' PUBLISHED

AT

CONVENIENCE

OF PRINTER

ITS ·- POLICY - IS - THE SAME

WEATHER FOREl!AST

RAIN and

MUD

PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE FIRST PURSUIT GROUP AND ITS FRIENDS

Vol. 1, No 2.

HOW PEACE CAftlE TO FIRST PUaSUITaGROUP

Much Rejoicing Among Officers and Men of First Porsait Group on Day

Armistice was Signed.

Nothing especially happened oii the morning of the 10th excepting that about a dozen of- us­receiTed decorations for nn5uspected valor from a , -credulou General and a real Chief of Air Service who called to look us over. Two beautiful young ladies lighted np the aerodrome and photographers snapped them and the General, but a filthy fog filled the field so perhaps even they were out of luck.

After standing half clothed until our shivering knees made huge holes in the jolly old mud the General, wrapped in his heavy overcoats found a heart and let us go. We all know now what " unusual heroi5m " means.

Dewit and Fauntleroy blew in through the course of the day. They had spent the night among the missing and we had them placed with the other balloon collectors. But about noon in they both came looking much refreshed and full of heaucoup weird stories about engine failures a.nd similar old stuff. The day was getting inter­esting.

Shortly after this Major Kirby landed claiming the last Boche aeroplane in the great war. And sure enough, Paul Lockwood who loves the Major, ~0011 confirmed it. In the meantime Der Tag had cleared and a full score of our gallant airmen breasted the piercing gale to get another last Hun.

Spads filled the air, but there were no obliging Kamerads that rose to the occasion. One of us sat on Eddie Rickenbacker5 tail for half a second while coming out of the sun trying to make him believe it was a Fritz. Eddie believed it and kicked his tail around so suddenly we signaled him we were only playing leap frog and beat it for home.

At home--Connie'5 office-we heard some story bout wireless attempts to find the Kaiser s answer

to the armstice proposition. This being old stuff t!oo we wandered to the mess to wrangle a real meal out of the mess officer.

JacK Mitchell mixed a wonderful bowl of iced tea at the - - th of which. Al Grant and his daring aviators partook. Cassidy played the piano and Mng the Squadron song. Butts left operations to still the clamor. Suddenly the telephone rang.

What I yelled Captain Mitchell. "You say the war is fini ? ,.

In the silence that ensued a pin dropped upon the mud floor and sounded like a minneywafer.

Everybodys face went white. Mitchell dropped the phone and slithered weakly towards a settee. Not a soul breathed.

Then Semner Sewall ar.ose and stretched. ' ' Hell! " He shouted, "we have lived through the bloody war_ " Opening bis little kit bag he seized his pistol and stepped to the door. Everybody produced a weapon. The barrage was terrible.

(CoBtinned Page 6, Col. 1).

ZONE OF ADVANCE - NOV. 19

COlllrflANDING OFFICER FIRST PURSUIT GROUP

Major Harold Evans Hartney. ~---~~-~-'@@~~~~~~~~-

OUR C.O.'S CAREER' Major Hartney was born April 19th, 1888 and

is a native Canadian. He was educated at the University of Toronto.

After his college career, Mr. Hartney was prac­ticing law with his brother in Saskatchewan. Then the war broke out and in 1915 1st Lt. H. E. Hartney came overseas with the Second Canadian Contingent.

One day, while he was " Forming Fours " somewhere in England's mud, an airplane circled around and landed nearby. At _once the Lieu­tenant decided that the trenches could'nt match the air came. Promptly be got a transfer to the Flying Corps. Taking the regular course thru the training schools of England, he finally got out to the front with No. 20 Squadron. He was engaged doing D. O. P's (Deep Offensive Patrols) with an F. E. 2-B machine. Lieut. Hartney stayed out two months longer th!.n he need have done, but be was rewarded by being made a Flight Commander and received the Italian Silver Medal for bravery.

Lieut. Hartney then went to the schools of special flying at Gosport, England. His recoPd -here was very high, shown by the fact that he was retained at the school on the Staff of Instruc­tors with rank of Captain- Captain Hartney was a Flight Commander at this school and was one of the most successful scout instructors.

Chosen for United States Service.

When the United States asked the R. F. C. to transfer six of her best flyers to our service, Cap-

(Continued Page 6, Col. 1).

PRICE - 150 CENTIMES

FIRST PURSUIT PILOTS ARE AGAIN AWARDED HONORS

Distinguished Service Crosses Conferred by

Lieutenant General Liggett.

Lieutenant General Liggett appeared suddenly out of the fog_a few days ago and pinned everal Dist­inguished Service Crosses on a few of our local celebrities. Three or four favorites from nearby groups motored over especially for the ocassion and were duly decorated 'vith a similar medal. A heavy and chilly fog blotted out practically all of the proceedings except the hand which played tunefully throughout the show, regardless. ·

Second Time Within Few Days.

This is the second affair of th is k ind within a very few days. In fact they are becoming so popular that it is planned to hold them, once a week, weather permitting.

The officers and men of the - -th Aero Squadron were on parade in front of their machines and would have provided a very inpressive sight if the fog had not been so emphatically on the job. As it was they stood at attention during the ceremony: after which they were led from the field by friends who soon succeeded in restoring circulation to their feet which had become chilled by the zero fog. Quite an argument occurred here as to whose feet ~hould receive the first attention. Several claimed that the older members of the squadron should have their feet thawed out first while others as­serted that the men with the largest feet should be thawed first as they were suffering the most.

Captain Richenbacker's Six Oak Leaf For Exceptional Bravery.

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker received his 5ixth oak leaf for exceptional bravery in the air. His citation described the battle in which he won the award and was a fitting tribute to America's lead­ing Ace.

Eddie's Distinguished Service ribbon is now completely plastered with oak leaves and presents the pleasing appearance of having broken out with an acute case of measles.

L. C. Simon of the - - - th Aero Squa.dron received the Distinguished Service Cro1s and hlushed furiously while it was being pinned on fearing that the General wa.s about to kiss him.

The following men were awarded the D.S. C.- --

Captain E. V. Richenbacker. 1st Lt. James Knowles, Jr. 1st Lt. Louis G. Simon

While Sherril.an said'' War's Hell " And Spoils of War are Booty

The doughboy' s sure to tell Most toils of war are Cootie

2

OUT OF CONTROL Published in a walking nightmare

of a city in the interest of a live Group and its friends.

CENSORED It will appear just as often as

the printer in --------­can be encouraged

to do so.

PRICE FIFTY CENTIMES

Lt. Ward Fowler - Editor - in - Chief. Lt. Paul Lockwood - Managing Editor. Lt. Frederick Ordway - Circulating Manager. Pvt. 1st cl. Jack l\1ursell - A ociate editor and

Business Manager.

ARE WE HOMEWARD BOUND? The first edition of " Out of Control.. came

out just in time to get a whiff of powder. This edition finds the Dove of Peace floating serenely over the land and either Hoboken or the Rhine in sight. Just what the future will be we nei­ther know nor care very much, but we do know the greater task has been gloriously accomplished. As to what is to become of this little paper is problematic, depending entirely upon what hap­pens to the First Pursuit Group.

We would like to say right now that " Out of Control, " need never go out of control and if the members of this group are sufficiently inte­rested we can get out an edition once each y£ar, m.aking sollle principal city in the States our headquarters. To accomplish this task it would he necessary to submit a complete roster and home address of every enlisted man and officer identified with the Group, who will in turn he given the address of whoever it is decided shall have the task in hand. They can relate all the interesting incidents that have occurred to them since the war, which will be published and by this means we can establish a link that will never be broken. Do you want it?

~----------------~~----------------

FINI LA GUER RE! Sometime about 8 o'clock last Sunday evening

the top-sergeant knocked at our door and informed us that the Chief of Air Service had just tele­phoned down that the armistice had been signed. We were playing bridge and at first did not realize the true significance ofhis words. As it slowly dawned upon us eating its way into our wooden heads liks acid, we decided that bridge was far too tame a pastime to be indulging in on such an occasion and appropriatly kicked over the table when some one suggested that we get out the hand. The~raw cold wheather and the mud under foot could no more dampen our spirits than a drop of water in a roaring furnace and the more we thought of what had occurred the greater became our enthu iasm. A jolly party tarted which terminated for some about midnight and others the next day. Even Mr. Driggs, ho is a mighty good sort and who we were overjoyed to have with us on such an occasion, could not forego the privilege of participating in the snake dance led in the slimy mud by Capt. Eddie Rickenbaker and accompanied by the Park Band, ~,hich played with a "\vill notwithstanding the various brands of tea that "\Yas poured down their musical pieces. Our distinguished post surgeon, Dr. \\T alters, who has been at the front more than a year, Vi'as positi­vely tunned at the ne"\VS, being so overcome Vi'ith emotion that he \Vas too full for utterance. "\\-e earched diligently for our C. 0., Maj. Hartney,

intending to erenade him, but he managed to give us the lip. However we will get him yet.

OUR COLUMN OF COLD TYPE (By Private Tex)

This is blank verse. This is what a poet does When he is too lazy To make it rhyme, The other morning it was raining And besides There was a big fatigue detail Going out to build roads And so My cold got worse Toot sweet And I thought I had better allez Down to the Inflamatory Or something like that ' And get fixed up. It was a kilometer of oozy mud But I finally made it. When I got there I coughed And looked pale, Or tried to, anyhow And the orderly said "So you are that goofy bird That writes stuff About the" Y?" Well, I guess the doc will fix you Alright. While I was waiting, I heard the group dentist Telling some guy to lay at attention, And then I heard him mumble-'· She loves me, she loves me not." And I could hear Teeth Rattling on the floor OH! ' Then the doc hollered for me And I tripped in And saluted, And he said, What is your alalii? " And I said "y . .. es, sir. He looked at a row of pill boxes On the wall and chanted " comme ~ ... '' Eeny Meeny Miny Mo Twenty boxes in a row Doesn't matter which I. pick Any one will kill him quick." And I got a fist full Of the 0. D. ones. As I went out he squalled ~om~thin~ like this to that orderly,

Paint this man with iodine And mark him Duty!" After I made a successful sortie I threw the 0. D. s awav So I am 0. K. now. " Mother always toldme That the bes way to cure a cold Was a long walk And a good sweat And If the long walk down there And the sweating you get After you get there Don't cure you, You are Hopeles .

THE UNHOLY BOOK

(Taken from the book of the Modern Judas Chapt er 23. '

1. It came to pass in the Fourth year of the Great War, the Kaiser decided upon a bold stroke.

2. ~o he called together his wise men and Captain of hosts for a council.

3. Who when they had come together, he spake unto them saying :

4. " Too long have I permitted my enemie to live and pollute the air of My eartl::..

5. Too long has the "Whiskered Frenchman• and the accur ed '' Lime-juicer " mocked me to my face.

6. I am the Kaiser, Me and Gott are partners, I will make them eat " prunes ".

7. Then spake one, Ludendorff, chief " dog: robber " for the mighty one.

8. " 0. King, " -hen thou speakest who can ay thee Nay? -

9. Have not thine aviators bombed hospitals; thy submarine sunk pa enger ships and the churches of France have been shelled at thy com­mand?

10, Where are the women and children of Belgium that dared to disobey thee?

11. Bid thine army go forward, wave thy shining sword and all " 'ill be well.

12. Then all 'vill know that thou art great under the sun, in other words, thou a.rt. " It. ' .

13. And the Kaiser made ans"'\\-er, "Ludie, thy words are as s"·eet a limberger to my palatet I will \vave my S\Yord, likewise do acrobatic stunts, and my army hall conquer, Selah. "

14. And on the fourth day thereafter the army of the Great King '·ent forth.

15. They fell upon the English in Cambrai and'. then they fell upon the banks of a small river and. the battle "·axed fierce.

16. And the l(aiser stood at a safe distance t0> encourage his troops, for he liked not the smell of powder, neither liked he the 'vhistle of bullets.

17. He looked away and at fl distance he saw an army "'hose numbers were as the sea. And he "ras sorely troubled.

18. So that he spake unto his great Captain,. Hindenburg, saying :

19. "Who ha dared to come again t my army'l"• 20. And the Captain comforted him saying ; 21. " Be of good cheer, 0 King, thou art still

the Top Sergeant no one can bust thee, nor reduce thee to thee rank of a private, neither can they put thee upon K. P.

22. '' This is the army of him that dwelleth over by the setting sun. We will make of it a sanitary detail. "

23. Then spake the Kaiser, " Even be it so, my. word is 'It'. "

24. But the army of the Kaiser was smitten and they were sore afraid, so that they fled.

25. And the great King said : " I must git, vamoose, begone - likewise skidoo. A safer place ~ .. ior me.

26. And in the month of November the Great King stood at the gate of his palace, clothed in sack­cloth and ashes were upon his head.

27. He cried mightily unto the Allies for peace but they heard him not for they '"ere enraged.

28. Then spake one Woodrow, the mightiest of the Allies saying, " Billy, thou art a cancer, a sore, likewise a nuthead. Thou also hast the " cooties. "

29. Thon must repent, likewise eat army stew, " corned willy " and dried vegetables, then we will listen to thee. "

30. And the Kaiser made answer, " My puni h ment is great hut since I desire peace, I will obey.',.

31. So ho commanded one Max, a great peace­maker, like ise an army cook to prepare the meal and he did eat.

32. And in the night he -as stricken with, sore pain so that he called loudly for C. C. pills but hiS­physicians had none, for the army of Woodrow had the supply cornered.

33. And the Great King died. 34. Then the nations rose and with one mighty

voice shouted :

35. " Great and ise is our Woodrow " ·ho­feedeth the Kaiser, army tew. ,.

CRASHES AND JOY KILLERS DUMB?

The other night After the BIG news Had come And the boy Had whooped And hollered And shot off All the flares And ammunition And the Major Had led the band Around the' Drome And the hunch That could Had imbibed All the booze They could get And were Coming in Making A lot Of ;ioise One of the Armorers Stuck His bead From under The covers And asked What 'f'flell Th' Blankety * Blank Racket Was About?

FREDDY IN ENGLAND •

Wonder He Wasn't Pinched for Contempt of Court

Lieutenants in the Air Service have losts of adventure¢> that are not in the air and so it was with a fello"T I met at Colombey-les-Belles, one night in the Officers' mess.

Freddy took his trip acros the Atlantic in a 16-day convoy and after he lhad hugged his life preserver for two weeks and never changed his clothes he felt so safe and comfortable when the destroyer picked up the transports that he decided to celebrate by taking a bath. That tub of hot \\,.ater certainly felt good and while he was enjoying that greatest luxury in the world from his point of vie"\\·, an inconsiderate subma­rine torpedoed the ship. Freddy, grabbing up his clothes, rushed on deck and dressed as the ship listed. When all of the clothes in bis arms \Vere in place, he \vas still minus hi$ trousers. - It as broad daylight, and no one had been hurt by the explosion and there was plenty of time, as the ship lowly settled down, for the destroyer to take every one off, but no time in \vhich to go hunting for mislaid trousers. On the destroyer, during the next two days he got a pair of dirty \vhite ducks, but they did not look "\\·ell " ·ith his blouse and Sam Bro\vn Belt. How­ever, they were better than nothing and none of the other fellows off the transport had anything to, lend.

The destroyer put in at Plymouth one morning and before night, Fred and the other casuals were in London, and that night they 'vere great heroes and after the heroism had been duly celebrated, they had a real sleep in real beds. '

Fred ·oke up about noon, and \Yhen he went do\\'n stairs he found that the names of the res-

cued officers had been included in a list to be received at Buckingham Palace by H. M. King George, and that the hour of the reception had almost arrived. Accordingly he started on a hunt for something to replace the dirty white duck trousers : for he wanted to shake hands w ith the King and time was short. He found the room of another fellow casual, who was still asleep. having rather over celebrated, and a pair of Officer's trousers was on the chair by his bed.

It did not take Fred long to shed his ducks and get into the other fellow' clothes, but even then he was late, everyone else having already started. Fred hailed a taxi and gave the order for Bucking­ham Palace, just as if he was in the habit of calling on Kings every day of his life, and arrived ju~t after everyone else had gone in.

One functionary after another had to be passed and each one seemed to he in doubt about letting him through, but " Then his name was found on the list he was always passed along to the next. This all took up so much time that \Vhen Fred got to the tail end of the receiving line the par­ty was almost over. However, just before his turn came, a sort of master of ceremonies came up behind him, looked him all over, and had to be satisfied that he was among the invited guests. By that time every one else had been received and Fred all alone and in consequence, very cons­picuous, walked up saluted, said he liked England, shook hands, faced about and marched \Vith great dignity back to the other American officers, who were laughing as if something good had been pulled off.

No one else seemed to have had any trouble in getting received and Fred's nerves were getting a bit on edge, so he asked rather crisply to have the joke pointed out to him so that he also could see it.

' ' The joke is on you alright, " said one Lieu­tenant, '' You cannot see it, but you can feel it if you \Vill just hunt for it in the seat of your trousers. " Fred hunted and found t\Yo ragged holes almost big enough to throw a headquarters hat through and his shirt tail hanging out of one of them.

Well, its all in the life of a shave tail.

OH HELL

1. They say, sometimes, '· It's cold as Hell. " Sometimes they ay, " It's hot as Hell. " When it rains hard ifs Hell they cry, Its also Hell when it's dry, Its a Hell of a \Vind "·hen it starts to blow, And they hate like Hell to see it sno\Y, How in the Hell can anyone tell, when in the Hell they mean Hell.

2. This married life is Hell they say, And when they come home late There is Hell to pay. Its, Hell \Yhen the kid you have to tote-­When he starts to ba\\·l, it's, a Hell of a note, Its Hell when the doctor sends in his bills, For a Hell of a lot of trips and pills, When you get this, you v.~iU know real well Just what is meant by this word Hell.

3. Hell, yes! Hell, no ! and Oh Hell, too· The Hell you don't, and the Hell you do, And what in the Hell? and the Hell it is? The Hell V\1 ith yom· and the Hell "\\~ith his. No\v \vho in the Hell, and Oh Hell where? No\\' what in the Hell do you think I Care? But the Hell of it is it sure is Hell We don't know " 'hat in the Hell is Hell.

3

FIRST PURSUIT CHASERS

When your 'way ont at the Park And you plod the road by $lark You wonder how it ever came To get such a de criptive name For there's hardly any bushes and Less than that of grass.

o rustic benche stand there- No Paths on which to pass. There aint no 'lectric lights No'r stoves to heat the blood-But it a pretty good place to go to Sometimes - in spite of all THAT MUD

In group Supply I wonder why They pooled that Transportation It's always out It's got the gout Or away on a long vacation. For it's Kemp for this, and it's Kemp for that -~i\nd the end of it all -I'll bet my hat. A hung up 'phone Hell' a fire - Damnation !ti

There was a young feller named ' Pop " Who flew round the field in a " Sop "

He cut off his motor It failed then to rotor

He landed Ker flop - Sop.

• 0 ~

We have bean given to understand. that due to the scarcity of C. C. gears, arrangements have been made with Dr. Walters, by Lt. Beam, to substitute the well known pill in the machine guns. It is expected that this chuige will do away \vith all stoppages and give quicker actioa .

" IT CAN BE DONE "

(Contributed by Pvt. tit. class T. J . Davis, - -th Aero Sqdn. ).

" SOMEBODY has said that it couldn't he done, But he, with a chuckle, replied,

That '' Maybe it couldn't," but he would be one Who wouldn't say so till he tried,

So he buckled right in, with the trace of a grin On his face. If he worried he hid it,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done - AND HE DID lT.

" SOMEBODY scoffed : " OJ., you'll never do [that:

At least no one ever has done i\:." But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,

And the first thing we knew he'd begun it; W itb the lift of his chin, and a hit of a grin,

Without any douht or quiddit; He started to sing as he tackled the thing

1'hat couldn't be done - AND HE DID IT. " There are Thousands to tell you it cannot [be

done­There are thousands to prophesy failure ;

There are thousands to point out to you, one by [one,

The dangers that wait to assail yon; But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

Then take off your coat and go to it; Ju t tart in to sing as you tackle the thing

That '' cannot be done ", - AND YOU'LL [DO IT".

- : The Obermayer Bulletin :

POEMS· AND· NEAR· POEMS.

THE BUCK·PRIVATE'S SPAD

. ' Weary and tired I lay me down, slumber o er me

[ tealing I'd been on K. P. for the last two v.reeks

So that's bov.• I " 'a feeling. And I began to dream a dream most prized

A dream of ambition realized.

I trutted along wearing a Sam-Brown belt, To a hangar confidently strolling

To a group of pilots recogni~ion. I dealt As into my Spad I was climbing.

\Veil I started it going and quickly I rose. "' hat bliss, In that Spad me reclining,

Well I flew and flew, time and space did not · [count

As cloud upon cloud I proceeded to mount And my soul for battle was pining.

Ab! what is that. My nerves give a jump Some pecks in the sky and my heart started to

[pump And to\\·ard those specks I steer my Spad

IT its only the Boche, rll feel so glad. Closer and closer. it's easily seen

I le sen the distance in between And I ee eight planes advancing.

Closer and closer I'm feeling so keen For I see the black-cross and I feel no remorse

A right on their track I am prancing.

Well, the first I downed and the second I downed Am my good old gatt started pumping

The third I downed and the fourth I do\\'ned The blood through my veins madly jumping

I glanced to the right and my nerves then did [quiver

As number five, upon me, was driving his [flivver.

Action, not thought was the right thing to do And into a nose dive I immediately flew,

I regained equilibrium and began to sle\Y Then up\vard at five now or never,

I shot him a load and he crumpled and fell I feld so proud I could feel my head swell

As I turned my good Spad for more battle.

Well six and seven I very soon threw, And I started for eight, with all I knew,

And he fled a his teeth did rattle. Closer and closer my Spad drew near

And I sav.· his face. What a dreadful leer I kne"' that face, but I felt no fear.

It was Kai er Bill and at him I went Full of rage and on vengeance bent.

And vi ions of glory and medals did flash All through my mind, also visions of cash

No more K. P. for yours old sport But a D. S. C. on my 0. D. shirt

And a trunk full of cash to buy beer and skirt. When that Hun to earth is brought.

With these thoughts in my mind I take careful [ aim

But I'll be darned if I know what to blame, That familiar rattle as my good gun spake,

And that Boche machine I began to rake, And saw him fall in flame,

But blame I must I know not what-of knowl­[ edge I cannot fake,

But " 'hen that on-of-a-gun started to fall I'll be damned if I -Oid'nt awake.

Pvt. B1LL KAuTz,

- - - Aero Sqdn.

To Those Who Hate Gone West On Their Last-Patrol

A MEMORY-

We watched him take off from the airdrome And hoot, like a streak of grey,

Off toward the Forest of Argonne And \Ve \Vatched him fade a"'ay.

That night we \Vatched and we waited And " ·e hoped and "·e prayed in ain,

Oh, many a flare we fired that night But he never came back again.

Some"'here beyond the Argonne Somebody sa\\~ him fall, -

Some of him mud, ome of him blood, -Most of him not at all.

Maybe an archic got him As he made for the German line

But he died with might and with honor For his plane wa ,nosed to the Rhine.

Here is a trihate to those who serve From those \vho stand and wait,

We honor you, we envy you, We envy even your fate.

And tho' there be only an humble cross To stand at the head of your grave,

The world will always remember you And cherish the gift you gave. --

D. G. BRANSllAW

" BUCK AND B LILL; TAKE IT OR I.EAVE IT ''

'Been to Texas, 'Been lo France, 'Tell I'M a veteran a.t a glance ; Thru it all boys, take it from me But I've been the goat - see.

They treated me rotten all along, At five-fifteen; " K. P. " was the song; I fixed 'em tho, and " killed the dog, " But \Vhy in 'ell on the N. G. log?

\Vhenever the C. 0. came around He shot a glance from head to ground ; Told me I was bound for the trenches, But listen; me for the old Park benches.

No\\T that the 'wah' has went and ended, I'll fix the e guys so well contented; Belleau Wood won't be in it, And this " K. P. " \vill have did It.

Back to our old friend, Shake I It droppeth upon the place beneath. It is twice damning. It curs s the " Buck " that

gives, and he who takes, 'Tis most absurd of absurd. It become a fool rather than a man. " Wise up " and" Shake a leg ".

~------------~-~--------------~

The young aviator lay dying, And a ' neath the wreckage he _lay - - he lay To the mechanics a sembled around him These last parting words he did say : -

Chorus : -Take the cylinders out of my kidneys The connecting rods out of my brain, From the small of my back get the crank-shaft And assemble the engine again.

Two valve springs you·n find in my stomach Three park plugs are safe in my lung-my lung, The prop i in splinters inside me The joy stick my fingers have clung

Oh, take the cylinders out of my kidney , The connecting rods out of my brain, From the small of my back get the crank shaft And assemble the engine again.

A PRIVATE'S IDEA OF A PERFECT DAY I

(in the First Pursuit Group.) ,

6:00 A. .-Bugler forgets to blow ''reveille ". oldier sleep until seven-thirty.

7::~o 8:00

8:10

9:00

11:30

Breakfast of ham and eggs. Goes on ick repor.t and gets marked

'' re t " for three months. ees his ergeant get three teeth pulled by the Group entist. Ap­plauds loudly.

~lakes trip to front and gets fiv€ spiked helmets and various other souYenirs. Also nearly gets hit by a shell.

Returns to camp. Get ride in liberty with Lt. Ordv.·ay.

Mail call. Gets 15 letters from the " h.;d herself. " - al o big money -order from dad.

12:00 Eats big dinner of turkey and all that goes with it.

12:30P. L - Take nap and dreams about seeing mother and the girl,- also of beat­ing up on all the sergeants ' apre la guerre ".

1:00 1:30

2:00

3: 0

4:00

5:00

6:00

7:00

8:00

8:30 9:00

Gets paid. ~leets ~lajor Hartney, who tells him

to expect promotion soon. Takes French le on from beautiful

mademoi elle,- also teaches her some choice English, uch as ' Ki. me quick' and •Go to H-- - ,,_

Take long promenade \vith same mademoiselle.

Spends pleasant hour in French Cafe. Puts a\vay t\\'O bottles of XXX.

Supper of " urfs '', milk, and fro-mage ' in French village for only '' oon franc soisante-cans centimes. "

Buys three cartons of Camels at the ' Y " and salts them away.

Breaks crap game in barracks, win­ning 900 francs.

Gets free chocolate and cigarettes in " K of C " tent.

Read peace rumor in daily paper. '' Coo hays ". leeps for duration

of ~ar. ~ Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z.

FOKKER JOINS MULE KICKERS Makes Landing While Fir1t Flight is at

Advance Field.

The First Flight of this Squadron recei..-ed just compensation for standing up under the heavy and rather clo e helling from the Boche in the way of a pre ent of a ne"· Fokker D VII type plane ~·bich landed on the - advance field about one

o'clock on November 9th, 1918. The boys bad just finished their hearty l11nch

of corn -\Yilly and coffee " ·hen a plane overhead was heard. On account of the lo-.; ~ clouds and bad weather there had been no flying and everybody wa surprised to ee a plane over them. One ~ not imagine the prevalent consternation wh~n some clever one announced that it . •as a Boche.

Frit.zie Has Them Guessing.

The Boche peeked towards the crowd as if to hoot and everybody calterecl to get their 'gats"

so they ay. The Fokker then hanked and " 'hen it was seen that he was going to land everybody raced to be the first there to take a prisoner. The censor does not allow us to mention the name of the " ·inner of that race. ~ 'hen the boy got there Fritz '·a climbing out of hi plane and very calmly asked in good Engli h ·here be wa .

The pilot ·as taken in and given a hearty lunch and a cigar and after an "'iVering the thou­sand and one que tion which \Vere fired at him from all sides, he wa led a\\·ay. He eemed to be very happy that be \Va a pri oner.

The boys thanked him for hi plane and then brought it down to our hangar here it is no · on exhibition.

5

~.SEND THIS PAPER HOME; IT IS THE BEST KIND OF LETTER ~ MULE KICKS

After you have seen here six weeks you get on the end of the leave list. There is still hope for you Meredith.

The third tent goes to sleep early now since no one tells them, •• You are a b-r-a-v-e man, you are a wonderful man. ,, Long live Ed. Thomas.

Say, Russ, it is a pretty hard job to take that roll call in the morning isn't it? One Buck felt so sorry for you that he offered you his 0. D. breeches but we guess that the fur around your ears prevented you from hearing him. How about it?

Say you second and third tenters lay off that :first table, dont you know that is for the " Flying Circus. "

Was he invited in or did he just blow in?

What's the matter, the fire out in your tent?

We did not know that Buck had such an artistic temperament. He attended every band concert. We wonder if he liked the flute or the bass horn the best.

Hey, Weatherhead, how about giving the first tent one of these couches?

Lieut. Church; Lieut Church, some one is calling you. One mess bill. Five Hundred francs.

Is it Sigorny or Sigerny? " Oh, you funny .. man . What did yon do in the great war, Dad? Oh,

I made rings. John Wheelock, -why so friendly with that

police dog? Current Events : - Popperfuss and his war

dope. Quick and his " 'ar maps. Sewall and his casino not to mention laying his finger by the side of his nose. Butts and his " Pals. " Tommy and his morning grouch. Buckley and Curtis \Vith the mess, and it is. Jo iah and his trip around the world. Joe and the Villeneuve gang. Holden the fresh cadet. John and his luncheons. OOOff and his calesthenics. Haththorn and his regulation overseas cap. Hienie and Larry the Spad wreckers. Rhenstrom and his Chaumont Pnll. Wheelock and the blue veins. Weatherhead and his· cold bath. Is thatt how he grows that fur? Berrythe mail censor, how he loves that job! Johnson and Zip, Vail and Berkman Scout. Roberts and England, Treanor and the cold mornings. The mule and his bray . .

Pvt Harry Cantwell says he'd like to have been with the British and French soldats when. they entered the city of Lille, just captured by our Allies. He had been reading the Daily Mail which told of said soldats, who, while entering were seriously hampered by the strongest barrage of kisse they had received in their lives.

A dough boy, who used to frequent bowling alleys back home, was recently heard to remark that he enjoys going out occasionally to " bowl a few of' em over. "

At roll call a deep bass voice called out ''Eleventh Squad all Eleventh!"

"To go or not to go?" is the topic of the hour. Ten of our fellow oldats are awaiting and lon­ging for their long-delayed seven-day pass. Pic­ture the Siamese triplets on pass in a man-size town at one time (Ed, Bud, and Tuck).

Did you ever go to -- - - - - a mean buck private and return, feeling like a Captain? ask "Useless" how it feels.

Old man Web ter in his little hook claims that a chauffeur is a mechanic and driver or one who takes care of a motor-vehicle. "1boever, even in the Army, e\'er heard of a chauffeur driving prisoner ? See " Jimmy " Campana.

"Smile, and the world smiles with you. Weep and you weep alone. " But even " Solemn J obn Griffin " dont like to he laughed at.

The latest of out-door sports is trying to eat breal:fast while answering roll call. It also reminds us of the finger flexion exercises \\'e used to have in ye olden days.

" Pop " Grear became excited the other day because he thought he had contracted the '' French itch, " \Vhatever that is. Accordingly he made up his mind to get rid of it, by hickory. He chose a novel way of doing it, too, for with the aid of a priming gun he squirted gasoline all over his body until it burnt him all over. After which he didn't know whether he had contracted some more serious disease or not.

Come on Mule Kickers! Where are all you poetical aspirants? Contributions will he welcomed from any !and all parties. Remember I This paper is " Out of Control. "

The " Daily Mail " says that what beer is left in <:hicago is now selling for fifteen cents per glass. 0 Boys! will we ever again see the day when we can walk up to the bar, place one foot on the rail and call for a" Nickel " Schooner?

Among other things, Corp. Batten is an able hunter, but not for cooties. He is a " Chicken hunter. "With the aid of an interpreter he bunted one chicken with success and used her to hunt another in the near-by village. Having caught the second one Ben bore her triumphantly into camp on his arm. We almost forgot to add that the second one was feathered.

Corp. Creseay is worried. Yep! He sure is worried. He's afraid of returning to his girl \.vi th a bald pate, and is seeking hai~ tonics. Sa_ys h~'ll try anything once as lon as it wont finish him right off the reel. Come out with your suggestions, boys, and ease hi mind. But never mind, Creasey· old top. " By Jove, you cawn·t have hair

' kn " and brains too don-ch er- ow. WANTED AT ONCE-- A steam-heating appa­

ratus and a number of finger howls for the Sergeant's mess. We want to make ~he Corporals, Privates (1st. Class) and the Bucks Jealous.

The squadron mystery :-- Which end of the rope is the jackass on?

We think that these mornings are just the kind for calesthenics and we would almost feel natural to hear ex-sgt. 1st. cl. Carl Bryde yelling " Exercise No.- Repeat after me in this manner. Ready! Begin! ! " and then follows : '• Where d'yuh think you-re at, home? "

One of our bright " Soldats " has suggested that we " Fletcherise. ··Asked what he meant he replied: "To Fletcherise is to che\v every mouth­ful we eat for thirty seconds before swallo,ving. " Maybe a good idea but ho, in h-- would \Ve ever get seconds? Guess old Fletcher never lined up for his cho\v, in a mess line with any such hopes.

The Daily Mail state there was a queue of a hundred persons lined up outside a" pub.," (That's English for aloon or gin mill) waiting for whis:. key. Wonder how many seconds, thirds, fourths, etc., there would be if we were given that chance.

In a letter from home the writer is informed that :-

His girl bad a bird Whose name was Enza She opened the window And in flew Enza.

After deceiving us into the idea that he was about to hibernate for the coming winter, Pvt. Harry Cantwell suddenly broke loose and visited B- - - - -. Just how he did it, nobody know , but he seems to have enjoyed himself immen ely, had ah - - of a time, with heaucoup everything a soldat looks for -- and all on the magnificent sum of 70 centime .

UNCLE SAM'S PUNCHES

WANTED : - A number of men to volunteer to police up the devastated area of France after the war. - (New York Herald.)

Dear Sir: Having seen the above advertisement in

your paper, l'would like to apply for a positiou to help police up. I have had about ten months experience in the above line and am thoroughly qualified for the above position.

In regards to references, I ref er you to the mechanics of the --th Aero Squadron, who, I think, are thoroughly qualified in the above respect.

Respectfully tM. S. E. J.ums H. Bush.

Chief of Air Service.

" Hurry up, fellows. Police Up, Here comes Bush.

Private Gerschaneck, on hearing of the abdication of the Kaiser, ays :

" I told you so, I knew it all the \.Vhile. " Any votes for me today?

Supply Sergeant Egan, in a game of poker : -' What have you got Tallberg? "

Tallberg : - " Nothing." Egan all right, I bet a ·half a franc. "

Sergeant Worden - "Well, Mississippi ' hat's doin • today? "

Mississippi " Oh, nothin' much. Just lost the side car. ''

Sergeant Beerbower at the Review on Sunday Morning, reported 10 minutes late. When asked -why he '-Vas not on time, h e replied : '• Well

I had to borrow the hlou e from avage, the trou ers from Pinchon, the cap from McDonnell and the shoes are my own. Sergeant Egan had the rest of my clothes, " and I could not very well come in my birthday suit. "

" The Boy and His Gang--Duke Baum and the prisoners. "

Scotty, in \Vriting his Mother : ' I am now on the ·. D. (Sanitary Detail). Things are picking up. " ~fother, excited, " Dear me, I hope be does not pick up any of those German ho mbs I hear so much about. "

Sergeant Reed, the sixth time thru the mess line. " Any chance for seconds? " Mess Sergeant Russell : " Well. give it to him. That means that I will have to prowl around this afternoon. "

There was a young man from the city Who saw what he thought was a kitty;

He gave it a pat And soon after that,

He buried his clothes-what a pity I

Lieut. Vail Wounded

Lieut. Vail of the - -th Squadron, was out on a voluntary patrol wi~h Lieut Pe~es on r_ovemher 6th, 1918. Lieut Vail wa a httle behind and higher than Lt. Pegue~ and w~en Lt. Pegues attacked a bi-place, Lieut. Vail attacked four Fokkers who started to attack Lieut. Pegues.

Lieut Vail succeeded in diverting the attack of these Fokkers but was immediately set on by five more Fokkers. In this unequal combat, Lt. Vail continued to fight until his motor wa shot through and he himself was severery wouded. As he de cended the hostile planes continued to follow him d~wn and several times. he pulled up and fired at bis pursuers.

The plane was o badl:r shot U{> that i_t fell to piece as it lan?ed .. L1eut. V~1l receive~ an explosive ~ull~t 10 h1 foot, which necessitated it amputation JU t abo~e the ankle, a sh~t through his right arm and as hght fracture of ·his head.

The pilot is now in a base hospital and has a very good chance of a speedy recovery.

6

SPECIMEN FRO OUR HUN MENAGERIE •• ._ .

• <

CAPTURED BY FIRST PURSUIT PILOT (Continued from Page 1, Col. 1).

From across the· aerodrome the darkne s "\\'as stabbed by Very lights and flares. Shrill yelps split the starry night. Machine guns began to chatter. Butts 'Taded to the telephone and invited the C. 0. to come over. Mitchell poured out more iced tea. Boche furniture "\Va shoved aside to make room for Cas idy and hi piano. Every second the aperature flapped and a hrave pilot entered.

Orderlies came running "\Vith more tea. The confusion became indescribable. " Doc. ··Walters repeatedly cautioned the younger men to act with dignity befitting the occasion. But others came . . pouring in.

The advent of the Major and his dignified Ad­jutant "\Vas follo,ved by the appearance of the versatile Cunningham. Somebcdy proposed a toast to the best C. 0. in France. It went like a crater. Major Hartney adroitly passed the buck to the best pilots in France. Eddie Rickenbacher reduced the room to silence. by raising his glass and saying-· " To the boys who are not here. "

Just here the good old band from the - -th let go a blast outside the tent 'vhich emptied t.he Chateau. Ten thou and lights " ' ere there dancing the mud and some say that Doc Walters led all the rest. There 'va not a dry eye in the crowd. The stars seemed moist, the ground was moist, only a dry parched feeling in the throat that comes from continuous tea drinking kept up the equilibrium at all.

" Well, " says " Doc. " as "\Ve slid homewards across the aerodrome, ' It was a damn good "\\'ar. '' ~~~~~~~~--@@~~~~~~~~~

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 2).

ta.in Hartney W:'.S one of those chosen. He was commissioned to Major and assigned to the 27th Aero Squadron, then at Toronto, Canada. The Major took with the squadron t\velve cadets, whom he trained. l\fajor Hartney brought the squadron overseas and onto the front.

On June 26, in company with two others, he shot down an enemy plane. Since last August, Major Hartney has been Group C. 0., and we are proud of that fact for he is most assuredly made of the right stuff and is a great favorite with both officers and men under his command.

BAT SQUEAKS

Because of the recent rains there have been a good many crashes in the mud amongst both the commissioned and enlisted personnel of this squadron. As a rule these crashes have been due to side-slips, although the engineering officer attributes many of this to flying a little tail

- heavy. The record seems to be held by this Rme officer who had three crashes in one day.

The first one was caused by a tail pin, resulting in a broken tail skid and undercarriage. The second was due to getting into a stall and falling tail first, resulting in broken tail_ planes and dis­located controls. The third was due to side-slipp­in g and pancaking to earth, damaging the under­·carriage, dislocating the seat, and breaking the tail skid.

Among some of the more prominent crashes recently ''°'ere : Sergeant " Pop '' Fields, who collided into Gunner Jack Connors, and upon landing stripped off his undercarriage and slid several feet on his -- - er, fuselage. The only damage was a dislocated seat. Private " Abie " who caught bis undercarriage while taking off and nose-dived to earth, damaging his nose-piece and propellor. Private " Art. " Smith, who was out scouting for wat ud fell in a tail-spin. breaking another skid. " Cyclist .. Dominy. who pancaked on top of his supper, spoiling the supper and covering his hip with mud. Private '.' Bill " Cote, who through flying a little tail heavy landed on his skid, badly damaging same. Pri­vate " Splatter " who suffers several crashes every day with varying degrees of damage. (We have never seen " Little Splatter. " fall). Cook Jansen, who on his return from B - - --- - - -attempted to zoom over a G. I. can, but as he was heavily loaded he crashed causing conside­rable damage to his undercarriage. Corporal Wilkins, who side-slipped and came near landing in " News Headquarters " but who escaped with a mud-spattered ship.

Numerous other crashes have occurred just inside the rear hangar door. but as they happen­ed within our own lines we will refrain from mentioning them this week.

La Guerre est fini ! You have lots of time on your hands no"\v boys. Get busy and let's keep this column of ours alive. Make it snappy, run around in circles and let's have a big column next week to carry up Fifth Avenue as a souve­nir! Yu·ve gotta admit that we've gotta Iota material to work on t ~~--~----~~~~~~~~~~~~-

8 UPP LY HANG-ONS

Sgt. 1st. 'class Patrick McCarthy is a captain ? according to his home town paper. We'll tell 'em he's some captain.

Say, Joe Lackey, what do you mean by looking around the floor of the supply hangar, seeking the elusive butts . Dont you know that the hangar is kept policed up?

Joe Keefe l Joe Keefe I When yon go.into husin­e s '' apres la guerre ", will you always demand old stuff for new?

"\"\ e believe that Capt. Rankin "·ill be obliged to have a reception detail to entertain all those other captains and lieutenants who come around ~o find out how to run a group supply in an effic­ient manner and satisfy the various squadrons.

SPECIAL FEATURE SO N !

Best Yet! Cannot Be Excelled! You Wlll all Have Chance to See It.

The Fir t Pur uit Group l\Iin trel Sho"\v, the ne\ve t of super-productions, \viH be presented at the Fir t Pur uit Group Thanksgiving Tight, November 28 at one of the numerou theaters this organization posses e .

Before bowing at this place the 9th Evacuation Hospital has requested this array of talent to perform at the Hospital, and they have on euted to do o.

This company has in its rank uch Arti t a :

Cavanaugh--- - th Aero Squadron Cleavenger--- - th Aero Squadron Kalkhoff--- . - th Aero Squadron Lyons--- - th Aero Squadron Lynch--- - th Aero quadron Marsh--- - th Aero Squadron McDonald- - - - th Aero Squadron White--- - th Aero Squadron

who are the end men and there with the goods. Ballads with the latest snap will be sung by :

Gentile- - - th Aero Squadron Price - - - th Aero Squadron Rubenstein-- - th Aero Squadron Scherff -- - th Aero Squadron Tiffany-- - th Aero Squadro~

The songs the e men sing are the latest from the States, and the singers will be baeked by a chorus of forty voices, all of whom are previous service men in the show business.

Besides the singers, and the end men who are a show by themselves, there are many special acts. The first in this line is :

" Kid-"-Lightcap, the son of Raymond the Great, will !-{ive hi sleight of hand. and dissappear­ing acts. He is unexcelled in his art, and i a credit to his father's teaching. He will be a sen ation for ome time to come. He has a very smooth line along with his talent: and ha!) the personality that is essential to his line of work.

Eli Joe has a Ventriloquist act that has been used in the States and in many camps both in France, and England. He has the proffessional air which draws much applause to his unusual performance.

A Musical Trio made up of Bittler, Lillenquist a.lld-Richardsis one of the high-class acts that distinguishes such shows as this Minstrel is reput­ed to be.

The Quartet that this Company carries is of the best, and has been given much pubr city in the United tates, and Texas.

The Grand Spectacular Finale, composed by one of the Group Musicians. Dan Rappopart and sung.by Seidensticker, is a credit to the composer, and we will all leel proud to have such ~ talented person in our Group.

Don't forget this is an old-time All American Minstrel Show, and is put on by a complete company of black-faced Artists.

This show is staged by the First Pursuit Group without the aid of any outside parties.

Patronize home talent and draw beaucoup laughs, and a good time, free of all costs.

~~~~~~~~~~.~~~~~~~-~ ,,,.-

OUR OLD FRIENQ '' BILLIE ''

Billie Baker our former" Y. M. C. A. " secretary met several of the boys in B- - - - recently. Billie was very interested in the welfare of us all and was agreeably surprised on reading a copy of ' Ont of Control. " He has been " over the top "at Bois de Belleau since leaving us and he sure wished he was back.

lmprimerie speciale du 0. 0. C.