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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,887 Likes: 3
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man Senior Member
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BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man Senior Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,887 Likes: 3 |
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"A Story for the Season"
1916: Christmas Eve at the Front. The War has dragged itself along on its steely, mud-caked claws for over two years, and the end seems no closer now than when it all began. At an RFC aerodrome not ten miles from the first line trenches, a group of airmen sit through the morning’s briefing, and prepare themselves for the day’s work. They are nearly all young men, at least in years. But with war comes age beyond a calendar’s mark, and one would find that each man is far older than first appearance would tell if a moment were taken to look into his eyes. As the meeting breaks the jovial banter can be heard amongst the group: the good-natured ribbing and warnings, the verbal jousting, the camaraderie and the closeness that bonds souls together in such tenuous and temporary times. Across the mud at a German aerodrome, a similar scene is being played out. The Jagdstaffel pilots there are also preparing themselves for the task at hand. To look at them, you might imagine they were schoolmates of their British counterparts, rather than enemies soon to be locked in mortal combat. For they too laugh and joke, and share that same bond. And they too are of the "old young".
The hour is at hand. On each side the signal is given and the small, fast scout planes skim along the cold, icy ground, and one by one lift into a winter sky as grey as the earth below. They form up, and after climbing to their prescribed altitudes, they head towards No Man’s Land and on to do their best; for King and Country; für Kaiser und Vaterland. They meet, and there is the initial gun pass as each sizes up the other. A few moments later and the aerial battle begins in earnest. To those in the fight it is a mind-numbing blur of action that runs in both accelerated and slow motion simultaneously. A split second given to pull the trigger as a plane zips across the sights: an eternity spent to try and twist out of the path of the bullets. An entire lifetime won or lost in less than an eye blink. To those on the ground it appears as a graceful ballet of the sky, the canvas-feathered birds turning and rolling and climbing and diving. But it is a dance to the death more often than not, and it will end when one or more has fallen.
And one has fallen. The long, slow, spiraling pirouette as the finale comes to the dance. The others have now tired and as if by mutual agreement or unseen signal the partners separate and turn away. The audience below does not understand how it can be over so quickly. They cannot see the fatigue and exhaustion of those in the air; cannot see their battered ships, or their bruised and aching bodies; or their tired, aging eyes. No, they can see none of these things, any more than the men in the air can see the pain or the agony endured by those who must fight on the ground. Each sees the other from afar, as through a glass darkly. It is an irony of war that in each case, either in the Sky or on the Earth, a man better understands and is more akin to the enemy he fights in his realm than to his own countrymen above or below.
Christmas Eve at the Front. Night has fallen and the pilots sit about the dinner table at their respective aerodromes, and talk of flying and fighting, and of family and friends. Wishes of the Season are shared, letters from home are read. Songs of hope are sung and toasts are made to fellow flyers, and to mothers and sweethearts. At one of the tables an empty chair stands in remembrance of the comrade lost that day, and to whom the final toast is made. He will be missed, and to a loved one back home he will forever be a young man with bright, happy eyes; forever a photograph, a memory of a life that could have been. It matters not which side he fought for. He was a man, a part of human kind, and with his passing we are all the lesser for it.
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May you have safe and blessed holidays wherever you are, and may we each remember the true message of this season: Peace on earth, good will toward men.![[Linked Image]](http://simhq.com/forum/files/usergals/2016/12/full-31324-130468-christmas_incident.jpg)
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,743
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,743 |
I was already waiting for this traditional post.  Merry Christmas everybody! 
"Upon my word I've had as much excitement on a car as in the air, especially since the R.F.C. have had women drivers."
James McCudden, Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 740
Livestreamer/YouTuber Member
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Livestreamer/YouTuber Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 740 |
Let's pretend I got the BWOC badge to embed here.
Wenn ihr sieg im deine Kampf selbst gegen, wirst stark wie Stahl sein.
"The best techniques are passed on by the survivors." - Gaiden Shinji
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 196
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 196 |
That is a good read. Thank you so much for posting.
Merry Christmas to you and to all the rest here at WOFF. Blue skies in 2019.
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 208 Likes: 2
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 208 Likes: 2 |
As usual a masterfully written piece by you Lou. This has become a Christmas staple for me, I always enjoy your written pieces. May you and yours find a joyous Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. May this Earth of ours finally find the Peace it so desperately needs. Merry Christmas to all!
Thanks John
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,377 Likes: 3
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,377 Likes: 3 |
make mistakes and learn from them
I5 4440 3.1Ghz, Asrock B85m Pro3, Gtx 1060 3GB
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,002
Just shoot me... Member
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Just shoot me... Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,002 |
Gets me every time... hang on, I think It have something in my eye... Geeze it's dusty in here...
Merry Christmas one and all! The Peace of Christ to you and all yours!
Box: Win7 Pro 64 bit / I72600K @4.1 GHz / EVGA GTX1080Ti/ 16GB RAM / Corsair 240 GB SSD / WD 600 GB Velociraptor / 1050W Power
FS Stuff: Saitek X52 Pro Stick/Throttle & Combat Rudder Pedals, TrackIR 5
Sims: FSX Gold, REX 2.0 OD, UTX-NA, FSGenesis 10m mesh/ CFS3 ETO 1.40/Wings Over Flanders Fields BH&H2 (more gorgeous than ever!)
Proud BOC inductee 4/30/12!
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,111 Likes: 5
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,111 Likes: 5 |
Merry Christmas to all my fellow WOFFers. Thanks for the post Lou.
Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from either end.
BOC Member since....I can't remember!
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 7,532
Hotshot
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Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 7,532 |
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 730
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 730 |
Thank you Lou for continuing this great Christmas tradition. A happy Christmas to one and all and good flying!
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 855 Likes: 1
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 855 Likes: 1 |
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them
Merry Christmas one and all
shredward
We will remember them.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 475
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 475 |
Nowi
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J-B Weld
by Terl9999 - 10/02/26 11:54 PM
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HOA's
by Terl9999 - 09/18/26 04:12 AM
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