usarmyairservice

The postcard is signed "John, Jr." There was only one "John, Jr." among the Around the World Flight Army Air Service flight crews, Lt. John "Smiling Jack" Harding, Jr. (1896-1968), co-pilot (with Lt. Erik H. Nelson) and mechanic of the Douglas World Cruiser named "New Orleans" (Air Service Serial No. A.S. 1232; c/n 148). There are photos of Jack Harding (and the other Around The World flight aviators) throughout the SDASM Flickr Commons collection. See: www.flickr.com/search/?sort=date-taken-desc&safe_sear... Here is a SDASM photo of Harding (left side of the frame) and Nelson (right side of the frame) standing next to "New Orleans": See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation www.findagrave.com/memorial/194943406/john-harding

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)

Burt Eugene Skeel (1894-1924) www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5000691 He was killed on October 4, 1924 when the wings of his Curtiss broke away from the fuselage when he was at 2,000 feet (615 m), and he went into a dive at about 275 mph (440 km/h). (Source: Wikipedia)

His flight suit is also his check list.

Thanks Richard Norton, we'll fix the spelling of his name.