Cachy, Somme, Hauts-de-France
November 11, 1916
Reporteur for Le Figaro, Isabelle d'Auvergne

It's mid-morning here at the aerodrome near the Bois d'Abbe. I am waiting for the morning flights to land after their patrols. I've been sent here to interview Capitaine Dax Bonnassie, the noted Gascon air ace who has brought down 50 Boche machines and balloons. His penchant for blowing up balloons has earned him the sobriquet L'Homme Protectif. I can hear the flights approaching and I watch as the machines, Nieuports and SPADS land. The last to land is the B Flight leader, Dax Bonnassie in his Nieuport 17. I wait a few minutes until he is out of his aircraft. He knew before taking off that a reporter would be awaiting his return. I approach and we converse.

Me: "Success?"
Dax: Of course! I'm still alive. Enemy machines? Not this trip.
Me: What's it like up there? (Please note that I've had to take editorial liberties with some of his responses.)
Dax: It's ... cold! It's ... freezing! And ....
Me: He signaled me to come closer, and as I did he unbuttoned his flight suit.
Dax: Smell!
Me: I took a whiff and could smell le merde.
Dax: You fly in the morning, these rotaries throw back liters of castor oil. It gets on your goggles; it goes up your nose; and it gets in your mouth. You swallow castor oil in the morning and ... voila! Hey, but at least a load in your drawers warms you up at 3500 meters.
Me: So you've been credited with 50 victories! That's amazing. How do you do it?
Dax: I stay alive. Dead fliers do not bring down enemy machines. You take what the situation gives you. Nothing more. If you stay alive and keep your eyes open, the victories will come your way. I've been flying for 14 months; almost 200 sorties. Most of the time, like today, I see nothing.
Me: So where next? I hear you are getting a month's leave. Paris?
Dax: No, I'm headed for a sanitarium in the south of France.
Me: Are you wounded? Ill?
Dax: I'd rather not talk about it.
Me: I thought for a second and remembered the stories I'd heard of this man known in some circles as "Monsieur Mercure." I nodded in understanding.
Dax: "Yes, my Dear, what can I say. It's nothing to clap about.

With that the interview ended.

Last edited by Nowi; 10/28/18 05:09 PM.

Nowi