Journal Entry: May 17, 1916
St. Pol-sur-Mer

I can't believe it finally stopped raining. It has rained nonstop since May 5th and I was beginning to wonder if it would ever stop. The problem with Northern Flanders is when it rains for an extended period of time the whole countryside turns into a huge morass. I can't even begin to imagine what life in the trenches is like right now. I was very skeptical that we could even take off from our sodden field, but nothing was stopping the lads from getting into the air today. We flew a line patrol down near Ypres and flew an escort this afternoon. We didn't see a blasted thing and that was certainly alright by me, I was just so glad to be in the air and feel the sun on my face. Hopefully, the weather has broken and we can get back to our jobs of war flying.


Member and provider of banjo music for the Illustrious BOC