Show LIFE IS SAVED BY handkerchief aviator stranded in no mans land faces fire of friend and foe WAVED SIGNAL TO FRENCH by fast running sergeant baugham reaches comrades in safety Is rewarded with military med al by the french washington night sergeant james U baugham of washington who was transferred the lafayette esca dralle to the paris air defense squad ron has been reported a prisoner in unofficial advises advices to his mother mrs mary A baugham Daug ham president of the dixie agricultural company of washington sergeant baugham joined the lafayette escadrille in 1917 when he was eighteen years old and won the solitary medal the highest french ta noncommissioned men the incident that earned the ser geant the medal was described in a apt ter he wrote recently paying tribute to the wonderful spirit ot his french comrades sergeant baugham said we had been sent out to patrol back of the german lines and to at tick anything enemy we saw having incendiary balls in my gun I 1 was prepared to attack a german sausage or observatory balloon just as I 1 was beginning the descent to attack I 1 saw a boche airplane going in the direction of our lines to do photographic work I 1 put on full speed and signaled to the other planes to follow they evidently did not see my signal for they go down with me when I 1 got meters from the boche I 1 started firing the enemy replied by turning loose both guns at me I 1 must have got him however with the first blast tor when I 1 pulled up to make another dive he was silent then something happened that would make the man on earth cuss and as I 1 am not one of the best QU can imagine that I 1 left little unsaid sly motor stopped absolutely acad there was only one thing for me to do and that was to dive lose the boche and try to to the french lines As I 1 went past the german machine it immediately came down and putting some nice steel very close to him I 1 did all the I 1 had ever learned when I 1 had finished I 1 found that I 1 bad come down from to 1000 feet and there was no boche in sight I 1 then looked around for a place to land I 1 saw a fairly good place off to the right and made it I 1 then stepped out of the machine right on the face of a dead german it took roe a minute to realize what was happening and I 1 awoke to the sound of bullets whiz zing past my head that dlan t disturb me much because I 1 was wondering why somebody burled the german looking around however all I 1 could see vas dead germans it suddenly dawned on me that I 1 was in no mans land of all the places there are to land in france and germany I 1 had to land between the talo then I 1 realized what a predicament I 1 was in and began to think up some way to get out of it the thought came to me that it I 1 was nearer the german lines than to the french I 1 had better get rid of those incendiary balls in my pocket for it the germans catch you with them you are shot at once I 1 climbed back into my machine to the tune ot bullets and took out a load of olef cartridges threw them on the ground and then removed my compass and altimeter the first thing I 1 struck was a grave unfinished with two of the enemy in ft I 1 cased myself down into it lifted up one of the germans and put the cartridges beneath him I 1 started walking back to my machine As I 1 got near it the boche lines started their and rifles at me and alie french anaw are that I 1 was one of them also opened up I 1 had to walk feet between the lines and it was no joke with all that fire concentrated in my direction one bullet passed so close to my face that I 1 really felt the wind I 1 decided that id have to go to one of the lines enemy or friend but just alien I 1 heard a machine overhead I 1 looked up and saw white puffs breaking out all around it t on the way the fire got so hot I 1 had to fall face down and I 1 move for I 1 guess five minutes there being no good reason for my being shot like a dog I 1 ranked out my hand 1 and waved it at the french lines they finally got it after ten aln utes of waving and I 1 saw a officer beckoning me from a bit ot woods it there ever has been a faster 50 ard sprint I 1 never heard of it I 1 ran so fast that I 1 ran right into the officer and very nearly knocked his rev oh er out of his hand I 1 showed him my identification card and then started cursing him or shooting at me lie had been taking potshots pot shots at me out there lie apologized saying that he could only see my head because his position was slightly lower than no mans land they took me up to the divisional general and I 1 reported that I 1 had seen more than dead germans and only two frenchmen it made him so happy that he gave me a dinner and complimented me for being a good soldier |