An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew(25)

The 54 Squadron had originally been set up as an escort for bombing raids, but since the Battle of Arras in 1917, it had specialized in so-called low-level attack missions, in which enemy observation balloons were eliminated with bombs and machine-gun fire. It meant the pilots flew low to the ground, diving within range of enemy artillery. The squadron flew Sopwith Camels, which weren’t just the most advanced aircraft in the British air force but also the most dangerous. The engine’s cooling system caused a strong torque to the right during flight, which made takeoff and landing a risky business. Aside from this, minor damage to the planes, which were built from oilcloth and wood, could result in a burning inferno within seconds. The pilots weren’t given parachutes; these were considered unsporting and could also have led to unnecessary loss of machinery. The average life expectancy of a fighter pilot was no more than fifty to sixty flight hours. This came to about four weeks, depending on the weather conditions.

It looked like Teddy’s war was going to be even shorter. Late in the day on April 11, eight days after his first flight above the battle lines, he was hit by German machine-gun fire from the ground. Although his legs were seriously injured, he managed to land his plane safely on the Allied side of the line. After having his wounds treated at a hospital in the coastal town of Wimereux, he was transported back to England to recover further. In late May, he was released from the hospital to recover at No. 7 Aircraft Acceptance Park, a former golf course near London where airplanes were assembled in large hangars.

At that moment, the chances didn’t seem great that Teddy would ever return to the war, undoubtedly to the great relief and hope of the women he’d left behind on the shores of New York. In June 1918, a major German offensive led to nothing. The Allies now finally seemed to hold the winning hand, partly thanks to a weapon developed in America that seemed to supply a long-awaited solution to trench warfare: the tank. Although in the Vaterland, which was exhausted and depleted after four years of war, German Kaiser Wilhelm II continued to make warmongering speeches, it now seemed only a matter of time before his generals would come to their senses and finally end their losing battle.

Against all expectations, however, the complete collapse of the German front failed to occur. The Germans had dug themselves into the as-good-as-impregnable Hindenburg Line and seemed keener to fight to the death than to surrender. And Teddy, who had been champing at the bit all summer because there was nothing he wanted more than to be able to fly and fight, managed to get approval for a return to active duty in early August. On August 16, 1918, he reported to the central assembly point for all troops leaving for the Continent, and on September 5, he crossed the English Channel for the second time, once again as a fighter pilot headed to France.



For a short while, Teddy was put to work at a supply depot in Marquise—this was probably at the request of Anson Burchard, who did everything he could behind the scenes in Washington to keep his impetuous stepson out of the danger zone at the tail end of the war. But on September 18, no more excuses could be found to keep Teddy on the ground any longer, and he was allowed to report to the No. 3 Squadron, which was under command of the famous flying ace Major Ronald McClintock. He went back up into the sky that very evening.

Nine days later, September 27, 1918—Greta celebrated her twenty-seventh birthday that day—began what promised to be one of the last, if not the very last, battles of the world war. The target was a number of large underground tunnels along the Canal du Nord near Cambrai, reputed to be one of the toughest parts of the Hindenburg Line to crack.

At seven o’clock that evening, Teddy and four other pilots were instructed to destroy a few German observation balloons above the Canal de l’Escaut, between the locks of Masnières and Saint-Vaast. After a half hour of flying, a German aircraft appeared in their sights, and they managed to shoot it down. Teddy and a fellow pilot dived down to finish the job with bombs. At that moment, several German planes appeared and attacked the patrol from above. After a short but intense dogfight, the three British planes at the highest altitude were able to evade the enemy attack and return their planes safely to base. The two other planes failed to return home that evening.

Two days later, Masnières was taken by ground troops. No trace was found of the two missing pilots or their planes. Another two days later, a telegram from the British Air Ministry arrived at Birchwood: “Lieutenant Hostetter was reported missing on September 27, having failed to return from flying duty.” A few days later, a letter followed in which Teddy’s commanding officer provided the family with more details surrounding the young pilot’s disappearance and the impression he’d left during the short time he’d been under his command:

Your son came to the squadron on the 18th of September, and though he was only a short time with us, showed great keenness for his work and was rapidly becoming a fine pilot whom we could afford ill to lose. He was extremely popular among us and we all feel his absence very keenly. I wish you the sincere sympathy of all members of the squadron for the great anxiety you must feel.



The letter from Teddy’s commander reached Allene and Anson at a moment when America was in the grip of a major panic. In late August, a mysterious illness, which had first appeared that summer in southern Europe and was therefore called the “Spanish flu,” had taken its first victims in Boston. From one moment to the next, perfectly healthy people developed coughs, high fevers, sore throats, and severe muscle pain. Sometimes they died within the space of a few hours, sometimes within a few days, literally drowning in the liquid of their infected lungs as their skin turned a bluish black from a lack of oxygen.