have accomplished wonders.
Going over on cloudy days when the heavy black clouds hang down to
within fifty meters of the ground, spotting a group of trucks, a line of
cars, or a battery of troops, then bombing them, shooting them up with
your machine guns and shooting back up into the clouds midst a rain of
luminous machine gun bullets from the ground is interesting work. But
the terror of those on the ground, poor devils! Yet it's got to be
brought home. Out of twenty-four trips we lost eight machines.
Poor Chuck Kerwood was among them. Chuck is an American boy from
Philadelphia, and he has been with us for five months.

I had a chance to go back to the states as an instructor, and almost
took it, but when the time came around to leave this band of men who
have been in it for almost four years, I couldn't do it. They are men,
and have pulled me out of tight holes when I was green at this game, and
they did it at the risk of their lives. Now I've seen them drop off one
at a time, fine young Frenchmen, and I guess the least I can do is to
stay right by them and I feel my work is here.

In Hospital, May 3, 1918.--Well, here I am at last, but I fooled them
for six months. Finally one slipped up behind me. I never saw him, but
felt him. Only got it in the leg, so it isn't very serious, except that
the bullet was incendiary. They have oodles of sulphur on them and I'm
afraid of complications. This is a nice hospital in a nice location;
only thing that I hate about it is that I may not be able to get back to
my escradrille for fifteen or twenty days.

SEVERE BOMBING BY GERMANS

May 16, 1918--Going to have another operation tomorrow and then I think
I'll be well. And, believe me, if I am I am going back and get somebody
for this. We are now on the Somme, near Rouen. I suppose you know Baron
von Richthofen has been brought down. I'm sorry, for he was a game,
clean scrapper, and I know, for I've had several brushes with him. The
Huns came over here last night and dropped sixty bombs, killing
people and wounding I don't know how many. Several of the bombs hit
about 300 meters from here and our beds shook like the dickens.

COMMENTS ON HIS WAR CROSS

At the Front, June 14, 1918.--I've been back here from the hospital for
several days and we are having beautiful weather, doing lots of work and
losing lots of men, but getting results. I think by now you have all my
letters explaining the change into the American army and the