Reading Eagle (July 24, 1942)
Snake bites flier 3,000 feet in air
Army pilot in Australia spends night in swamp
Lt. Robert Vaught
Melbourne, Australia (AP) –
Snake-bitten 3,000 feet in the air, U.S. Army Lt. Robert Vaught, 24, of Johnson City, Tenn., gave this report on a perilous adventure recently aloft and aground.
While flying 75 miles from his base, Vaught noticed a peculiarly-marked snake near his left foot. He flew the plane into a slip to try to slide the snake into a corner but when he touched the rudder bar, the snake struck him twice.
Vaught then seized the snake and threw it out.
Makes forced landing
Almost immediately, he began to feel so ill that he made a forced landing in dry swamp. After fainting several times, he dragged himself to a water hole where he put a tourniquet on his badly-swollen leg and made a mud pack which relieved the pain somewhat. He thought of scarifying the wounds but decided it was too late to do any good.
During the afternoon, he sighted another plane and radioed for help.
That night, he had to fire his machine guns to drive off wild buffaloes that threatened to damage the plane.
When rescuers had not located him next day, Vaught managed to fit a piece of wood to the left rudder pedal so he could operate it by hand. He made a successful takeoff and returned to his base.
After a period in a hospital, he has now rejoined his squadron.