GOD IS MY 1 ?, CO-PILOT ? Co!. Robert L.Scott w^RutAst M crtory Uu Cut Alter rrUuUif ha Writ Mat u a ucond Dnteuil Mill SeteS wtea kte wlu?i at Ktlly Vlate ut Ukai ?? paraait tjiaf. Will tea war brutes aaA ha la aa laatractor te CahfonaU aa4 tete ha la tea ate far nrf" tjlar. Ha appaala te aararal Oaaarala far a chance to fly a eamhal ptaaa aai haaJly tea opportualty cornea, ?a teaa a bomber te laAla, whara ha Utaaara a ferry (Oat. bat tete Aaaa aet appeal te htea. Ha vlalta Generrl Chan, aatet aat te pramlee* a Klttyhawk. and whea ha fata It ha beeomea a "ana man air (area" avar Barms, doing mach lama ga (a tea Jape aa many a lone aataaloa One day ha gate ardara to re part la Gea. Cbennaalt la Kunming. CHAPTER XV These were led by five of the best men of the AVG, and there was one great ace-ln-the-hole that only the General and the AVG could have arranged: Two squadrons of these Flying Tigers had agreed to stay behind for a two weeks' period to help the newly formed 23rd Fighter Group. I think this gesture by those men such as Bob Neal, Charley Bond, George T. Burgard, Frank Lawlor, John E. Petack, Jim How ard, and others who were suffering from combat fatigue and ill health, was one of the bravest and most self-sacrificing incidents of this war. In the two weeks that they remained, two of them gave their lives, and their sacrifice was beyond the call of mere duty. These men, with those five who stayed with us to lead our squadrons ? Hill, Rector, Schiel, Bright and Sawyer?and the AVG radio, engineering, armament, and ground personnel, were our back bone and our inspiration. We of the 23rd Fighter Group salute you. That Fourth of July, as the over confident enemy ships came in over Kweilin, they brought a new twin engine fighter that was supposed to murder us. They came in doing arrogant acrobatics, expecting to strafe the Chinese civilians in the sity without opposition. General Oiennault watched them with field glasses from outside the cave and called directions to Bob Neal, Ed Rector, and Tex Hill, who were sit ting with their ships "in the sun" high overhead, at twenty-one thou sand. At his radio order of "Take *em," the newly formed 23rd with the AVW attached dropped down and massacred tne japs, mere were soon thirteen wrecked Zeros and new twin-engined I-45'i around the field for the Chinese to celebrate over. Thus was the 23rd Fighter Group organized, initiated, and activated fa combat. When I took over things at Kunming there were three fighter squadrons and one headquarters squadron. Major Tex Hill had one squadron at Hengyang, China, and with him were such deputy leaders as Ma]. Gil Bright, Maj. Johnny Alison, and Capt. Ajax Baumler. Maj. Ed Rector had another squad md at Kweilin with Capt. Charlie Sawyer tor his assistant in leader ship. These outlying stations are abont five hundred miles in the di rection of Japan from our head quarters on the plateau of Yunnan at Kunming. The third unit was the squadron under Maj. Frank Schiel, who was very busy training the most junior members of this new fighter group in the way of fighter aviation. I got the Group headquarters to running and stood by for orders to begin leading the fighter forces in action to the East. On July 10, Tex Hill led a small Bight, including Baumler, Alison, Lieut. Lee Minor, and Lieut. Elias, up on the Yangtse. Their prime job was to escort a few B-25 medium bombers against the docks ef Hankow. This objective of mis sion with our China force was nev cc all we considered to be the duty at our lighters, for if <uiy other tar get presented itself after the bomb ers were on the way home, we'd have some fun. Tex Hill led his flight along with the bombers, who were led by Col. C. V. Haynes. After the bombs had been released and the B-25's were heading back for base with their bomb-bay doors closed. Tex called for an attack by the fighters on the enemy shipping in the river. One of the bomber pilots said that Tex rolled his ship over from six teen thousand feet and streaked down for the Jap gunboats below. The little gunboats were shooting everything they had at the Ameri can fighters?but that, I've learned since, was what Hill liked. Tex Hill's guns were firing even as he pulled out right on the water, and they swept the decks of the enemy gunboats. The bomber pilot said that as the fighter ships would turn tow to the water and come in, each concentrating on one of the little Jap warships, he could see the six fines of fifty-calibre tracers cutting across the water. At long range they seemed to meet out in front of the fighter and then fan out and cov er the deck at the target. Then, as the speed of the fighter narrowed the range, the point where the fire tfsaai.il?the xero or convergence point at the guns?wax right at the waterline of the Jap boat, and it vust have knocked in a hole that -rippled the boat right away. On *Se second attack one of these gun ooats was sinking and on fire. Hill's four fighters sank all four of the lit tle metal gunboats. Next day, on another flight such as this one. Hill led eight fighters, four with wing bombs, for dive bombing Nanchang. Whila these tour went down with their bombs, Hill was to stay aloft with the other four to act as top-cover?just in case some Zeros tried to surprise the dive-bombers. Ajaz Baumler said that he saw the whole thing: Johnny Petack dove for his target, one of the gunboats on the lake, but as his bomb hit the boat the P-40 was seen to explode, evidently hit by ground fire. Ajax followed the burning ship almost to the ground and saw it strike in a rice paddy near a Bud dhist temple. So Petack, one of the AVG who bad stayed for the extra two weeks, was killed in action. It's peculiar how a man could fight all through those last nine months and then go down from a lucky anti-aircraft shot. John Petack had remained for the purpose of training the new pilots and his job was that of airdrome defense. He was killed on this of fensive mission. It was one that he could have refused with honor; in stead, he had volunteered for this dive-bombing flight and had J>een killed* in carrying it out. It was the most inspiring thing he could have done. I kept sweating out the organiza tion of the Group, and finally on July 17, I received orders from the Gen eral to proceed to Kweilin area and take charge of fighter operations. I know my heart nearly beat my ribs to pieces, for I was at last being or dered to go out and lead the fight ing. Just as I landed on this air drome in the Kwansi province I saw the remainder of the AVG get Major Ed Hector, AVG ace and squadron commanding officer, who took heavy toll of the Japs. Into a transport to begin their long trip home to the U. S. A. They called to me as they got aboard and I saw Bob Neal, their greatest ace, wave from the door as he stepped in. We were on our own now, except for the five AVG vet erans who had accepted Induction in China, and the thirty-odd ground men. As the transport got away and the dust settled down, I climbed out of my fighter and looked around at the country. I could but marvel at the geographical situation. Colonel Coo per and I?Cooper had been in the movie production business?used to discuss the peculiar beauty of the place,* and he'd say that it would make the greatest location in the world for a moving picture. It was a flat, tableland country, and over the ages it must have been under water. From the level plain rose vertical, rocky hills, like stalagmites. These were honey combed with caves where water, when they were submerged, must have dissolved the limestone that had been in the pockets. Evidently the glacier period had planed the 11 H.S 1.1 ?1 1 J vttuey urn as uie giuucr movea South, but the jagged rocks had withstood the pressure. Then, as the glacier melted, the caves had formed under water. Now the gray pinnacles of lava-like rock pointed straight towards the heavens. These one-thousand- to two-thousand-foot sentinels gave the valley an eery ap pearance that always subdued my general feeling of cheerfulness. As long as I went to Kweilin, I dreaded the extra nervous tension that I knew it would produce. Add to this a summer temperature of over 100 degrees, a humidity of almost 100 per cent, and a fine powdery dust that gagged you, and you can real ize that Kweilin was not a summer resort. There was just the single runway for the planes, cut there between those silent needles of stone. We had operations office in one of the natural caves, and the radio set in another. As I climbed out of my P-40, 1 could see neither. Here in Kweilin I first had ex plained to me the air-raid warning system on which we depended. It was of course a working dream that General Chennault had developed. Many times it has saved our fighter force in China, and without it our chances there against the Japanese would have been hopeless. It seems that the General had al ways known that Japan was our natural enemy. When he was re tired from the Air Corps, instead of staying on his farm in Waterproof, Louisiana, for the rest of his life and living an easy life shooting ducks and fishing, he had gone to China. Here, in a rugged exist ence, he had told his story to the Generalissimo. With the approval of high Chinese officials he had built this air-warning net, had caused to be constructed many strategic air dromes in China, and had preached the doctrine of pursuit aviation. The warning net is of course se cret and cannot be discussed in do tail. But if you imagine two con centric circles, one with a radius of one hundred kilometers and the oth er of two hundred kilometers, around each of most of the fields and largo cities in Free China, you have a general picture. In these circles are thousands of reporting stations ?some within the enemy lines, some right on the enemy fields them selves. There may be a coolie sit ting on a city wall watching for air planes or listening for engine noise and reporting it with a visual signal. There may be a mandarin in a watch tower; a soldier in a field with a walkie-talkie radio. All reports final ly get in to the outer circle, where some of the Information is refil tered, and finally It goes to the plot ting-board in our cave or opera tions shack. There Chinese inter preters get the reports and move little pin flags along the map of China?and we know where every enemy ship is in our territory and can see where ours are. The net works so efficiently in certain areas that we don't take off until the Japs are within the one-hundred kilometer circle; this gives us more fuel with which to fight. When the Japs come we know at what altitude they are approaching and from exactly what direction. We know their speed and their num bers. It's kind of a joke, too, that in several places we know when the Japanese roll their ships from their hangars or revetments, when they start their engines, and when they take off. Also it not only works for the obvious purpose of defense but has permitted us in many cases to locate lost pilots, for the navigation facilities in China are not the world's best. Of course the locating of lost, friendly ships took another element besides the warning net. It required the existence of intelligent radio op erators who knew the country and had common sense. These men, like Richardson, Mihalko, Miller, and Sasser, with others, stayed out there with us, and if you count the AVG aces as the first factor that permitted us to carry on in a man ner that didn't discredit the Flying Tigers, then these men who helped us by radio were the close second factor. Suppose that one of our pilots, re turning from a flight, loses his posi tion on his map because of a cross wind, because of unfamiliarity with the country, because of his own stu pidity?which we call a "short cir cuit between the head-phones"?or just because the maps of China are very inaccurate. In many such in stances we would have lost an air plane worth virtually millions in our combat tone, and perhaps the pilot too. The pilot who is lost calls the ra dio station that he thinks is closest to him, and in code tells the trou ble. The radioman tells him to cir cle the next town he passes for a few minutes. Down in that town, marked on his map with an unknown Chinese character, some member of this warning net sees him and re ports one P-40 circling. In a few minutes the radio operator gets the report and tells the pilot: "You're reported over Lufeng?fly fifty-eight degrees at two hundred miles an hour and we'll have supper ready? we've got grits tonight?yeah." One amusing but near-tragic in stance of this orientation by means of the air-warning net happened about the time the-AYG induction board came to China. Another fight er group commander had waited tor several daya over in India to come into China with a large flight of P-40E l'a. He finally came over on a transport and eventually got tired of waiting for the fighters. He didn't know that the weather was very bad in Burma, and that the mon soon winds from the South could take them so far off course in a few minutes that the entire flight might easily get lost. After a long wait he came back to Assam in the transport and led his pilots towards Kunming. First of all, he corrected too much for the southerly wind, and in a very short time he was fifty miles South of his course and near two Japanese fields. His unbashful deputy lead ers herded him to the North. And then the monsoon wind from out the Indian Ocean began to work on his navigation, and in another hour he was lost far to the North of the course. Night was falling, and the hills of North China were rising threateningly. Then the net, if it hadn't justified its existence long before, would have begun to pay for itself. The leader called Kunming, and the operator there, a tough old former Navy man, heard him and gave the instruc tions: "Circle the first town you see." The group commander began to argue at once?said he didn't have enough gas to waste circling; but the AVG radio-man talked him into doing lb Then the net report ed, and Kunming operator said, "You're over Yangpi?fly 340 de grees for twenty minutes and you'll see the lake Kunming is on." (to mm oosmnuxo) L 11 IMPROVED u J' " w" " UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL Sunday i chool Lesson ? &XS?^.L!23STOM* ??1?? bj WMtara N.w*p? (MM. Lesionjor February 18 TREASURES OF THE KINGDOM ^LESSON TEXT?Matthow U:4MI; M:t? GOLDEN TEXT?Every food gift ul ?vary perfect gift ti tram above, and oem eth dam tram the rather aI lights. with whom la as vmrlableneaa, neither shadow at turning?Jamea 1:17. Hidden treasure 1 ?there la some thing about it that catches our Imag inations and stirs our expectancy of discovering great riches. Men are constantly going on expeditions to seek out loot treasure. Others are engaged in study and research to bring out new treasures in nature or In the realm of learning or art. Why not stir up a little excite ment about the unbelievably rich treasures which are hid In Christ and In the life of faith in Him? It is not hidden, except to the eye of unbelief, but it is greatly neglected and all but forgotten by many. The Scripture portions assigned for our lesson are not as well adapted to it as one could wish, but we may make good use of them. We learn here: I. The Cost of Redemption (13:44 46). Undoubtedly the lesson committee had in mind the usual interpretation of these parables, which presents the sinner as the one seeking the treasure and giving up all that he may have Christ. While it is true that our redemp tion is worth more than anything else in all the world and that the Christian would gladly set aside (or would he?) everything for Christ's sake, yet that does not fulfill the thought of this parable. After all, what has a sinner (whose own right eousness is described in Scripture as "filthy rags") to sell in order to obtain redemption? And is it for sale? (See Eph. 2:8). Obviously, we here have the Sa viour with His all-seeing eye and loving heart noting in fatten human ity the pearl of great price, His own Church. He then gives up all the glory He had with the Father, comes to the earth, and even be comes sin for us that He may bring us to God. Salvation in Christ is no little thing, not something which was pur chased with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. We ought to value it highly, and be cause we are bought with such a price we ought always to glorify God (I Cor. 8:28). II. The Heart of Compassion (14: 13-16). The One who was willing to die that men might have eternal life was not unmindful of their need of His mercy and grace for their daily problems. Jesus not only died that we might have redemption from sin, but He lived (yes, and lives now!) with tender-hearted com passion toward those in need. He who is the living Bread was not willing that men should hunger for their dally bread. The disciples saw only one solution?to send them away, but Jesus said, "They need not depart." One is fearful that the church has been all too quick about sending the needy away to some social agency or community charity, when it should have won their confidence by its compassion, and then brought them to Christ. Little la much when God la In it, and by the divine touch of Jeaua the multitude waa fed. Could we not do far more for Chrlrt if we would only uae the little we have, with His blessing, for- the help of. our., fellow menT m. The MtraeU of Provision (14: 1741). We pray, "Give ua thia day our dally bread," and it ia only aa God provides it diet we have It He gives life to the aeed, and multiplies it in rich harvest, and we eat, we truet, with thankful hearts. That is a miracle?so oft repeated that we have lost a bit of the wonder and (lory of it. Here in the story of the feeding of the five thousand and more (v. 21) with five loaves and two fishes, we have such a mira cle of provision taking the little and making it enough for the multitude. The Lord may not work in exactly the same way today, but do not God's servants see Him multiply their meager store as they give it out in His name? That is true whether the gift be of material or spiritual things. God can and does bless those who trust Him. Letting what we have pass through the hands of Christ results in transfor mation and multiplication. Try itl Men and women are value-con scious in our day. While money is plentiful, goods of real quality are scarce, and one must look for that which has durability and worth. The treasures which Christ offers are en during. He says, "Lay up for your selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matt. <:20). By contrast, "the things Satan of fers are temporary. In a few years most earthly honors and wealth must be laid aside. But the treas ures of the kingdom are treasures which God^ intends that we should THE NAZI OLYMPICS t ?? ("The German minister at propa faada declared that the German Idea at a gead world was one where the Olympic games provided the only conflict among men." ? News Item.) IN yard dash-All Nazis to get a head start of N yards. SN yard flash For pure blondes only. Quarter mile relay?Germans of pure strain to have wind at backs. Half mile relay?Open In dis gruntled paperhangers, postcard painters and revengeful corporals only. High Jnmp?All contestants other than Germans must concede that the Germans, however high they may jump, have really jumped two feet higher. Pole vault?Herrlnvolk to have first choice of poles. No figures to be official until passed on by a com mittee made up exclusively of Prus sian military officers. (Note. No poles to be permitted for Jews, Ne groes, English or American pole vaulters.) Javelin harUng?Javelins for use by Germans to be of special de sign. Practice in streets crowded with little children to be compul sory. DiitP.nH thmw All fV\ntn?4nnfa ntK. ?r than Germans to throw left-hand ad, using sidewheel delivery. Banning broad Jump?Germans to Jump down hill with Gestapo at backs. (Anybody Jumping higher or farther than a German to bo dis qualified for Impertinence.) Shot pat?This event to be limited to contestants named Fritz, Adolf, Heinrich or Otto. Marathon?All contestants .other than those officially approved by Berlin committee on sportsmanship to wear pig lead in running shoes. Special watches to be used to time German runners. Bardie Races?Those of pure Ger man bloodlines may compete at any time they may wish; others must compete Immediately after a full meal. ? Swimming Events Fifty yard dash?Outboard motors (or Nazis compulsory. 1M yards?Nazis to swim in regu lar tanks; other nationalities to swim in hot oil. Under water swim?(All contest ants other than pure Germans will come up at their peril.) Water polo events?Opponents of Nazis to swim on backs. German players to consider spiked shoes as proper equipment. ? The laying of mine fields on all tracks after Germans have con cluded their part in the event shall be legal. All cups given as prizes may have booby traps attached. No further no tice of this shall be necessary. Experiments with new Jet bombs and other horror weapons shall be conducted on all parts cf the field except when Germans are compet ing. i All cash prizes shall be paid in wooden money. ? ? ? Ig GOODE OLOE FILMS Once la a while an old film is re-shown, and it is surprising how often they seem far ahead of the later ones in humor, drama and general interest! Sad) a picture is "If I Had a Million," first shown over a decade ago, relating, with gorgeous fun, what a half docen or dinary people do when they are left a million by a gooney millionaire. We have seen few funnier pictures since and lost no time making for the theater that was showing it again. What a bunch at atari ta om eemedyl Chariot Laaghten, W. C. Flcldt, Charles Battles, the Ute Richard Bennett, lash Oakle, Oeerta Rett, Gary Cooper, May Robsoa aad a half doton others! There has sorer been a more slde spBtttat episode la pietaree than the one where fields, Us brand new oar Jost wrecked by a careless drirer, bays a lock of ears with his sud denly acq aired death and devotes the day to smashint Into roadhoys. * Incidentally, Gary Cooper and George Raft, not then famous, were just attracting attention at the time, and it was Charlie Lauthton's first American picture bit ? e ? Do Tan Remember Away Back When ffc# iBrdiopfif A# ffffffffnfry T You could count om mmaf tin mm hr Umdmf You could rtmmmitr tho mm o/ (be dgmretu you're ?nUmgf e ? ? It Helps fifteen thousand dollars was paid at suction the other night tor a Frans Hals painting "Portrait of a Laughing Boy." It goes to show what it means to hare anybody around the house who seems to feel pleasant these days. ? ? e "Muddled Meat Crisis Grows"-. Headline. . ? Muddled meat? That's a new name for modern hamburgers, we Making That Problem Window Fit Perfectly Into the Room Setting By Rath Wyet h Speart "THE (mart plaid curtains shown herewith match the window seat and several slip covers, and the wooden curtain pole, rings and drew cord match the dominant color in the plaid repeating the color ot small cushions and lamp base. The window lets in the maxi mum of light and you would never guess that originally it looked like a postage stamp in the middle of a blank wall. At first it seemed impossible to curtain it because fixtures could not be screwed to metal casements or the plaster. The built-in book shelves solved that. A space a foot wide was al lowed at each side of the window so that the curtains could hang over the wall, and the painted wooden pole was then screwed to the sides of the shelves. The diagram shows this and how the draw cord was knotted so that the curtains could be pulled back and forth. ess NOTE: These curtains are from tha 32-p?ge booklet "Make Your Own Cur tains" which Mrs. Spears has prepared for readers. To get a copy send IS cents with name and address direct Is: Mrs. aura wins spkass Bedford Hills New Yerfc 1 Drawer IS Enclose 15 cents for booklet "Make Your Own Curtains." Name.... Address ' A temperature of from SO to 85 degrees F. is suitable for most plants. To prevent corks from sticking in bottles containing glue or pol ishes, coat the cork with vaseline. Add a bit of vinegar to the dish water to cut the grease. ?o? To flatten rag corners that curl and slip on the floor, cut out L, shaped pieces of cardboard, and glue to the underside of the rug at the corners. Cover the top of your bedspring with oil cloth. This will be a good protection for your mattress and will make it easier to turn your mattress. Use the top of a lipstick con tainer over the ends of your cur tain rods when pushing them through freshly starched curtains. To rid the chimney of soot, burn potato peelings or the tops from mason jars or other bits of zinc. Keep the damper open while cleaning. Pat a few robber bands around the handle of your bath brush tc insure a firm grip upon it. A few drops of lemon juice gives added flavor and also helps ten derize ground beef. ?e? Keep yoar household sponger fresh by soaking them in cold sail water. ?e?. To prevent your piano wires from rusting, tack a small bag oi unslacked lime just inside. This will absorb the moisture. Basic English Basic English is a system of 85 English words claimed to be suffi cient for the needs of ordinary conversation and writing. On jronr faroritm M. B. C. mtaHom way fiaftwfay morning 11:00 A. M.v K. W. T. WHM WOPI WKPT WTAft WPTF WMBQ 10:00 A. M., C. W. T. DON'T JUST SUFFER COLD /*& MISIRII* GET MULTIPLE RELIEF RELIEF ONE-R*d*c* fartr. RELIEF TWO-Ew staff mm. relief thiee-r?6k* Mr RELIEF FOUR-Em* awdtpM. RELIEF HVE-LMSM hriidii. Grort'i Gold Tablets, llks many a doctor's proscription, are a multiple medicine. A combination of eight ac tive medicinal Ingredients rso?daily designed for reliefof usual ctAd aalo | erles. Insist on genuine. GROVE'S tssiVTS U* M "1 l-? wnen Tour innaras are CryingJhe Blues yank as th? dicksns, brinfi on SomtIi ?pttC lotxr tutt. nifT discomfort, toko Dr. CilMi famous ??iHrfao to quickly poll ?bo tdcfsr on lary "in nards", and holy yon foal Mgkt and MLCALaWUl/Slsthswoodorfalsan na laxatfra eaatainod in (sod old 8710* Ptydn to aosko it 00 oosy to toko. SSKSSSSsSSTdCSS; dna Mora yolotoklo and aarmhlt to taka. So bo oaro yonr laxattrs is saa tainsd fat Syrup Psyrtn. MUST ON ML CMJWmi?fha ft ' Yociu oi mflUona lor 50 TMrt, ?m4 fed I that orhaloaaM rail of boa wnotlyo don. Bran dnkky cMdraa isra it. CMITMNt Has only aa dbsatad. . DR. CALDWELL'S SENNA LAXATIVE VIKBt FEFSH I MM! Sen-Gay qv/c/M ? F**I th* eoothinf w*rmth of Ben-Q*y...*s it foe* to work, relieving tboae cold ?ymptom*. Doctor* know about th? two f*raou? jm: n-ralieving agents in Ben-Gay?methyl ?alicylst# and menthol Ben-Gay contain* up to 2 Vi Mm? ? mora of the** ingredient* than fir* other widely oftrad rub-in*. For fast relief, get 4*nuin* quick-acting Beo-Gay.

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