Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1918 — LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS

Lieut. Pat Maloney Writes a Letter to ‘‘Dad.’’ Lieut. Patrick Maloney, a sen of Thomas F. Maloney of Kankakee township and a former student of St. Joseph college, writes an interesting letter to his father which The democrat is permitted to publish. Lieut. Maloney is perhaps the only Jasper county boy in the aviation section who ever flew an airplane in France, and, while be had been overseas about a year before the armistice was signed, he did not get up to the actual fighting front, a fact which he greatly regrets. He is very proficient as a flyer and it was probably thought that his services would be of more value to the government as un instructor and tester than in the actual fighting zone: Monday, Nov. ,25, 1918. Dear Dad..—Yesterday was the day that everybody was to write a "Father’s Letter,” to got home for Christmas. I was away with a bunch of the boys Saturday afternoon, and yesterday to Les Chartes and did not know that yesterday was the day for the letter until this morning. We had quite a time. The town was one of the very few In France where Americans had not been stationed. Bernard Wise, "Buck,” we call him, and I were walking down the street looking over the town before mass when an old French lady stopped us and said, "La guerre flni?’’ “Vie, 'Madame,” we replied. "Merci!” she said, and shook our hands. We walked a little farther and an old gentle-, man stopped us and he, too, thanked us and expressed the gratitude of France to America for helping so greatly to bring peace and victory to the Allies. And people at home can feel happy for if It had not been for America’s help Germany would now be dictating the terms of peace. But w*hat I was about to tell you was the fueling Buck and I had when we were thanked and neither of us had done a bit of fighting although both of us have been here over a year. Censorship regulations have let up a bit and I can now tell you where I am and where I have been. I wpfl in Liverpool and Southhampton, England, a year ago this October, then I was In Harve, France, for a few days. Since then I have been all over France. Was in Paris a week, here In Tssoudun for a couple of weeks—doing guard duty, building blacksmith shops, hangars, barracks, etc. Then I went to Tours and took my first flight on November 14 a year ago. Was there until March 15. when I finished my preliminary training. Spent St. Patrick’s day in Paris. Went to Tssoudun for advance training but had hardly started when in May I was ordered to Clermont Ferrand to learn to fly Breguets, to go • to the front Immediately for reconnajsance into Germany.

I learned to fly Breguets but never went to the front. Instead T went to Tours and flew Biplace Sopwiths for a couple of months, then suddenly I was ordered to join a squadron that was going to the front in Breguets. I joined the squadron but they did not go to the front. Finally I was made an instructor on Sopwiths and later the official tester of all the Sopwiths at the Ind. Corps schools, i. e., I flew all ships before anyone else on the field flew them 1 . If they were O. K. I turned them over for use; if not. I had them corrected and tried them out until they were right. " There being qo chance to get to the front from there I finally got back to Issoudun to training, where I was when the armistice was signed, and where I am now. j I am now an instructor on the Nieuport machine. I have flown the following ships, Condron, Brequet, boomber ' coapid artne types, both Fiat and Reanault motor; D.