The following is an excerpt from “The Tanner’s Daughters: A Remembrance” by Helen Irvin Wyckoff, 1964.
Submitted by Helen’s Grandson, Charles J. Fausold of Valois, NY
It was on Cemetery Hill in Big Run that Charles Veil began his career of hairbreadth escapes and derring-do. He came flying down it on one occasion, hit a bump, and was hurled headfirst into a snowdrift where he lodged helplessly, kicking the air with his legs. The other kids thought it was funny, and he was almost suffocated before somebody pulled him out, scratched, breathless and furious. There was another occasion when he shot down the hill so fast, he couldn’t stop (he said), and he went scooting under a moving freight train. That was a fitting prelude to flying his fighter plane under the Arc de Triumphe and other hair-raising adventures with the Lafayette Escadrille during the First World War.
An extra-ordinary individual always was Charles Herbert Veil – with his flaming red head, his green eyes flecked with brown spots, his utter disregard for danger or even the ordinary dictates of caution. He always made lightning decisions and that ability, combined with a fantastic gift for judging distances and split-second timing, doubtless saved his life many times in the air over France. Perhaps his gifts served him ill in the long run. He was never intended for the dreary humdrum of daily living, and after all his high adventures to be mowed down in California traffic was the final ignominy.
Editor’s Note: The government of France awarded Charles Herbert Veil the Croix de Guerre with three palms and the Medaille Militaire for downing three enemy aircraft. In 1929 he attempted to set a world record for sustained flight.
About the Author
Helen Irvin Wyckoff (1896-1966) grew up in Big Run, one of four children of Charles H. and Fannie Irvin. In 1964 she wrote down some of her childhood memories as a gift to her two sisters.