of different sources, most of them very much biased.

Furthermore, there always is a wide discrepancy between figures
published by adherents of the Allies and those published by the
friends of the Central Powers.

As an example of this condition the following may well serve: At the
end of January, 1916, an unofficial statement claimed that the Germans
lost during 1916 on the western front a total of 221 aeroplanes. The
French authorities immediately claimed that they had knowledge of 417
German aeroplanes which had been shot down by their aviators, and that
195 more machines were brought down damaged, of which undoubtedly a
number finally were to be considered lost to the Germans. Neither
statement, however, is supported by sufficient data to allow any kind
of checking up. The truth, therefore, must be sought somewhere around
the average between these two figures.

Equally difficult is it to arrive at any definite figures regarding
the losses in man power incurred by the various aviation corps. No
official figures are available except the lists of casualties
published in aviation papers. These, however, cover only the French
and English organizations, and even in these two cases they contain a
large number of men who lost their lives not at the front, but in
aviation camps in England or France while being trained.

However, that section of the French Aviation Corps containing American
volunteers has been more liberal in publishing statistics. On November
3, 1916, it was announced that the flying unit of the French Corps,
consisting entirely of American volunteers, had brought down between
May and November a total of twenty-one German machines. At that time
it consisted of twelve American members. Unfortunately it had lost
previously to this date two of its members.

Kiffin Rockwell of Atlanta, Ga., had been killed in an air battle over
Thame in Alsace on September 23, 1916. He had joined the Foreign
Legion of the French army in May, 1915, had been severely wounded,
received the Military Medal, and after his recovery had been
transferred to the Flying Corps. He had participated in thirty-four
air battles, and a few hours before his death had been promoted to be
a second lieutenant.

Norman Prince, Harvard graduate and native of Hamilton, Mass., was
severely wounded early in October, 1916. He died a week later on
October 14, 1916, in a hospital after first having been decorated with
the cross of the Legion of Hon