Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 301, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1918 — AMAZE THE ITALIANS [ARTICLE]

AMAZE THE ITALIANS

Yankee Flyers Credited With Great Heroism. & Exploits Quickly Win Honors Given by King Victor Emmanuel Himself. Italian Army Headquarters.—The Italian commandant under whose direction the American flyers are working on the Italian front has only one fault to find with them. -They never want to remain on the ground. The exploits which brought five of the American airmen decorations cannot yet be published, but the value of their services may be judged from the that King Victor Emmanuel travSS to the action held by the Amerleans to make the presentation. A few days ago Lieut. Alexander C. Craig of New York, while flying over Austrian territory, was attacked by a

chaser plane. By skillfully handling his own machine, after a few minutes of jockeying he put his adversary at a disadvantage and maneuvered his own gunner into such a position that a burst of machine gunfire shot the attacker dead and sent his plane to the ground In flames. Lieut. Harry L. Holtz of Burley, Idaho, showed he could combine great coolness in danger with a thorough understanding of Italian habits and customs. On his way back over the Austrian lines after a deep raid into enemy territory his plane Was struck by a burst of shrapnel from anti-aircraft guns. One fragment lodged in the body of Holtz’s' machine, another tore a hole in the right wing, while a third splintered one of the left-wing spars, at the same time cutting one of the aileron control cables to such an extent that a single strand of steel wire was left. Lieutenant Holts calmly pointed oat

the break to the Italian mechanic accompanying him. The mechanic, without a'moment’s hesitation, climbed out and fought his way to the wing against a tremendous wind pressure. Then, lying flat on his face and bracing his feet against the strut, he grasped the damaged cable with ong Jumd on each side of the break. Just when he was getting a grip on the last strand of the cable It parted and the value of his daring action was apparent. With the cable gone, the big airplane virtually was useless, but he coolly clung there, substituting his strength for It and enabling Lieutenant Holtz to bring the machine safely Into Italian territory. )