Dad found this article in his scrapebook tonight he thinks it was from 1947. No idea what newspaper it is from.
"Student Fliers' Bombs Fail to Ignite Bonfire"
A.& M. Men Toss Rocks At Invading Aircraft
Two home-fashioned fire bomb crashed down on the Texas A&M campus at College Station as two University of Texas students staged a one-plane "air raid" on their traditional rivals.
For a few minutes, officials of both schools said today, the encounter took on most of the elements of warfare.
The two students-whose identities were withheld by university authorities-swooped down toward a 40 foot high pile of wood on the Aggie campus in a borrowed Taylor-craft plane at 8:15 a.m. yesterday.
Prelude to Game
The wood had been heaped for a bonfire that was staged last night as a prelude to the University of Texas-Texas A&M football game tomorrow in Austin.
"We just wanted to fire up a little school spirit by touching off the bonfire," one of the "bombardiers" explained to Dean of Men Jack Holland of the university after his return to Austin.
The episode almost ended tragically when the plane ran out of gas on the return trip. The youths crash landed in a field near Austin.
Dean Holland said the fliers pulled in for their bombing runs at about 50 feet.
"They made five passes at the field and dropped two bombs" he related.
Jugs of Gasoline
"The bombs consisted of one-gallon jugs of gasoline with railroad flares stuck in the top."
"They lighted the flares and pitched."
"When the jugs smashed, the flares ignited the the gasoline.
Rock Barrage
"Everytime they flew over the bonfire, they said, a large group of A&M students threw rocks at them.
"They said they were sweating it out."
The "raid" created a major sensation on the Aggie campus. Hundreds of students rushed to the wood pile to defend against the attackers.
Fire Hoses Strung
Fire hoses were strung to extinguish the blazes caused by the bombs.
"Our boys put out the fires without any trouble," Bishop Clements, assistant director of information at A&M told The Press.
"As a matter of fact, neither bomb hit the woodpile. Both landed about 20 feet away.
Use Bomb for Fuel
The young fliers later related that they were preparing to toss a third bomb when they realized they were about to run out of gasoline.
They saved the jug, using it to limp back to Austin after the crash landing.
Dean Holland said he was notified while the "raid" still was in progress.
"We found out that the plane had taken off at the University Airport, a private field near our campus." he said.
"I had the name of one of the boys. I left word there for him to report to me as soon as he got back."
'Poor Judgement'
The boy did-and promptly was suspended temporarily from the university by the faculty disiplinary committee.
"It was just a college prank." Dean Holland explained. "But it showed poor judgment. There is general regret on the part of the student body and faculty of the university that the incident took place."
"Student Fliers' Bombs Fail to Ignite Bonfire"
A.& M. Men Toss Rocks At Invading Aircraft
Two home-fashioned fire bomb crashed down on the Texas A&M campus at College Station as two University of Texas students staged a one-plane "air raid" on their traditional rivals.
For a few minutes, officials of both schools said today, the encounter took on most of the elements of warfare.
The two students-whose identities were withheld by university authorities-swooped down toward a 40 foot high pile of wood on the Aggie campus in a borrowed Taylor-craft plane at 8:15 a.m. yesterday.
Prelude to Game
The wood had been heaped for a bonfire that was staged last night as a prelude to the University of Texas-Texas A&M football game tomorrow in Austin.
"We just wanted to fire up a little school spirit by touching off the bonfire," one of the "bombardiers" explained to Dean of Men Jack Holland of the university after his return to Austin.
The episode almost ended tragically when the plane ran out of gas on the return trip. The youths crash landed in a field near Austin.
Dean Holland said the fliers pulled in for their bombing runs at about 50 feet.
"They made five passes at the field and dropped two bombs" he related.
Jugs of Gasoline
"The bombs consisted of one-gallon jugs of gasoline with railroad flares stuck in the top."
"They lighted the flares and pitched."
"When the jugs smashed, the flares ignited the the gasoline.
Rock Barrage
"Everytime they flew over the bonfire, they said, a large group of A&M students threw rocks at them.
"They said they were sweating it out."
The "raid" created a major sensation on the Aggie campus. Hundreds of students rushed to the wood pile to defend against the attackers.
Fire Hoses Strung
Fire hoses were strung to extinguish the blazes caused by the bombs.
"Our boys put out the fires without any trouble," Bishop Clements, assistant director of information at A&M told The Press.
"As a matter of fact, neither bomb hit the woodpile. Both landed about 20 feet away.
Use Bomb for Fuel
The young fliers later related that they were preparing to toss a third bomb when they realized they were about to run out of gasoline.
They saved the jug, using it to limp back to Austin after the crash landing.
Dean Holland said he was notified while the "raid" still was in progress.
"We found out that the plane had taken off at the University Airport, a private field near our campus." he said.
"I had the name of one of the boys. I left word there for him to report to me as soon as he got back."
'Poor Judgement'
The boy did-and promptly was suspended temporarily from the university by the faculty disiplinary committee.
"It was just a college prank." Dean Holland explained. "But it showed poor judgment. There is general regret on the part of the student body and faculty of the university that the incident took place."
