THE demand from readers for an article, showing how a professional writer’s mind works as he writes, has risen in recent months from a mild polite murmur to a steady daily yelp. Inadvertently we mentioned our desire to publish such article, and the hounds were off.

Robert J. Hogan, whose article on the subject is the one finally selected, writes us: “Believe me, this is the toughest job I’ve handled in a long time. I only hope your readers get as much help out of it as I got out of your magazine in the early stages. To lift the lid of the old bean and let your subscribers peer inside . . . gosh! what an assignment!”

Mr. Hogan flew for the U.S.A. during the War, and acted also as a boxing instructor at camp. After the War he was chief engineer for an aircraft corporation that took a beating in the depression. Bob Hogan started over again as a pick and shovel worker on a construction job.

Two years later he went into the home construction business for himself, and from there into selling real estate. His old love was aviation and “I was unhappy away from it. I took to writing to occupy my mind, writing flying stories for the pulps, on the back of the stationery of my real estate business. I have been a full-time writer for three years and sold my first story five years ago. I’ve sold to 35 magazines.

“I sell on contract 160,000 words a month, and lay off after three each day. I write about all the stuff that’s in the magazine ‘G-8 and His Battle Aces’ and I do the main story each month for Wu Fang, published by Popular Publications, 205 East 42nd St., New York City. The story that I talk about in the following article was sold today to Wu Fang and will appear in its January issue.”

• Download “Inside a Author’s Brain” (October 1935, Writer’s Digest)

DEMYSTIFIED. The cover of the issue in question of Robert J. Hogan’s The Mysterious Wu Fang! Hogan penned all seven lead stories for the magazine from September 1935 to the March 1936 issue when it folded.

That Frog dentist thought he was pretty funny when he gave Phineas “Carbuncle” Pinkham laughing gas. Well, as Phineas says, “He who laughs last—laughs last!”

• Download “Nothing But The Tooth” (March 1933, Flying Aces)

The top executives of a gold mine are trying to freeze out their own shareholders by looting their own mine so they don’t have to pay out dividends and then passing the gold off as coming from their unproductive and shareholder-free holdings. And although they’ve hired the villainous Hawk Breed to do the dirty work, when Rusty Wade gets involved, you know he’ll get to the bottom of it—which is right at the top!

From the pages of the May 1929 Air Trails, it’s our old pal Rusty Wade in Frank Richardson Pierce’s “Talons of the Hawk!”

Merciless and deadly was the air highwayman who held up his victims on the lonely Northern trails!

• Download “Talons of the Hawk” (May 1929, Air Trails)

MOUNT CARMEL ITEM Young Franklin’s commission is reported in the August 6th, 1917 Mount Carmel Item.

MIKE CHOMKO, researcher and long time fan of Franklin H. Martin, had been looking for any kind of information on Martin for twenty-five years. Sadly, there seemed to be very little information out there—that is until recently when, inspired by the evidence card from the Thrilling Group vs Adventure House court case which refers to Martin as being a Newark Newspaper man, he thought to look in the Newark, NJ newspapers. This was all it took to unleash the floodgates of information that was out there.

Turns out he was not a Newark newspaper man, but his father was a well-known editor of the New York Tribune and Newark Star, and that Franklin H. Martin was actually Franklin M. Martin! There was information on his six sisters (he was the only boy); the East Orange, NJ home he grew up in; his WWI military service and his untimely death just before he turned 50 in 1948.

A lot of information came up—including the story of how Franklin M. Martin earned his Croix du Guerre.

GOV. STOKES’ AIDE WINS WAR LAURELS

TRENTON SUNDAY TIMES ADVERTISER • 1919-01-19; page 7.

Franklin Murphy Martin Proves Worthy of His Boyhood Commission as Captain

FORMER Governor E.C. Stokes has recently been in receipt of interesting correspondence linking up a pretty incident of his Executive experience with a stirring episode of the bloody war recently ended. The central figure in the story is Franklin Murphy Martin, son of the late James Martin, one of the best-known New Jersey journalists of a decade ago and prominent each winter for many years among the legislative correspondents at Trenton. Governor Stokes during the summer of 1907 occupied the Little White House at Sea Girt, and among his guests over one week-end were Mr. and Mrs. Martin, accompanied by their bright eight-year-old boy. This little chap exhibited a lively interest in the camp and the movements of the soldiers, and the Governor found him so interesting a visitor that to humor the lad’s fancy, he created him his aide-de-camp with rank of captain.

The brief summer visit ended and the Martins returned to their home in East Orange, but the incident at Sea Girt had left an indelible impression. Says Mrs. Martin:

“Besides being an object of pride, that captain’s commission playfully bestowed, was an instrument of discipline in later years. Whenever the youthful captain got out of hand I, as his superior officer, (Mr. Martin died March, 1910) took down his commission from its place on the library wall. ‘Conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman’ had an awe-inspiring sound to the youngster. It worked beautifully.”

Eleven years passed: America entered what was no mimic war, and one of the first volunteers for active service from Essex County was young Martin, now a fine, energetic, well-developed young man of nineteen. He was first assigned to Camp McClellan, being attached to the 312th Regiment of Heavy Artillery, and in due course went overseas to fight with Pershing’s army. Here he was transferred to the 803rd Aero Squadron, and news recently reached his mother that he was decorated with the Croix de Guerre “for conspicuous heroism in action,” besides being promoted to be a sergeant as a further recognition of his bravery.

The story of the exploit in which he figured is modestly told in a letter which Sergeant Martin sent to his mother.

“I was carrying dispatches at the big drive along the Marne,” he wrote; “as you know I make fairly good maps and sketches and was sent up with a filer from headquarters over the enemy lines. On our return flight we were obliged to fly low because of the dense clouds and were shot down and fell on the wrong side of the Marne. I jumped into the Marne and, thanks to the bum aim of Fritz and my ability to swim some under water, delivered the maps—nothing conspicuous about it. Yanks are doing a thousand times as much every day. I was unhurt, but my pilot was badly wounded by machine gun bullets.”

Knowing Governor Stokes’ lusting interest in his eight-year-old aide-de-camp, Mrs. Martin sent the story of the episode to Trenton with the characteristic maternal remark: “Had the war lasted longer, 1 have not a doubt but that Franklin would have been a really truly captain.

“But I thank God it is all over!”

And Governor Stokes has gracefully acknowledged Mrs. Martin’s letter with an expression of his appreciation for “the splendid courage and Americanism of my once little captain, Franklin M. Martin. Kindly extend my regards to the little soldier who was, and the big soldier who is, and my heartiest congratulations and best wishes.”

Many old Trenton friends of “Jimmy” Martin will be delighted to learn of the distinction that has come to his gallant son.

• Download “How Franklin H Martin earned his Croix de Guerre” (January 19, 1919, Trenton Sunday Times Advisor)

JACK & PETE. Martin (Pete) pose with his friend Jack after being awarded his Croix du Guerre.

Humpy and Tex inadvertently Shanghai the wrong man and find themselves with an admiral on their hands who would like nothing more than to court martial the two of them until their thin explanations somehow work out to be real! “Noah’s Ark” by the Navy’s own Allan R. Bosworth is from the pages of the June 1931 War Aces.

Noah’s Ark was a nice peaceful crate ’til Humpy and Tex shanghaied an Admiral. Then they proved that three is a crowd—for the Heinies.

• Download “Noah’s Ark” (June 1931, War Aces)

This week’s story features that crack pilot for Tip Top News, the greatest gelatine newspaper that ever flashed on a silver screen—Nick Royce! Davis wrote twenty stories with Nick for Wings magazine from 1928-1931.

You’d think that once Tip Top News decided to acquire the Weekly News Reel, there wouldn’t be any more shenanigans when Nick and Art set out to get footage of the latest calamities—but you’d be wrong! Turns out, when you move up the ladder of success, there’s just a bigger more unscrupulous outfit making sure you don’t succeed. Maybe you expect that from the other outfit, but not from one of your own. Why that would be “Cloud Treason!”

From the February 1929 Wings, it’s Nick Royce in Frederick C. Davis’ “Cloud Treason!”

Nick Royce, sky-eatin’ newsreel pilot, is back again! And in tumbling skies he rides alone to bring traitor ships to showdown!

• Download “Cloud Treason” (February 1929, Wings)

Andy Hart in his D.H.6 turns hand-springs across the sky in this battle-scarred, fast-moving, quick-shooting novelette of air thrills above the Fields of Flanders. This story is based on actual happenings of the Great War so the location has been disguised as Dieppe.

• Download “Devils of Dieppe” (January 1929, Flying Aces)

William’s “Devils of Dieppe” caused a stir with one reader which eventually led to the whole deal being revealed. “Devils of Dieppe” was published in the January 1929 issue of Flying Aces. A concerned reader had his letter published in the April 1929 issue’s Tailspins column.

“Ace’s” response followed Al’s Letter.

However, three months later in the July issue, the truth comes out in Ace William’s actual response to Al Thomas’ letter.

The roar of propellers—the whistling of wind through the wires—the insane chatter of guns—furious breath-taking battle in the clouds! Fighting in the sky-lanes over the scarred fields of Flanders was a thrill to Hellbird—but Hellbird was grounded for disobeying orders! Could any ace with that moniker stay out of a fight?

• Download “Hell Birds” (August 1929, Flying Aces)

“I can’t help shivering every time I see an ace of spades. It always takes me back to the wrecked Waco out there on the desert, and the poor devil lying in it with the black death card stuck in his stiff fingers. And then I remember all the hellish, crazy things that followed, all marked by the black ace, with a bullet hole through its center. . . .”

Somewhere in the ranks of the border patrol a spy was operating. Day by day fliers were being knocked out of the skies—and always beside the dead bodies there lay a mysterious ace of spades!

• Download “The Ace of Spades” (April 1930, Sky Birds)

And be sure to check out Keyhoe’s Mad Marines—The Devildog Squadron—in five Weird World War Adventures in The Devildog Squadron: The Mystery Meteor! And look for the fourth and final volume of the adventures of The Devildog Squadron this summer!

Solemnly The Who’s Who of the Kaiser’s Cabinet gathered together and made a momentous decision. Since Phineas “Carbuncle” Pinkham could not be brought down by force in the air, he must be gotten by tricks on the ground. But we all know tricks were Phineas’ meat––he always had better ones up his sleeve!

From the February 1933 number of Flying Aces! it’s Joe Archibald’s Phineas “Carbuncle” Pinkham in “Sleuthing Syrup!”

• Download “Sleuthing Syrup” (February 1933, Flying Aces)