1918 |
FEARLESS YOUTHS HEROES OF AIR
TWO DOWN 76 HUN PLANES
No Chance These Human Eagles Won't Take -- Captain McCudden, Flight Commander, Prefers to Work Alone and Has System of His Own -- Forces Foe to Fight and Has Never Lost an Encounter.
A few nights ago four members of the Royal Horse Guards, all more than six feet in height, and built like Apollos, stood in the lobby of a London theater between the acts. They resembled the Three Musketeers, and attracted attention because of their wonderful physique and splendid bearing. Near by stood three youngsters, none over five feet four, and none weighing more than 120 pounds. The Horse Guards, mere military ornaments, resemble battleships, the three youngsters torpedo boats; at least, such was the comment of persons who stood near by. The youngsters were airmen. An American, who had observed the six, said: "The big fellows are all right, but give me those kids."
Are the Real Heroes.
The airmen, or the flyers, are clean cut, alert, and full of confidence. They are the same as the flyers of all nations. Daredevils, many call them. Most of them expect to be killed, and in the long run most of them are. But, as the average American flyer says: "We get a good fly for our money at that."
Just at the present time, the two heroes of the air In England are Capt. James McCudden, twenty-two years old, and Capt. Phillip Foullard, nineteen. The exploits of these youngsters have but recently become known in London, and when they return for leave, all Britain will be theirs. Captain McCudden has brought down 34 German machines; Captain Foullard has accounted for 42.
There is no chance these human eagles won't take. There is no such thing as fear in their make-up. Captain McCudden is the leader of a squadron which has brought down 99 enemy aircraft. Although a flight commander, he prefers to work alone. He manages his machine, and does his own firing, and is said to be one of the best wing shots in any army.
Battles Above Clouds.
His battle grounds lie away above the clouds. He flies, as a rule, at a height varying from 16,000 to 18,000 feet. He has a system all his own. When he spies an enemy aircraft he jockeys the foe from his own course and compels him to fight. He never yet lost an encounter. In a letter to his mother and sister, just published, he says that he recently brought down four German airmen in one day, two before luncheon and two after. The next day his score was three.
England has already had a view of many of the American flyers on their way from America to France. Many of these young men are university undergraduates, and one has but to see them to know that they will quickly take their place with the idols of the air of France, England and Italy.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Comic Book -- Uncle Sam -- July 7, 2018
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| mutoscope.listal.com |
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Pulp -- War Aces -- July 5, 2018
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| mutoscope.listal.com |
This cover of War Aces features an aviator firing a Lewis gun.
Bert Hall was an original member of the Lafayette Escadrille.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Happy Independence Day 2018 -- July 4, 2018
Happy Fourth of July to all. 242 years ago, we declared our independence. This 1918 poster celebrates Uncle Sam's 142nd birthday.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Launching of the Formidable, Largest Warship in the World -- July 3, 2018
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| San Francisco Call, 18-November-1898 |
This drawing is from the 18-November-1898 San Francisco Call. William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper.
HMS Formidable was a pre-dreadnaught battleship which was commissioned in 1904. On 01-January-1915, while Formidable patrolled the English Channel, she was hit by two torpedoes from U-24. 547 died.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
American Aviator Reported Killed -- July 1, 2018
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| Tulsa Daily World, 27-April-1915 |
This 1915 article reported that he had been killed, but he had a successful career during the war and lived until 1934, when he died at the age of 40. I wonder why his name is hand-printed below the photo.