J. Norman Hall, Noted Ace, To Speak Here

James Norman Hall of Colfax, Iowa, famous as the chief of American aces in the aviation service during the great war, will lecture in this city December 15. He is being brought here under the auspices of the university and will speak at the natural science auditorium. Mr. Hall first saw service with the British army in 1914 and served for nine months in the trenches before he was honorably discharged. However he could not keep out of the struggle for democracy and after a short visit at his home, he returned to France where he became a member of the famous Lafayette Escadrille under the French flag. The adventurous aviator transferred to the American service when this country entered the war. During his service in France, Hall brought down many German planes in exciting conflicts. His own machine was sent to the ground upon one occasion when the American was beset by seven Hun planes and he was taken prisoner by the Germans. Three days before the armistice was signed Hall managed to make his escape into Switzerland. The distinguished Iowan is also an author of note, having written "Kitchener's Mob"
and "High Adventure."


~ source: news item, Iowa City Citizen, Iowa City, Johnson co., Iowa, 26 November, 1919

~ transcribed for Iowa In The Great War by Sharyl Ferrall http://iagenweb.org/iowaoldpress/