LUFBERY

With the exception of the matchless Guynemer, no aviator has been better known to Americans than Major Raoul Lufbery, formerly of the Lafayette Escadrille. The names of even more successful fighters--Nungesser, Ball, and Bishop--fail to give the thrill that comes with the mention of Lufbery, the soldier of fortune and the incarnation of American dash and spirit. The greatest of the Americans who composed the Lafayette Escadrille, he has been among the greatest aviators in all the armies. Even the French, with their wealth of illustrious names to choose from, have called him "the incomparable pilot." No tribute could mean more than this.

There is something singularly tragic in his death. He was just about to be retired for a time to use his astonishing ability in the training of our new birdmen, and General Pershing had expressed a wish that "Lufbery had his last flight." The strange irony of fate made Pershing's wish fulfil itself, not in the spirit, but in the letter.

Though America has sustained an irreparable loss in Lufbery's death, there is in it an inspiration that can never fade out. The memory of this great warrior, struck in the moment of victory, will put some of his spirit into the efforts of our ever-increasing flock of sky fighters. We need have no fear that the first American Ace will not be amply avenged.