Lt. Col. R. Baumgardner, China, 1943

I have nothing but this image from the Smithsonian regarding pilot R.L. Baumgardner. He landed and signed the Register on Tuesday, February 19, 1929. He was piloting Travel Air NC6045. By all indications he was a civilian pilot on that date (he listed no rank and was not flying a military airplane).

He carried a single passenger, Mary Von Mach. Based in Detroit, MI they were southeast bound from Phoenix, AZ toward Lordsburg, NM.

Von Mach was one of 41 female pilots to sign the Register. She had previously landed at Tucson the preceding Wednesday, February 13, 1929, carrying Baumgardner as passenger. At that time they were northwest bound from Lordsburg to Phoenix.

The image at left, clipped from a group of five officers, was annotated, "... Lt. Col. R. Baumgardner ... China, 1943."

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UPLOADED: 01/12/09 REVISED: