| PILOT
STORIES: Smith, Walter J.
| Air
Mail Service Began: |
September 19,1919 |
| Air
Mail Service Ended: |
September 8, 1922 |
| Assignments: |
College Park, Maryland |
| |
October 3, 1919 –
Belmont Field, New York |
| |
October 9, 1919 –
Chicago, Illinois |
Walter J. Smith was one of the pilots who flew
the mail on the August 1921 day and night transcontinental
airmail service. Smith flew the mail in wretched weather on
the leg between Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.
Smith later died while trying to impress the
spectators at a state fair. Postal authorities had granted
their permission for him to carry mail from the Indiana State
Fair in Indianapolis to Cleveland, Ohio. Smith banked strongly
at 200 feet, which was too much for the de Havilland. Smith
died from his injuries the next day.
|
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