"Dead though he be, a man like Guynemer guides us, if we know how to
follow him, along the triumphal way which, over ruins, tombs, and
sacrifices, leads to victory the good and the strong."
Of itself, thanks to this religious conclusion of the general's ode, the
ceremony had assumed a sort of sacred character, and the word which
concludes prayers, the Amen of the officiating priest, naturally came to
our lips while the general saluted with his sword the invisible spirit
of the hero, and the blasts of the bugles rose above the gale and the
sea.
VI. IN THE PANTHEON
In the Pantheon crypt, destined, as the inscription says, for the burial
of great men, the name of Guynemer will be graven on a marble slab
cemented in the wall. The proper inscription for this slab will be the
young soldier's last citation:
FALLEN ON THE FIELD OF HONOR ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1917. A LEGENDARY
HERO, FALLEN FROM THE VERY ZENITH OF VICTORY AFTER THREE YEARS'
HARD AND CONTINUOUS FIGHTING. HE WILL BE CONSIDERED THE MOST
PERFECT EMBODIMENT OF THE NATIONAL QUALITIES FOR HIS INDOMITABLE
ENERGY AND PERSEVERANCE AND HIS EXALTED GALLANTRY.
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