The guy in the turret is Lt. Arthur E. Easterbrook and the other fella is Lt. Arthur J. Coyle. As he taps the keys to write this, your blogmeister has learned little about the latter, but a fair bit about the former... including the fact that this crate was named for Easterbrook's gal back home.
San Diego Air & Space Museum
Along with the majority of Americans who fought in the Great War, Arthur Edmond Easterbrook got into the show rather late, enlisting in August of 1917. We're a bit unclear as to all the details of his time 'over there', but apparently he initially served with a British outfit, 9 Squadron RAF, as an observer flying in FE.8s. On August 20th, 1918 he was transferred to the 1st Aero Squadron and, during the final few months prior to the armistice, became one of the last aces of the Great War, netting two DFCs in the process.
Easterbrook's first victory came on October 6th, 1918, and has been identified only as an 'EA', 'enemy aircraft'. He scored two more victories on October 8th, both two-seaters of unknown (to us) type. His fourth victory came on October 22nd, another unidentified two-seater, and the fifth on November 4th, 1918... reported to be a Fokker D.VII. For the first four victories Easterbrook's pilot was Lt. William P. Erwin, but Lt. Arthur J. Coyle was pilot for the fifth, and the photo above was quite possibly taken upon the occasion of this last victory.
Here's a look at Lt. Erwin, Easterbrook's pilot for his first four victories. Erwin himself was credited with a total of eight victories, shared with the various observers with whom he flew.
San Diego Air & Space Museum
Unfortunately, your blogmeister knows nothing more of the exact circumstances under which Easterbrook's victories were scored. However, some details of his double-tally on October 8th are included in the citation for his second DFC, reproduced below...
Citation for Lt. Easterbrook's first DFC:
EASTERBROOK, ARTHUR EDMOND
First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army
Observer, 1st Aero Squadron, Air Service, A.E.F.
Date of Action: September 12, 1918
General Orders No. 116, W.D., 1919
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Arthur Edmonnd Easterbrook, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near St. Mihiel, France, September 12, 1918.
Because of intense aerial activity on the opening day of the St. Mihiel offensive, Lieutenant Easterbrook, observer, and Second Lieutenant Ralph E. De Castro, pilot, volunteered to fly over the enemy's lines on a photographic mission without the usual protection of accompanying planes.
Notwithstanding the low-hanging clouds, which necessitated operation at an altitude of only 400 meters, they penetrated 4 kilometers beyond the German lines. Attacked by four enemy machines, they fought off their foes, completed their photographic mission, and returned safely.
Citation for Lt. Easterbrook's second DFC:
EASTERBROOK, ARTHUR EDMOND
First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army
Observer, 1st Aero Squadron, Air Service, A.E.F.
Date of Action: October 8, 1918
General Orders No. 116, W.D., 1919
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Arthur Edmond Easterbrook, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Exermont and Varennes, France, October 8, 1918.
Lieutenant Easterbrook, with Lieutenant Erwin, pilot, successfully carried out a mission of locating our Infantry, despite five encounters with enemy planes. During these encounters he broke up a formation of three planes, sending one down out of control; killed or wounded an observer in an encounter with another formation; and sent a biplane crashing to the ground, besides driving away a formation of two planes and several single machines.
Arthur Easterbrook went on to serve with the USAAC during the 1920s and 30s, and with the USAAF during the Second World War. He was a member of the staff for Chief of the Army Air Corps, General Henry 'Hap' Arnold, and later commanded AFWTC (Air Force Western Training Command) and was commanding officer of Santa Ana Army Air Base in California, retiring as a Brigadier General on August 21st, 1946.
Sadly, he spent the last couple years of his life in a wheelchair after falling from a tree in 1950, and died from a heart attack in 1952 at the age of of 58.
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I came across this post as I was researching Lt. Arthur Coyle. My understanding that this Mr. Coyle was a good friend of John G. Winant, who was a member (led?) the Sixth Corp Observation Group with the Second Army, and went on to be Governor of New Hampshire and ambassador to Britain in WWII.
ReplyDeleteMr. Coyle went on to beome an oil man in Texas, and appears to have settled there, as this article from 1979 suggests. The picture is faded, but there are some good anecdotes about his service in the article. It appears that he was credited with three confirmed planes shot down.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19780126&id=YSNIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IYEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1079,1128340
If you come across any further information on either Coyle or Winant, I would be most appreciative, as I am researching a book about the latter - I'd be happy to send you my email address if are in possession of any interesting information.
Hiya, thanks for the comment and for the link... groovy stuff!!
ReplyDeleteAs a researcher, my forays into the aerial aspect of the Great War are limited to surfing the net and writing this little blog, so it's unlikely that I'll uncover anything that your undoubtedly more serious and dedicated research would reveal. But please send an email to berlincreation-at-yahoo-dot-com, and I'll give a yell if I do come across more on either Coyle or Winant.
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