Fighting The Flying Circus

[Yank44]

I'm currently reading Fighting The Flying Circus, by Eddie Rickenbacker. So far, it's great! I'll let you know more when I'm done.

[Yank44]

I'm really bad with keeping up with my posts. My apologies. Basically, this is a must read. It is an honest view of the war through the eyes of Eddie himself. I can't even describe it. It's like flying. You just have to do it. Read the book. Seriously. Read it. Now. You can find cheap used versions for $1 if you want a physical copy, or you can read it for free right here (click the link):
Fighting the Flying Circus - Google Book Search

[stephen]

EVR carefully positioned himself for good PR in that book, but you can't hardly blame him for that. Anyone would do the same. He was certainly more diplomatic about it than Rene Fonck. And FTFC seems to be pretty authentic in most places. I haven't read it in a while and you've inspired me to pick it up again. Got my first edition hardbound copy a few years ago as a birthday gift.

[Yank44]

One of my favorite stories from the book was about Lieutenant Cook knocking down a drachen by throwing a jam-hammer at it! Another story about Lt. Wilbur White ramming a Fokker with his SPAD head on was absolutely shocking. Rickenbacker's comments about Frank Luke being the best pilot in the US Air Service surprised me a little, considering Eddie was the U.S. Ace if Aces.

The atrocity of war is not hidden from view in this book either, but it doesn't concentrate on that topic alone. I found this balance refreshing. He writes about things matter-of-factly, the bad and the good, while leaving the reader to deal with whatever emotional response they have to the information conveyed. He doesn't preach or tell you how to react to these things. For example, when he mentions strafing German troops, he doesn't follow it up with how barbaric the U.S. is and how we should be brought up on war crimes for committed atrocities. He just shares the facts. I wish journalists would do this today. They should let the people decide their own reactions.

There was another story about Douglas Campbell, if I remember correctly, having second thoughts about finishing off an observation plane. The enemy plane had run out of ammunition during a long dogfight with himself, and the observer stood their waiting to be shot down with a proud face of sorts. Campbell thought about it and realized the intel they had was important and he finished them off. This shows the disparity between now and then. Now, there would be no second thought. The enemy would be shot down, no questions asked. It reminds me of the story where Guynemer waved at Udet and let him go because Udet's guns jammed. Had Campbell's plane been a pursuit rather than observation plane, he may have done the same.

We must remember that many of these aviators were of the Gentleman class and were raised with codes of honor. Unlike today, they were raised to conform to societal rules and expectations for people of their class through speech, dress, manners, etc. This may have created moral dilemmas for these men in battle, that we shall never see again.

One of the odder comments I remember was about another pilot who had been shot through the jaw and was not taken care of very well in Germany after being captured. Rickenbacker proceeds to say that, once back in the U.S., the American doctors will make him look like he never stepped foot in France. This seems to be quite an exaggeration, or whitewashing of reality.

Another unrealistic comment was about our happy go-lucky doughboys smiling at all times, singing, etc. It sounded more like a bunch of drunken sailors on leave then men in formation marching towards their potential doom. It seems a rather British way of dealing with emotional topics; keeping a stiff upper lip, as it were. It is concealment of all things that would alarm others for the benefit of others; ever self-sacrificing. The WWII and Korean War generations are very similar. In contrast, the Vietnam generation are the polar opposite, while all subsequent generations are somewhere in between.

There are many more interesting things, but I need to go to bed now.

Yank

[crankcase]

Originally Posted by Yank44

...when he mentions strafing German troops, he doesn't follow it up with how barbaric the U.S. is and how we should be brought up on war crimes for committed atrocities...

War may be by definition barbaric, but since when is strafing troops a war crime?
marc

[Yank44]

Originally Posted by crankcase

War may be by definition barbaric, but since when is strafing troops a war crime?
marc

I never said it was. What I was elaborating on is how the modern media would show images of our pilots slaughtering the masses and equate the pilots with war criminals. If you had images of this on todays' television, the left would be screaming bloody murder in the U.S.

Since you live in Romania, you may not be privy to all of the self-hatred/loathing the left has for our country. Every day I turn on the news, there is some Communist wannabe screaming how much he/she hates this country, hates everything it stands for, and is embarrassed to be an American. If they hate it so much, why don't they find a nice plot of land in China, Cuba, North Korea, or Vietnam? Good luck to them. I love it when celebrities say if a certain political candidate wins office, they will move to France or whatever is the country du jour that day, but they stay after that candidate wins anyway. The media is always looking for a sound bite to embarrass this country and, frankly, myself and millions of others are tired of it. It is very tolling day after day.

I wish we could all work together to make this a better country, but it will never happen, unfortunately. You can see the moral tug o' war being fought between religious people and atheists, left and right, socialists/commies and libertarians, pro-baby killers and pro-lifers, etc. The list goes on and on. Everyone is always fighting. Anyway, enough for now. I need to go to a happy place. Ummmmmmmmmm. LOL

Yank

[Yank44]

I forgot to mention how I was completely surprised by how many times their guns jammed. I knew it happened, but it seems like everytime they took off, the guns jammed at least once. I used to think it was an exaggeration.

[Alien]

Originally Posted by Yank44

It seems a rather British way of dealing with emotional topics; keeping a stiff upper lip, as it were. Yank

If you follow the link below, you'll see that although keeping a stiff upper lip is a quintessentially British attitude, they borrowed the phrase itself from the west side of the pond.

World Wide Words: Stiff upper lip

[Yank44]

Thank you for the information. Very enlightening.