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July 18, 1918: Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt is downed in air battle

Don Martin diary entry for Thursday, July 18, 1918: 
Went out with [Fred] Ferguson [United Press] and [Edwin] James [New York Times]. Visited 1st and 2nd divisions. Saw many towns which have been almost wrecked with bombs. Americans advanced everywhere. Plan of [Field Marshall Ferdinand] Foch is to thwart scheme of Germans to straighten front for an attack on Paris. Is biggest thing of war for three years. Wrote long cable for New York. Lights went out so had to use candle. Air raid at three in the morning (Friday morning).

               The New York Herald published on Thursday, July 18, news about the downing of Quentin Roosevelt. Don Martin would later follow this up and visit his grave, where his airplane crashed in German-occupied territory.

Quentin Roosevelt Falls in Air Combat on Marne; Death Is Not Confirmed

             Don Martin cabled to New York on July 18 a brief report on the fighting, which was published in the New York Herald on Friday, July 19.
ALL OFFICERS LOST, BUGLER 
TAKES COMMAND OF COMPANY
By Don Martin
Special Correspondent of the Herald with the American Armies in France
 [Special Cable to the Herald]
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES IN FRANCE, Thursday [July 18]
                  American troops fighting in the ranks of the French southeast of Mezy refused to budge in the face of the onslaught of the Hun hordes. The German attack against our lines was greatest there.
                  One of our infantry companies lost all its officers in this fighting, and a bugler took command of the unit.
                  The Germans have been able to advance only one kilometre in two days of the most violent battling. At two o'clock on Wednesday afternoon they were foiled in the attainment of all the objectives they had set out to gain, although in spots they had succeeded in making slight advances.

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