jackharding

The aviator on the left side of the frame is (then) Lieut. Erik Henning Nelson (USAAS), pilot of Douglas World Cruiser No. 4 "New Orleans." There are several photos of him throughout the SDASM's collection on Flickr. See: dmairfield.com/people/nelson_eh/index.html Leaning on the wing on the right side of the frame is Lieut. "Smiling" Jack Harding (USAAS), Nelson's co-pilot aboard "New Orleans." See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation

This is a photo of the would-be US Army Air Service Round The World Flight aviators. First row, sitting, from left to right, Erik H. Nelson, Frederick Martin, and Lowell H. Smith. Second row, standing, from left to right, Laclair D. Schulze, Leigh Wade, Leslie Arnold, and Jack Harding. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation Schulze (1891-1927) was an alternate for the flight. His name is frequently misspelled as "Le Clair D. Schulze." On August 2, 1927, he'd perish flight testing a new Curtiss engine. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. See: www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ldschulze.htm Frederick Martin (1882-1954) was the commander for the expedition, but his aircraft would crash onto the side of a mountain in the Aleutians. Both he and co-pilot/mechanic Alva Harvey would survive the crash, and hike down to a cannery after a 10-day ordeal. Martin would go on to have a military career of note. In fact, he would be the commander of US Army Air Forces in Hawaii during the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Martin_(general)

Correct spelling of Nelson's first name is "Erik." Standing to Erik H. Nelson in this photo is his co-pilot during the around the world flight of the Douglas World Cruiser "New Orleans," Jack Harding.