this loveliness, seen from an airplane at 12,000 feet, fades into flat
splotches of green traced with a tiny ribbon of silver.

The American Escadrille was sent to Luxeuil primarily to acquire the
team work necessary to a flying unit. Then, too, the new pilots
needed a taste of anti-aircraft artillery to familiarize them with the
business of aviation over a battlefield. They shot well in that
sector, too. Thaw's machine was hit at an altitude of 13,000 feet.


THE ESCADRILLE'S FIRST SORTIE

The memory of the first sortie we made as an escadrille will always
remain fresh in my mind because it was also my first trip over the
lines. We were to leave at six in the morning. Captain Thenault
pointed out on his aerial map the route we were to follow. Never
having flown over this region before, I was afraid of losing myself.
Therefore, as it is easier to keep other airplanes in sight when one
is above them, I began climbing as rapidly as possible, meaning to
trail along in the wake of my companions. Unless one has had practice
in flying in formation, however, it is hard to keep in contact. The
diminutive _avions de chasse_ are the merest pinpoints against the
great sweep of landscape below and the limitless heavens above. The
air was misty and clouds were gathering. Ahead there seemed a barrier
of them. Although as I looked down the ground showed plainly, in the
distance everything was hazy. Forging up above the mist, at 7,000
feet, I lost the others altogether. Even when they are not closely
joined, the clouds, seen from immediately above, appear as a solid
bank of white. The spaces between are indistinguishable. It is like
being in an Arctic ice field.