Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-01-07 | Page 5 | Send Wreath for Grave of Aviator

iffl Si fob WEJ AVIATOR Lafayette Escadrille Honors Memory of Captain De la Tour of the "Swans." By HENKY G. WALES, Staff Correspondent of the International Interna-tional News Service. PARIS, Dec. 31. (By mail.) The Lafayette cseailrillc has sent a wreath ' tu the crack French air unit, the ''S-.vanp," to be jilnccd on the grave of Captain Mathieu Tenant He la Tour, commandant of the escadrille, who was killed recently in an accident. Both the Lafayette and the Swan escadriiles are members of the same "roup of aviation." and have traveled trav-eled together along the front during the pa-t two years, assisting in eery trench offensive. Ueorges Gnynenier and sub-Lieutenant Donne, both killed, were members of the escadrille, and l.'fl'itains Hourteaus and Deuillm are ?h the unit now. Captain do la Tuur, who was officially offi-cially credited with destroying ten lerman aeroplanes, was killed in trying to make a landing during a heavy mist. lie brought his Spad machine to within ten feet of the grouud and was .skimming over a field, just preparing pre-paring himself to alight, when a farm-hunse farm-hunse loomed directly aheud of him. lie was unable to swerve aside and his machine crashed full agaiust the stone wall of the house. The aeroplane aero-plane was wrecked and the pilot was "lead when picked up. Several American aviators attached (o the French escadrille stationed near bv, attended the funeral, but the Lafayette La-fayette members were not present, as t h'cv were located at some distance from the scene of the accident.