RAF_Louvert

. I've been blessed with another abandoned WWI honour for my modest collection. The old fellow who offered it to me stated it had come to his shop a number of years ago via an estate auction, in a box with an assortment of other items from the Great War: an American officer's overseas cap, a dried and cracked Sam Browne, a pair of tour stripes, a uniform shirt and tie, a set of leggings, and other odds and ends. The family that had held the auction knew nothing about who the box belonged to, only that it had been around for decades and was originally the property of some distant relative that had served in WWI. An all too typical story when it comes to such things. When I saw the little case that contained the item I could hardly wait to open it. If the symbol of courage and bravery which nested inside was in any condition approaching that of it's container I was in for a rare treat. I gently lifted the lid and set it to the side, and my heart raced! For there, sitting cushioned by a quilted liner, was a pristine Order of Leopold II, with Crossed Swords; one of Belgium's highest honours for heroism in combat. This is the same award that was presented to such rare pilots as Belgium's own Willy Coppens and Jans Olieslagers, as well as American ace Charles John Biddle, author of one of my all-time favorite books, "The Way of the Eagle". I am very pleased, while at the same time very humbled, to have this in my collection. Pleased that it found its way to me, and humbled when I imagine the act of valour it must have taken to earn such an honour. And, I am saddened. Saddened that such an act is now long forgotten by any who knew the man that was thus honoured; saddened further that the man himself has been forgotten. I know many see these old medals as little more than trinkets with no value apart from what they will fetch on the open market, as was just discussed in the recent thread about the selling of Pte Sidney Godley's Victoria Cross. For me however, these unnamed and forgotten medals are deserving of my respect as they hold a reverence still for the unremembered sacrifices made, and the unremembered men who made them. I know a good number of you here have very similar feelings about this and I count myself lucky to be amongst you. Here's to all those now long forgotten by this world, who gave themselves to a cause they believed worth fighting for. Let's drink to their spirit! Lou .

. Rugbyfan, there is an interesting little secret about the VA site that can be very handy when you want to save one of their pictures that you really like. Right-click on any thumbnail in the many galleries and/or pages and then click on the 'Properties' tab. In the 'Properties' window highlight and copy the enitre address for the image and then paste it into your browser addy bar. For instance: "http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/files/images/albatros-dva-in-flight/thumbnail/albatros_in_flight-photo-by-caliaro-luigino-italy_00004.thumbnail.jpg" Now, before you click to go to the image, get rid of both the thumbnail references. So the above example would become this: "http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/files/images/albatros-dva-in-flight/albatros_in_flight-photo-by-caliaro-luigino-italy_00004.jpg" Click on the new addy and you will be very pleased with what you get, (NOTE: you will not have the quote marks as I only inserted those to make the links non-active in this post). You're welcome. .

. There is currently a listing for a book on eBay that may be of interest to one of our German-speaking OFF flyers. Olham, perhaps? An original 1936 German printing of "Under Steel Helmet and Pilot Cap", by Gustav Praclik. Here's the link: WWI pilot Gustav Praclik's memoirs Can't argue with the starting price. I'd scoop it myself if I could read German at anything above a drunk, dyslexic snail's pace. .

. I always get sad when I see an honor that once meant so much become nothing more than a commodity, sold off to the highest bidder, and locked away. At least if they can end up in a museum as in Jarhead's example, (and what a phenomenal example it is), they can still be appreciated and seen. Still, in an ideal setting, they would never leave the family. .

. You are a lucky man Simon. Northumberland is beautiful and I visited there on several occasions during my time in England. I saw many familiar places in that video that I hadn't thought about for years. Alnwick Castle, Hadrian's Wall, Coquetdale, the Lighthouse on St Mary's Island, (although I seem to remember that particular bit of beauty was ceded to Tyne and Wear in the mid 1970's, but then I may be wrong about that). I so want to go back to England and tramp around such locales once more. Enjoy your little slice of Heaven my friend. .

. Duke, I tried this myself quite some time back and was not pleased with the AI pilots that flew my plane. They did a rather poor job in a fight and landings were a crap shoot at best. But it was fun to man the back seat of a Brisfit and have a go at the Huns that inevitably ended up on our six. .

. Well done Wayfarer, very well done indeed. I wish to one day make it through the OFF War in some way, shape, or form. I did it twice in RB3D, but I've yet to get even close in the virtual skies of this sim. We live, (and die), in hope. .

. Pips, that charmer should have you fully trained in no time at all. Border Collies are wonderful. Have fun Sir. .

. OOOOOH Mike, that is sweet! A beautiful piece of work, and I'll bet it's a treat to fly with. I think I have another project for this coming winter. .

. HH, you're coming in too level. You want the rudder to touch first, then the top wing. .

. mygrandpajcw, the medal you describe and Olham has illustrated is, I am rather sure, a lodge medal from the Fraternal Patriotic Order of Americans which was founded just before the outbreak of WWI. It was one of many such organizations that popped up at the turn of the last century in the United States. I don't think the FPoA lasted more than a decade or so. Neat-looking medal, and by the way the V's are actually a compass and ruler, which were lifted directly from the Masons, (a common practice of many other clubs and orders). .

. I ran across a wonderful E.C. Stoner illustration that originally graced the cover of 'The Literary Digest' magazine on 20 October, 1917. After a little clean-up work on my part I thought I'd share it here with you folks. I've posted the full-sized image here in case anyone might want to use it for desktop wallpaper. Enjoy! Lou .

. Classic, Wayfarer. You've just made my afternoon. .

. So true, VP. So true. .

. I need only look back at my own country’s recent history to the McCarthy era of the late 1940’s and most of the 1950’s to know how close we were to going down the same path as Nazi Germany. If we had been in poorer economic times, and if Joseph McCarthy had become as powerful a voice as Hitler had become, the United States might have done the same thing to Communists that Nazi Germany did to the Jewish people. I remember being told often in grade school that the only good Commie was a dead Commie. “Better dead than Red!” Sentiments about rounding them all up and shipping them back to Mother Russia were common, as were such statements as “We should nuke ‘em all back to the Stone Age”, and “The world would be a better place without any of ‘em”. The House Un-American Activities Committee hearings that hauled in countless people and ruined their lives because an official government agency publicly accused them of being Communists with no more proof than “your neighbor told us you are” still cause me to shiver with the thought of where it could have gone had not clearer minds of the day ultimately prevailed. Honestly, apart from the sentence of death, the McCarthy Hearings were no different than the Nazi Government’s hearings concerning Jewish sympathizers in Germany during WWII. As food for thought, here is an image of a comic book that was circulated shortly after WWII in the United States, and is only one of many examples of a mindset that was all too common in my country back then. I look at Nazi Germany and sometimes think, “There but for the grace of God…” .

. WM wrote: Not at all. Why do you suppose the greatest armies in the world have been built with young men who were given the best weapons of the day, a common uniform to serve in, and a common "ideal" to fight and die for. Rally round the flag boys, God is on our side! .

. Oh this is just cruel! WHY WHY WHY do you taunt us so?! .

. Wowzers! Now that's a high quality photo. Many thanks for sharing it Jim, and for the correction concerning this particular plane. .

. Widowmaker, I also find the Pfalz D.III to be quite a beautiful bird and advanced looking for her time. Hasse Wind and angles1100, even though there is some damage showing in the photo, I imagine the kite as seen had been disassembled for moving. I asked for any info concerning this photo over at the Great War Forum and here is Dolphin's response: From this info I might gather that this plane did in fact fly again as it was not common practice to assign a unit number to a pile of kindling. .

. Thought I'd share this one with you folks as I know you all appreciate such things. While I have run across this particular photo many times over the years, I've never seen an example of it as large as this one or with as much detail. Enjoy! Lou .

. OUTSTANDING! Glad to learn you continue to improve, Sir. Take care of yourself sandbagger, and I'll say a prayer for you to the Man Upstairs. All the best. Lou .

. Very sad. A heartfelt salute to Trevor Roach. You fly with the angels now, Sir. .

. Erik, we were afraid it might have been something just like this that had caused the forums to go offline, but we had all hoped such was not the case. Very sorry to learn of your health issues, but I'm glad you are on the road to recovery Sir. I for one never left these forums and still consider it my OFF home. The other forum may now be our HQ, but this place is still the old camp we hang out at. I hope your health will continue to improve Eric, and I will keep you and yours in my thoughts and prayers. Take care. Lou .

. No worries Flyby, I was only commenting in the role of FM, and only because terms like "citified leftist rich" and "redneck" (from another current thread here), can cause some folks to get upset. Not saying anyone is upset, just that we should keep on keeping it civil and enlightened. To your thoughts on timber as a building material I will say that in my part of the country, when things were first being sorted out by the settlers coming from the east, using timber only made sense. A lot of trees were felled in order to clear land for planting, and the pioneers being the ever resourceful lot that they were, made use of these trees to build their homes and barns and pens and just about everything else they could think of. Some folks were cursed with rocky ground so they made more use of the stones they had to clear before they could plant, and built with that product more than with timber. Others had to bust through the three feet of sod that covered the prairies and chose out of necessity to build their houses out of that rather unusual material. The Three Little Pigs had nothing on the German and Scandinavian immigrants that landed out in these parts. .

. Well thought out and thorough arguments presented for both sides of this issue Gents, but it may be time you agree to disagree on this and forge on. I feel we may be starting to dance on the edge here and it would be a shame to have this thread end up taking a bad turn. I'll put my Moderator Cap away now, I don't care for the way it fits anyway ... a bit constricting. .