Airmail Pilot’s Protective Mask, 1918-19 (leather)

Pilot Eddie Gardner wore this leather face mask while flying mail for the Post Office Department’s airmail service from August 1918 to April 1919. These pilots flew in open cockpit biplanes, exposed to frigid weather conditions. Gardner’s winter flying gear included the face mask, a leather flying suit and vest, sheepskin boots, and a leather helmet. Such gear was essential on flights when the cockpit temperature reached near zero degrees Fahrenheit. Gardner left the airmail service in April 1919. He died on May 6, 1921, after crashing while flying stunts in Holdrege, Nebraska.