May Guynemer's noble soul remember us fighting our aerial battles,
that we may keep alight the flame he bequeathed to us.
Raymond
Commanding Escadrille 3.
The other letter came from Major Brocard:
My dear Comrade:
I am profoundly moved to hear of the thought you have had of giving
the highest consecration to Guynemer's memory by a ceremony at the
Pantheon.
It had occurred to all of us that only the lofty dome of the
Pantheon was large enough for such wings.
The poor boy fell in the fullness of triumph, with his face towards
the enemy. A few days before he had sworn to me that the Germans
should never take him alive. His heroic death is not more glorious
than that of the gunner defending his gun, the infantryman rushing
out of his trench, or even that of the poor soldier perishing in
the bogs. But Guynemer was known to all. There were few who had not
seen him in the sky, whether blue or cloudy, bearing on his frail
linen wings some of their own faith, their own dreams, and all that
their souls could hold of trust and hope.
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