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Reprint from PHOENIX, ARIZ., Gazette November 14, 1940 The American Mercy Fliers Another hopeful evidence that America still looks to peace and not to war is the advance being made by the Relief Wings, volunteer civilian fliers' organization in the United States, that makes the drone of an airplane motor mean hope and help, not death, to the people of beleaguered areas. Mercy and aid, doctors, medicines and food--not bombs-- are delivered by the fliers of Relief Wings, organized to meet civil emergencies such as flood, storm, earthquakes or other disaster with dispatch. These unpaid volunteer civilian fliers are co-operating in a preparedness move on the civilian front as the government is extending our military defenses for the protection of the nation. Volunteer pilots, planes and radio operators are being enrolled by the organization, headed, as is fitting in its purpose of mercy, by a woman, Ruth Nichols of New York, one of America's leading women fliers. [Left column] Reprint from NEW YORK TIMES Monday, July 8, 1940 100 PLANES STAGE DISASTER AID DRILL Privately Owned Craft of All Types Converge on Greenport, L. I., in Relief Problem RADIO AMATEURS ASSIST Ruth Nichols Directs Flight, Brings Doctors and Nurses in Big Transport Ship Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. GREENPORT, L. I., July 7 -- Small privately owned aircraft of many types, of all colors of the rainbow, converged on this town this morning in what is believed to be the first mass flight ever designed for disaster relief. One hundred land and sea planes from six States coordinated their movements via amateur radio operators in solving a hypothetical hurricane problem. They glided to earth singly or in groups on two adjoining fields on the farms of Mrs. Harrison McCann and Herbert L. Fordham, about a mile and a half north of here. A wide swath cut through the grass provided the runway in each case. The trim pontoons or curving hulls of thirty seaplanes rode at anchor in a yacht basin on Peconic Bay. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Relief Wings, Inc., worked out the situation under the direction of Miss Ruth Nichols, one of the nation's best-known fliers. She arrived over the scene in a United Air Lines transport that took off from La Guardia Airport, North Beach, Queens, with medical and food supplies, nurses and doctors. "Appeal" for Help Made Setting the stage for the manoeuvre was an urgent appeal for help delivered at dawn to the American Red Cross. A hurricane had devastated the northern fluke of Long island (memories of September, 1938, lent the message authenticity); villages and the countryside were laid waste, hundreds of persons were homeless, many of them injured; roads were blocked, normal communications wrecked. What could be done? New York was 123 miles away, New Haven, Conn., a scant forty miles, and who could tell about nearer centers of aid such as Southampton and Bay Shore--were they stricken? H. S. Boerum of Greenport, amateur operator of radio station W2CEN, summoned the airmen. Mrs. Kay Kibling, at the transmitter of the World's Fair radio station W2USA, joined the mobilization of 100 of their fellow-operators in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Flight leaders were notified: Tony Little in Norristown, Pa.; J. Starr at Roosevelt Field, L. I.; H. J. Lentz of Hackensack, N. J.; F. B. Chalifoux in Boston and George Arents Jr., responsible for the Westchester area. Miss Nichols was ready to leave La Guardia Airport by 8 o'clock. Accompanying her in the airliner were Dr. B. Weiss and Dr. J. S. Sack, both of Brooklyn, flight surgeons; Miss Matilda Grinevitch and Miss Juliann Sabatt of New York, flight nurses. Essentials supplies were carried. Scene Reached Quickly The heavy plane was landed at Suffolk Airport, three miles south of Riverhead, and its personnel and contents at once ferried to Greenport by lighter craft already assembled. Miss Nichols had reached the hurricane belt in fifty-five minutes. Several thousand local residents and Summer visitors gathered along the roads to watch these measures for their "rescue". Lyle A. Brookover of New York, assistant problem director, estimated that 300 pilots and their associates participated. Certificates of appreciation were distributed. The Civil Aeronautics Authority was represented by Glynn Jones of Boston and the American Red Cross by George P. Drowne, both of whom expressed the highest of praise for the experiments success. The Nassau County Police plane patrolled the neighborhood, while police of Southold Town, Greenport village constables and fire fighters; State Troopers, Boy Scouts and the Sheriff's office of Suffolk County stood by for an emergency below. Supervisor S. Wentworth Horton of Southold and Mayor John Kluge of Greenport welcomed the fliers at a breakfast in the Dipper here. Relief Wings entertained at luncheon in the Shelter Island Casino. [right column] Reprint from NEW YORK TIMES Friday, August 16, 1940 PLANES MOBILIZED FOR 'RESCUE' AT SEA Relief Wings Draw Armada to Gloucester for Practice in Disaster Summons DEFENSE SERVICES JOIN IN Gov. Saltonstall Dedicates Seaplane Float--Larger Army is Vital, Says Gen. Connor Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES GLOUCESTER, Mass., Aug 15-- In the first marine disaster mobilization practice arranged by Relief Wings, Inc., of New York City, an armada of seaplanes from points along the Atlantic Coast from Philadelphia north alighted today in Gloucester harbor. The mobilization was part of Gloucester Defense Day, at which Governor Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts dedicated the Gloucester seaplane base float. About 60,000 persons attended the exercises in Stage Fort Park, where, in 1623, colonists from Dorchester, England, made the first Gloucester Settlement and began the American fisheries. Led by Miss Ruth Nichols, executive director of Relief Wings, a civilian program to use airplanes for aid in war and peacetime disasters, the seaplanes began arriving before noon. "Rescue" From Racing Schooner The Gloucester racing schooner Gertrude L Thebaud, representing an ocean liner carrying Americans and refugees from Europe to this have was supposed to be burning in the harbor. Its call for help was picked up at 10 A. M. by Station W-11-DY of Pelham, N. H., operated by William Koelher, and rebroadcast. A short time after noon the "rescue" was completed. The planes were operated by members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guards, Civil Aeronautics Authority and airlines in the Boston Area. They carried flight surgeons, nurses, and Red Cross workers, as well as medical supplies. Land planes stood by at an auxiliary base in Beverly Airport. After the "rescue," aviators and public officials were entertained by Miss Natalie Hays Hammond, general chaiarman of Gloucester Defense Day, at a luncheon. In dedicating the seaplane float, Governor Saltonstall praised the Gloucester Civic Patrol for oganizing the community for self-defense against possible attack by aggressor powers. Citizens First Line of Defense Rear Admiral William Tararnt, commandant of the Boston Navy Yard, emphasized that hte first line of defense was not the navy, but "the mental, moral and physical stamina of our citizens." The problem, he said, was to train sufficient men to man our ships. Maj. Ge. William Connor, retired, former commandant at West Point, urged adoption of compulsory selective service, warning against the danger of an inadequate army. Captain Robert S Fogg of the Civil Aeronautics Authority advocated construction of thousands of inexpensive seaplane bases, pointing out that although land plane bases could be destroyed by aerial bombs, seaplane bases were almost immune to such attacks. John L. Donovan, New England director of the National Youth Administration, praised local youths for aiding in national defense. V. W. Peterson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Boston said his organization was prepared to meet new challenges of fifth columns.