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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



depends on his skill, his adaptability, and 

 his attention to discipline. 



THE POST-GRADUATE COURSE IN TRANCE 



The finishing touches of the training 

 still remain, however. These are given 

 in advance schools in France, and com- 

 prise the more complex evolutions in the 

 air and tactical movements by wings and 

 squadrons. By the end of this course he 

 is complete master of the air, is able to 

 spiral, side-slip, execute the falling-leaf, 

 and handle radio, photography, or ma- 

 chine-gun, a fully trained member of 

 Uncle Sam's new army, entirely at home 

 in this new element. 



Thus is the great personnel of Amer- 

 ica's air service mainly built Up ; so is the 

 appeal of the Allies being answered, to 

 furnish them with an unequaled force 

 of men; for if there was one thing that 

 was hoped for when the United States 

 entered the war, it was that we should 

 make from our rich resources of fearless, 

 adventurous, and quick-thinking young 

 manhood a trained air personnel to fill 

 the places of that corresponding class of 

 men among the Allies, many of whom 

 had been ruthlessly killed off in the 

 trenches before the true place of avia- 

 tion was realized. 



THE LIFE STORY OF AN AMERICAN AIRMAN 



IN FRANCE 



Extracts from the Letters of Stuart Walcott, Who, Between 



July and December, 1917, Learned to Fly in French 



Schools of Aviation, Won Fame at the Front, 



and Fell Near Saint Souplet 



STUART WALCOTT was a senior 

 at Princeton University in the win- 

 ter of 1916-17. In view of his ap- 

 proaching graduation in the spring, his 

 father wrote to him that he had best be- 

 gin to think about what he was to do 

 after graduation, in order that he might 

 get on an independent basis as soon as 

 practicable. 



In response, under date of January 7, 

 he wrote : 



"You spoke of my being independent 

 after I graduated in the spring. If I go 

 to Europe, as I want to, to drive an am- 

 bulance or in the air service, I will be 

 doing a man's work and shall be doing 

 enough to support myself. If the work 

 is unpaid, it is merely because it is charit- 

 able work and as such is given freely. 



"If you want to pay my way, I will 

 consider it not as dependence on you, 

 father, but as a partnership that may 



help the Allies and their cause. I will 

 furnish my services and you the funds 

 to make my services available. If not, 

 I will be willing to invest the small 

 amount of capital which has accumulated 

 in my name. 



"I have been thinking of this work in 

 Europe for over a year now and am still 

 very strong for it. I don't know what 

 the effect will be on myself, but if it will 

 be of service to others, I think that it is 

 something I ought to do." 



Being assured that the expenses would 

 be provided for, he then began an in- 

 vestigation as to the best method of pro- 

 cedure to obtain training as an aviator. 



BEUEVED THE) AVIATOR OE GREAT SERVICE 

 TO HUMANITY 



In a letter dated January 26 he said : 

 "Many, many thanks for sending me 

 the book on the French Flying Corps, by 



