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Show American legion (Copy for This Department Supplied hj the American Legion News bervlca.) MESSAGE SENT BY BALLOON Letters for Legion Posts, by National Commander Owsley, Dropped From Big Bags. Messages from the air were literally showered on posts of the American Legion from National Commander A.1-vln A.1-vln Owsley recently when letters were dropped from the basket of one of the entrants In the national elimination balloon race. The messages were received re-ceived in a number of Eastern states over which the balloon passed on its 400-mile journey over the country. Anticipating the general direction the balloons would travel from the national na-tional headquarters city, a number of personal messages from Commander Owsley were made ready, and the pilots planned to throw these from the basket, attached to tiny parachutes, as they passed over the towns and cities, later to be delivered to the commander of the Legion post In that locality. The balloon which carried this message mes-sage was entered as "The American Legionnaire," and was piloted by Opt. 0. E. McCullough, vice chairman of the Legion's national committee on aeronautics. Captain McCullough was attached to various balloon schools during the war and made many flights. He is now division passenger agent for the Pennsylvania railway, and in thl3 capacity handled transportation arrangements ar-rangements on the occasion of the visits of the king and queen of Bel- glum, Marshal Foch, the prince of Wales and other European notables. Assisting Captain McCullough was Lieut. Carlton F. Bond of the army elr service now stationed at Aberdeen Aber-deen proving ground, Maryland, as a Legionnaire. Lieutenant Bond has participated In a number of balloon races, being In the basket with Major Westover, who won the 1922 elimination race, which started at Milwaukee. Mil-waukee. On this trip the bag landed In the Province of Quebec, Canada, 850 miles from Its starting place. This victory entitled them to competition In the International race for the James Gordon Bennett cup, which started from Geneva, Switzerland, but they were forced down shortly after crossing cross-ing the Alps. The balloon used by Captain McCullough McCul-lough and Lieutenant Bond, and from which the messages from the Legion's head were dropped, was of 80,000 cubic feet capacity. It was of the army type and had been supplied by the commanding com-manding officer of the Three Hundred and Eighty-second airship company, G. H. Q. reserves, Third corps army area. The balloon safely landed at Frankfort, Frank-fort, Pa., a few miles west of Pittsburgh, Pitts-burgh, in this race, after being in the air for nearly 24 hours. The aeronauts were forced to land when they encountered encoun-tered a terrific storm. |