As Early As 1918 The United States Post Office Was Flying Airmail Between New York, Philadelphia And Washington. By The Summer Of 1919, A Route Had Been Established From New York To Chicago Over The Storm-Plagued Allegany Mountains In Open Cockpit, Rebuilt Warplanes Which Ahd Access To Virtually No Ground Navigational Aids. More Hazardous Than Combat, This Route Eventually Took The Lives Of Thirty-One Of The First 40 Pilots. Gradually, Operations Pushed Westward. This Scene Of Charles Lindberg And His Dh-4 Typifies The Primitive Conditions Of Moving The Mail In Thos Early Days.
