Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate This Thread
Hop To
#4549606 - 12/24/20 11:54 AM A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post)  
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,879
RAF_Louvert Offline
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
RAF_Louvert  Offline
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
Senior Member

Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,879
L'Etoile du Nord

.

"A Story for the Season"

1916: Christmas Eve at the Front. The War has dragged itself along on its steely, mud-caked claws for over two years, and the end seems no closer now than when it all began. At an RFC aerodrome not ten miles from the first line trenches, a group of airmen sit through the morning’s briefing, and prepare themselves for the day’s work. They are nearly all young men, at least in years. But with war comes age beyond a calendar’s mark, and one would find that each man is far older than first appearance would tell if a moment were taken to look into his eyes. As the meeting breaks the jovial banter can be heard amongst the group: the good-natured ribbing and warnings, the verbal jousting, the camaraderie and the closeness that bonds souls together in such tenuous and temporary times. Across the mud at a German aerodrome, a similar scene is being played out. The Jagdstaffel pilots there are also preparing themselves for the task at hand. To look at them, you might imagine they were schoolmates of their British counterparts, rather than enemies soon to be locked in mortal combat. For they too laugh and joke, and share that same bond. And they too are of the "old young".

The hour is at hand. On each side the signal is given and the small, fast scout planes skim along the cold, icy ground, and one by one lift into a winter sky as grey as the earth below. They form up, and after climbing to their prescribed altitudes, they head towards No Man’s Land and on to do their best; for King and Country; für Kaiser und Vaterland. They meet, and there is the initial gun pass as each sizes up the other. A few moments later and the aerial battle begins in earnest. To those in the fight it is a mind-numbing blur of action that runs in both accelerated and slow motion simultaneously. A split second given to pull the trigger as a plane zips across the sights: an eternity spent to try and twist out of the path of the bullets. An entire lifetime won or lost in less than an eye blink. To those on the ground it appears as a graceful ballet of the sky, the canvas-feathered birds turning and rolling and climbing and diving. But it is a dance to the death more often than not, and it will end when one or more has fallen.

And one has fallen. The long, slow, spiraling pirouette as the finale comes to the dance. The others have now tired and as if by mutual agreement or unseen signal the partners separate and turn away. The audience below does not understand how it can be over so quickly. They cannot see the fatigue and exhaustion of those in the air; cannot see their battered ships, or their bruised and aching bodies; or their tired, aging eyes. No, they can see none of these things, any more than the men in the air can see the pain or the agony endured by those who must fight on the ground. Each sees the other from afar, as through a glass darkly. It is an irony of war that in each case, either in the Sky or on the Earth, a man better understands and is more akin to the enemy he fights in his realm than to his own countrymen above or below.


Christmas Eve at the Front. Night has fallen and the pilots sit about the dinner table at their respective aerodromes, and talk of flying and fighting, and of family and friends. Wishes of the Season are shared, letters from home are read. Songs of hope are sung and toasts are made to fellow flyers, and to mothers and sweethearts. At one of the tables an empty chair stands in remembrance of the comrade lost that day, and to whom the final toast is made. He will be missed, and to a loved one back home he will forever be a young man with bright, happy eyes; forever a photograph, a memory of a life that could have been. It matters not which side he fought for. He was a man, a part of human kind, and with his passing we are all the lesser for it.

.

May you have safe and blessed holidays wherever you are, and may we each remember the true message of this season: Peace on earth, good will toward men.




[Linked Image]

#4549615 - 12/24/20 01:12 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,426
Wodin Offline
Member
Wodin  Offline
Member

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,426
Liverpool
excellent.

Happy Holidays to you and everyone here!

#4549625 - 12/24/20 02:51 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 223
SteveW Offline
Member
SteveW  Offline
Member

Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 223
Albuquerque, NM USA
May 2021 bring us some joy and peace. Best wishes to all for the holidays! Be safe, and take care of your self and family and friends.

#4549642 - 12/24/20 05:47 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 997
HumanDrone Offline
Just shoot me...
HumanDrone  Offline
Just shoot me...
Member

Joined: May 2012
Posts: 997
Near Pittsburgh, PA USA
Steve, I always look forward to your kicking off our Merry Christmas thread with this story - sobering though it is. As we simulate the horrors and tragedy of war, may it set our hearts to be people of peace, of blessings, of Good News to our family and neighbors.

Merry Christmas one and all! Blessings and joy to you all, health, peace and prosperity in the New Year!


Box: Win7 Pro 64 bit / I72600K @4.1 GHz / EVGA GTX1080Ti/ 16GB RAM / Corsair 240 GB SSD / WD 600 GB Velociraptor / 1050W Power
FS Stuff: Saitek X52 Pro Stick/Throttle & Combat Rudder Pedals, TrackIR 5
Sims: FSX Gold, REX 2.0 OD, UTX-NA, FSGenesis 10m mesh/ CFS3 ETO 1.40/Wings Over Flanders Fields BH&H2 (more gorgeous than ever!)
Proud BOC inductee 4/30/12!
#4549673 - 12/24/20 10:50 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,086
MFair Offline
Senior Member
MFair  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,086
Been waiting for it Lou. All the best to you and yours.


Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from either end.
BOC Member since....I can't remember!
#4549675 - 12/24/20 11:18 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 729
Maeran Offline
Member
Maeran  Offline
Member

Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 729
UK
A merry Christmas everyone. I'm looking forward to many more adventures in WOFF and stories about them in 2021.

#4549681 - 12/25/20 12:59 AM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,696
Fullofit Offline
Senior Member
Fullofit  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,696
Ajax, ON
Thank you Lou for this traditional by now Christmas story.
And speaking of traditions, something tells me the German soldiers were at a disadvantage when it came to Christmas spirit and gifts associated with it. It appears each year they were receiving their very highly sought after lump of coal.

[Linked Image]

Merry Christmas to all pilots. May the number of landings always equal the number of take offs.

Attached Files Lump of Coal.jpg

"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys,
The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain,
From out of my arse take the camshaft,
And assemble the engine again."
#4549685 - 12/25/20 01:25 AM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,079
Blade_Meister Offline
Member
Blade_Meister  Offline
Member

Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,079
Atlanta, GA, USA
Merry Christmas to all. May Blessings of bountiful provisions find each one of us this year! CT

S! Drew<><

#4549688 - 12/25/20 01:38 AM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 841
Shredward Offline
Member
Shredward  Offline
Member

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 841
Lake Louise, AB Canada
Annual reading tonight by Alan Maitland of Frederick Forsyths’ The Shepherd, on CBC As it Happens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P834fiIXEs


Happy Christmas
Ted


We will remember them.
#4549727 - 12/25/20 02:35 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 7,993
Robert_Wiggins Offline
BWOC Survivor!...So Far!!
Robert_Wiggins  Offline
BWOC Survivor!...So Far!!
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 7,993
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
May you all have Peace, Health, and Happiness in the coming year!

Best Regards to all!


(System_Specs)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper
PSU: Ultra X3,1000-Watt
MB: Asus Maximus VI Extreme
Mem: Corsair Vengeance (2x 8GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, Unbuffered
CPU: Intel i7-4770K, OC to 4.427Ghz
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M Liquid CPU Cooler
Vid Card: ASUS GTX 980Ti STRIX 6GB
OS and Games on separate: Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
Monitor: Primary ASUS PG27AQ 4k; Secondary Samsung SyncMaster BX2450L
Periphs: MS Sidewinder FFB2 Pro, TrackIR 4

#4549730 - 12/25/20 03:34 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 798
Stache Offline
Member
Stache  Offline
Member

Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 798
Michigan, USA
Thanks Lou,

Happy Holidays everyone.

Be sure to take the time to enjoy.


Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. A. Einstein

(System Specs:)

I7-6700k OC 4.4GHZ, 16GB DDR4 3200Mhz; Gigabyte Gaming 7 MB, G1 OC'ed GTX980ti; Three-Acer XB271HU WQHD Gsync 144Mhz; Samsung 950-512GB NVMe SSD; WD 2TB-7200rpm; Cooler Master HAF XB EVO, Nepton 240M cooler, V1000 PS; Windows 10 PRO; VKB GunfighterPro Stick; Thrustmaster TPR Pedals; Saitek Throttle; Dual TM MFD panels; TrackIR 5; Windows 10 v1909
#4549735 - 12/25/20 04:28 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 115
Deejan Offline
Member
Deejan  Offline
Member

Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 115
Ottawa,Ontario Canada
Thanks Lou for the traditional Story! Health and Happiness to everyone and their families!

All the best!

#4549772 - 12/25/20 09:27 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 221
mandrews Offline
Member
mandrews  Offline
Member

Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 221
South Carolina
Merry Christmas everyone, and may your 2021 be better than 2020.


i7-7700 @ 3.6GHz, 32GB DDR4 RAM, SSD (OS) + SSD (Games), GTX 1070 Ti, Acer Predator Z35p 3440x1440 GSync
#4550141 - 12/29/20 10:24 PM Re: A Story for the Season, (my traditional OFF/WOFF Christmas post) [Re: RAF_Louvert]  
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 148
Dezh Offline
Vice President Barmy OFFers Club
Dezh  Offline
Vice President Barmy OFFers Club
Member

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 148
Hampshire, United Kingdom
Thanks, as ever, for this, Lou. It's become part of Christmas for me. Blessings of the season be upon thee.


Oh that I was back in the dear old PBI.
With no more Triplanes on me tail, nor tracer tracing by.
And no more flames and clickerty-clack and no more blooming sky,
And only a couple of feet to fall whenever I want to die.

No. 56 Squadron Song

Moderated by  Polovski 

Quick Search
Recent Articles
Support SimHQ

If you shop on Amazon use this Amazon link to support SimHQ
.
Social


Recent Topics
Grown ups joke time
by NoFlyBoy. 03/18/24 10:34 PM
Anyone Heard from Nimits?
by F4UDash4. 03/18/24 10:01 PM
RIP Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford
by semmern. 03/18/24 02:14 PM
10 years after 3/8/2014
by NoFlyBoy. 03/17/24 10:25 AM
Hans Zimmer North American concert tour 2024
by NoFlyBoy. 03/16/24 10:54 PM
Steam Spring Sale.
by RedToo. 03/15/24 09:09 PM
Starship Attempt Three
by F4UDash4. 03/14/24 12:06 PM
This is one cool turbofan model
by Zamzow. 03/14/24 02:41 AM
Map Errors
by F4UDash4. 03/13/24 11:25 AM
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.0