No.8                    AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. 

That when the safely catches on door were pulled, the door remained 

jammed and would not fall away. Something had to be done quickly, so 

big Wes Witte picked another crew member, held him chest high and 

let him use both legs as a battering ram. The writer will not be able to 

explain the endurance without oxygen that let these men finish the 

job and save the lives of all as well as the plane. 

	In the next chapter they will give Captain Lippincott's crew credit 

for the same fine performance, and may wonder what the tribesmen in the 

mountain thought when an airplane door, followed by barrel after barrel 

of gasoline came hurtling out of the clouds. 

	They will tell how some of our pilots unofficially flew "Hump" 

trip after trip in Army Planes in order that young Army pilots could get 

the benefit of our pilots experience both in handling the equipment and 

in seeing how instrument flying should be done. How again when the Army 

had loaded planes ready but no qualified Captains - our Captains flew 

the trip with an Army crew to make possible the delivery of a few more 

tons of needed cargo in China. All these trips were made without thought 

of credit and during what should have been rest periods otherwise. Too, 

they will tell how members of the Maintenance crew conducted classes 

for Army personnel - both officers and enlisted men - to teach them 

about their equipment. They will point out that this helpful work won 

the respect of the whole Indo-China Wing when it had been feared that 

civilian crews would be resented by the G. I.'s. 

	They will deal sadly with the accident that caused the loss of 

Captain Charleton and his crew. They will have told about the difficulty 

after difficulty that were being overcome and the great work being done 

to get health and moral back to a point that would allow all to continue. 

Then they will have to tell about a rainy morning before daylight when 

the accident happened. The drop back to the lowest point of moral again 

and the build back to a working level. 

	The writer will again refer to Captain Hunt and his crew. It will 

be told how, after experiencing weather difficulties and engine trouble 

at l8,000 feet, over high mountains, it became apparent that the heavily 

loaded plane could not be saved. How Hunt saw to it that all his crew 

jumped to safety and then rode his plane until it crashed. Again they 

will be unable to give a much desired answer. No one will know what 

happened to prevent "Toby" from following his crew to safety by jumping. 

	They will be able to make a worth while story from all of this and 

will probably suggest that an "Honor Roll" tablet be erected in our 

building at LaGuardia. This to be dedicated to those left in a Military 

Cemetery in Assam and indirectly paying tribute to those who served 

through "7-A".
					


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