Then to the stirring tune of
'_Sambre-et-Meuse_' the band and the soldiers marched in front of the
new officer who, the ceremony now being over, joined his relatives some
distance away."
General d'Esperey, looking over Guynemer's _Vieux-Charles_, noticed the
damaged parts.
"How comes it that your foot was not injured?" he asked, pointing to one
of the bullet-holes.
"I had just removed it, _mon general_," said Guynemer, with his usual
simplicity.
None of the airmen with whom Guynemer shared his joy ever forgot that
afternoon of July 5, 1917. The summer sun, the serene beauty of the
hills bordering the Aisne, the distant bass of the battle, lent to the
scene an enchanting but solemn interest. Tragic memories were in the
minds of all the bystanders, and great names were on their lips--the
names of retiring, noble, hard-working Dorme, reported missing on May
25, and of Captain Lecour-Grandmaison, creator of the three-seaters,
who, on one of these machines, brought down five Germans, but was killed
in a combat on May 10 and brought back to camp dead by a surviving
comrade.
Pages:
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212