1893-1918 |
from GEORGE BEACH POST 4 Courtesy of Pete Dignan |
Collection from the George Beach Post 4 American Legion, Ft. Collins, CO Courtesy of Pete Dignan |
In response to my request for more information on the life and career of George Beach, Pete Dignan, and the members of the George Beach Post 4 of the American Legion in Fort Collins, CO, have kindly sent copies of many of the newspaper articles from their collection. I have transcribed many of them and I think you will find them to be very interesting. To read each article, just click on the title. |
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For the youthful Americans who signed on to serve alongside Italian aviators, World War I proved to be an exciting, if hazardous, series of adventures. By William Hallstead Article from Aviation History Magazine "At Foggia some 400 American aviation cadets plugged on through their exasperatingly slow training. On January 12 Lewis, (George M. D. Lewis), earned his "First Brevet" -- one of a series of demanding flight requirements. He wrote Bert with obvious enthusiasm: "[A] most wonderful day, air clear and windless....I had a machine all to myself all morning and had most of two hours in the air. I did my spiral exercises first, then my eights and then my 45 min. at an altitude of 1,200 meters [about 3,900 feet]....On the first series of eights the barograph came loose and I had to hold it under one arm and came down with only one hand to control the machine....Now I am an Italian Pilot and am in the Second Brevet line." The clumsy barograph used to create a paper record of altitude during each flight was normally worn around the pilot's neck. The strap had broken on this one, rendering Lewis a one-armed pilot perched in the icy slipstream with his other arm clamped on the barograph. His successful landing under those conditions was no mean feat. In morning fog eight days later the unit suffered its first fatalities. Lieutenants William Cheney and Oliver Sherwood, flying together, collided with George A. Beach, and all three died. The following day an elaborate funeral service was held in Foggia. The American cadets marched with French and Italian troops, and respectful citizens silently lined the streets." You can access the page by clicking on the title above. If time permits, I highly recommend that you read the rest of this fascinating story, starting at the homepage. |
City of Fort Collins, Colorado "The first Fort Collins man to lose his life in the war was Lt. George A. Beach, who was in pilot training. He was killed in a plane crash in Italy in January, 1918. Fort Collins' American Legion Post, founded in 1919, was later named after Beach." You can access the page by clicking on the title above. You may want to search on the name "Beach" in order to locate the entry on the page. For reasons of interest and as a matter of convenience, I have reproduced the top portion of the homepage of the American Legion Post just below. |
POST 4 2124 COUNTY RD 54G (OLD HWY. 287) FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 80524 Telephone: 970-484-0418 |
The Ladies Auxiliary was formed in 1921 and the Sons of the Legion (S.A.L.) was formed in 1932. Our Post is named in honor of George A. Beach who was born in this city in 1893. He attended elementary school here and graduated from High School where he was class Valedictorian. He chose as his college the Massachusettes School of Technology (MIT) where he was trained as an engineer. He then took a position with an engineering company where he was sent to South America. When America entered the War in 1917 he volunteered and was trained as an aviator. He was in the first graduating class sent overseas and was eventually sent to Italy to take further training on the Caproni heavy bombers. It was there he died in a mid-air collision with another Caproni. The accident took place in a heavy fog. He had volunteered to make a test flight. He is buried in Italy near where he fell on January 20th. 1918. Post #4 is proud to honor the memory of this brave man- by: Larry Scott Service Officer |
and learn about many of its various activities by clicking on the title below. |
from the article cited above.. Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper Back |