robertshank

From the National Postal Museum: " Eddie Gardner, who began flying the mail in 1918, had been nicknamed "Turkey Bird" by fellow pilots who thought his wobbly takeoffs resembled a turkey trying to fly. Somewhat insulted, Gardner insisted on shortening the name to "Turk Bird," which he considered more acceptable. He had already logged over 1,400 hours of flight time and was working as a senior flight instructor for the Army when Gardner was asked to join the newly-formed Air Mail Service. "Before taking to the air, Eddie Gardner spent several years working as a chauffeur and mechanic in Chicago, Illinois. He had a love of auto racing, and in 1910 he purchased a sporty National Motor Vehicle Company racing car from Benjamin Lipsner (who, as the first superintendent of the Air Mail Service, was the person who hired Gardner as an airmail pilot). "Having survived his years in the airmail service, Eddie Gardner died on May 6, 1921 while stunt flying at a Kansas county fair." (more) Robert Shank (far left) -- "Appointed August 22, 1918, Robert Shank was the last of the original four airmail pilots to join the Air Mail Service. On November 19, 1918, Shrank and pilot Eddie Gardner were fired when the pair refused to carry mail in a low visibility fog that had already claimed the life of one pilot that morning."(more)

Nice photo :)

Eddie Gardner is an icon in his hometown of Plainfield, Illinois. The Plainfield Historical Society has a nice Eddie Gardner collection

The machine on the picture is not correctly identified. The crashed machine is a Standard JR-1B which can be easily identified by a different form of rudder, different wings and a headrest for the pilot. Standard made the machine in small numbers as a special single seat post plane, where the mail was carried in the department of the fuselage in front of the pilot. Cheers Kees

My Grandfather has a few more images from this crash. flic.kr/p/21MaHqo