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This time we went back almost the Buzancy (The lines were then south of the Grand-Pre-Sommerance etc) while cruising around back there we sighted a bi-place enemy Rumpler who had evidently just got his altitude from his field near the little town of Bar about one kilometer from where we were. He did not seeus or if he did thought that no one but Germans would be so far back and paid no attention to us. As he came nearer and slightly above us we noticed that he had some red and white streamers on his upper wing. As he passed directly over, Lieut. Baucom gave him a burst from both guns. He viraged to the left and started for home then for some reason turned and faced us, I headed into him pouring lead into his engine and fusilage until he slid off on a wing and shot under our side. As he passed, Lieut. Baucom gave him another burst which I believe killed the observer for his guns flew up and he hung limp over the side of the fusilage for the rest of the scrap. I put the machine into a vrille turn and by doing so got on his tail and started shooting at him. His machine began belching out heavy smoke and he started into a deep spiral ending up in a slip as he was very near the ground and clearly out of control, I pulled off him to observe the crash; as I pulled away Lieut. Baucom who always wants to finish an argument with the last word gave him a final burst. He crashed about a mile from his field a complete wreck. We were fortunate to have had a formation along, because we were able to obtain our confirmation on returning home. Seeing no other ships in the air and our gas beginning to run low, we returned to our field, the "Party" having been a complete success. 

The following account of Lieut. Gastreich illustrates the difficulties encountered by our observers in accomplishing their missions.

"On October 1st, I had my first really important mission. A "drive" was on and all ground communications at the front was down. The Corps and Division commanders did not know where the front line was. Two other planes had made an attempt to get the line but had not returned. 

As we left the ground I checked out with my wireless thus making sure that it was O.K. when I called the Division they did not show me any answer so I knew that their receiving set was out of order, which meant that no message could be sent back but that we would have to come back and drop it. So off to find the front line we went.

We were soon passing over the small valley that runs parallel to our front and all along the valley I saw what looked like flashes of matches, being lighted, but which I knew were our batteries that were putting over the barrage, which in a few minutes I was able to see. I knew that our troops must be somewhere near the barrage. 

I picked up my signal pilstol and put in a cartridge, (which was a signal for the infantry to show me here they were) and pulled the trigger. The cartridge did not go off nor any of the other that I had with me.

This meant that we would have to go down close enough to the ground to be able to see the troops themselves. So I called to my pilot, Lt. McCormick, and told him. He said he was having some trouble with the engine, but that he would take a chance so down we went. In a minute we were passing through the course of the shells that were falling in the barrage and well we knew it for the plane rocked around like a row-boat in a rough sea.

We got down to just over the trees and there were our troops following the barrage, in their easy and care-free way. They even stopped to look at us as we flew by. We got a little to the north and west of our lines and a hun machine gun nest fire upon us. They had not been firing on the advancing Americans because this nest was located in kind of a pocket and soon our troops would be up along side of it and then the Huns could put over a cross fire that would stop our advance.