Wings

1
On June 12, 1927, In Wash-
ington, Colonel Charles A. 
Lindbergh paid simple tribute
to those who fell in the War.

2
"In that time," he said, "feats
were performed and deeds
accomplished which were far
greater than any peace accom-
  plishments of aviation."

3
To those young warriors of 
the sky, whose wings are
folded about them forever, this
picture is reverently dedicated.

4
A small town - 1917 -
youth and the dreams
of youth.

5
Jack Powell had always 
longed to fly ... in every
day-dream he heard the
    whir of wings.

6
In fact, he had left
the ground several 
times, in -

7
 Mary Preston had always 
  lived next door. Once
Jack had picked her out of
a bonfire - and sometimes he
      regretted it.

8
"Gee, can't you let a 
 man work in peace?"

9
Almost an automobile....

10
"The new speed gears'll
make 'er travel like a 
    shooting star."

11
"The shooting star.... Say
  - - what a great name 
        for her!"

12
"D'you know what you 
can do when you see a 
   shooting star?"

13
"Well .... you can kiss the
      girl you love."

14
"Maybe I will."

15
"All right, Mary. See
      you later."

16
Sylvia Lewis had an 
advantage over the
small-town girls. She
was a visitor from the 
        city.

17
David Armstrong had
an advantage, too -
his was the wealthiest 
   family in town.

18
"Sylvia! I want you to
 have the first ride."

19
So Youth laughed and wept
and lived its heedless hour,
while over the world hung a
cloud which spread and spread
until its shadow fell in some
degree on every living person.

20
And Youth answered
the challenge -

21
Here was a door that only 
the bravest of the brave
dared open - a path of glory
mounting toward the stars!

22
"Put your monicker on 
  that, Handsome."

23
"Herman Schwimpf??
That's a fine name to 
fight the Kaiser with!"

24
"If I had my way, I'd 
throw all you Dutchmen
in the coop till the end
     o' the war."

25
"I'm as much American 
as you - I show you!"

26
Life marched at double-quick
in those feverish days of '17.
Drums beat.... bugles called....
everywhere feet were hurrying,
lips were pressed to lips in
         parting....

27
"Sylvia! I'm leaving for
training school - - this
      afternoon -"

28
"I'm awfully proud of you, 
Jack - and I wish you
all the luck in the world."

29
"Could - would you give
me your picture, Sylvia -
  to - take with me?"

30
"Gee, I never expected you'd
have this ready for me! I'll
wear it always - - it will
      bring me luck."

31
"Please don't misunderstand -"

32
"If you'd seen his look, 
       David - -"

33
 "- you'd know why I 
couldn't take it back."

34
"He has only a picture,
David - because I was 
  sorry for him -"

35
"- but you - you have -"

36
"- - my heart!"

37
"Gee! I almost forgot to
say good-bye to Mary -"

38
"Well, I'm on my way, 
  Mary. Good-bye."

39
"I brought you - this. I
thought - maybe - you
        might -"

40
 "You can use the
Shooting Star while
    I'm gone."

41
"But watch out you 
don't bust her up!"

42
"- and, David, don't forget
to change your socks when
your feet are damp. And
   another thing -"

43
"Yes, Mother."

44
"It's time for Master 
David to leave for the 
        train."

45
"I didn't know you still 
had this little old bear 
       of mine!"

46
"You loved it more than 
any toy you ever had -
it seems only yesterday -"

47
"- and now my little boy
    is - a soldier."

48
"That bear isn't big enough
 to do much fighting for 
       you, Dave!"

49
"I thought I'd take it 
with me, Dad. Maybe
it'll bring me luck."

50
"Oh, Davie, Davie - be
sure you bring it back 
       to me!"

51
The first step on the road 
to glory..... no thrills, no
glamour - and as exciting as
   going back to school!

52
"Herman Schwimpf? In
  this man's army?"

53
"Yah, Schwimpf! And as
good a fighter as you,
Irisher. I show you!"

54
They had come to fly - only
to learn that aviators are
made on the ground. No wonder
their world was upside down!

55
Through all the grind of
training, Jack's dislike
for David increased day by
          day.

56
"Hey, Powell - lay off
       my hat!"

57
"Wipe - that - smile - off!"

58
"Stop! STOP! I never
seen such a bunch o'
  washwomen in me
      life!"

59
"Come here, Unconscious!"

60
"Here's th' way to
 uncork a right!"

61
"An' this is the way
to shoot yer left!"

62
"Never swing a round-
  house like this."

63
"Change over."

64
"Now hop to it, youse
  powder-puff guys!"

65
"Boy, you're game!"

66
While at home -

67
Jack and David began to believe
they were never to see any
real planes - - then, suddenly
ground school days were over!

68
"My name's White."

69
"Glad you fellows are in
here, Powell. We'll see
 a lot of each other."

70
"Got to go out and do a 
flock of figure eights
    before chow."

71
"Why the bear? Good
       luck?"

72
"Lots of fellows do have
  mascots, don't they, 
       White?"

73
"Yeah, lots of the fellows
carry something for luck."

74
"But, I never have."

75
"Luck or no luck, when
your time comes, you're
  going to get it!"

76
"Maybe you're right, but
when I leave the ground,
this bear goes with me."

77
"Here, too!"

78
 "Didn't know you carried 
a lucky piece. What is it?"

79
"It's a secret!"

80
Overhead, planes circle and dive,
loop and spiral upward ... the
air seems filled with them as
Cadet White begins his "figure
     eights before chow".

81
"You know they told us 
not to run out in case 
     of a crash!"

82
"Are these Cadet White's 
       quarters?"

83
 "Get his stuff together.
I'll be back to take it to 
     headquarters."

84
"Cadet Powell?.... Cadet
       Armstrong?"

85
"Report to the dead-line
immediately for flying 
     instruction."

86
"All set?"

87
"O.K.!"

88
Like a mighty maelstrom of
  destruction, the war now
drew into its center the power
and the pride of all the earth.

89
Overseas....
The nest of the war
eagles - an American
airdrome behind the lines.

90
The Shooting Star again
- this time a rider of
the heavens!

91
Herman Schwimpf's patriotism
was puncture-proof. Thrown
out as a flyer - re-enlisted as a
        mechanic -

92
"Wake up! WAKE UP!
You're on the dawn 
     patrol!"

93
His first dawn patrol! Here
was his dream come true -
here was the trumpet call to
breathless hazards in the skies!
      Here - at last!

94
"Patrol between here and
Mervale - and look out
for Captain Kellermann
and his 'Flying Circus'."

95
"Powell - Armstrong - it's
your first patrol. Keep
 formation - watch for
      signals!"

96
"Keep your neck like an
owl's. And be careful
   on your turns!"

97
"I hope we meet some
     Heinies."

98
"If Kellermann is up with 
  his circus you'll see
  plenty, don't worry!"

99
"All set?"

100
"O.K.!"

101
The whir of wings, once
 only a romantic dream,
now broke over Jack Powell
   in stern reality.

102
On the high sea of
heaven -

103
The enemy!

104
Count von Kellermann -
  famous German ace
and leader of the Flying
       Circus.

105
The rival leaders 
signal for attack.

106
At ten thousand feet above 
the earth, the opposing
squadrons hurl themselves
  into a "dog fight".

107
Incendiary bullets - and
American No. 3 spins
down in flames!

108
The battle-royal becomes
a series of individual 
duels -

109
The score evens - German
No. 2 is brought down by
American No. 2 -

110
- but in turn American
No. 2, off guard one
moment, pays the price!

111
The American leader
is hit!

112
The fight spreads out....
David is singled out for
attack by the famous Captain
   von Kellermann....

113
 David's machine-gun 
  jams, leaving him 
at the mercy of his foe.

114
But there was chivalry 
among these knights 
of the air....

115
Meanwhile jack - separated 
from the rest - finds two
Fokkers on his tail.

116
A chance shot has killed 
Jack's motor .... his
only hope is to dive earth-
ward and trust to luck -

117
Help comes from a 
near-by British 
trench.

118
"Hello, Yank. Welcome
to a very merry little
        war!"

119
"- and now how about 
a wee drop for the 
King and Uncle Sam?"

120
"O.K.!"

121
Weeks pass.
The fledgling flyers
are veterans now.

122
While on a war-torn road
behind the lines comes
another - already a veteran
     of service.

123
"Don't .... leave me ....
      Mother ...."

124
"Hey, if youse guys need
kissin' I'll kiss you - -
wit' a gun-butt! Fall in!"

125
A giant Gotha, mightiest of
     German bombing planes,
takes on its deadly load for a
dash across the lines ....

126
"Our Intelligence reports a
 secret concentration of
  the enemy at Mervale.
Proceed there directly and
  blow it off the map!"

127
Escorted by two swift 
 battle planes, the
great dragon roars out 
 to seek its prey.

128
Mervale - a tiny village packed
with munitions and jammed
with billeted regiments.

129
The "flu" had struck Mervale ...
   and Mary's puddle-hopper
was a daily visitor, laden with
     medical supplies.

130
"Gotha over Mervale -
two thousand meters."

131
"ALL SET?"

132
"O.K.!"

133
In the cockpit of
the Gotha.

134
Circling, to fix the wind
allowance -

135
"Hey! Where's everybody?"

136
Swift and straight as
arrows of vengeance 
come the two Americans ....

137
As Jack hurls himself 
at the Gotha, David
tackles the two battle- 
       planes.

138
Pursuing one Fokker,
David lays himself
open to attack by the
      other.

139
Heedless of danger, David
follows his prey ....

140
The remaining German
gives up the fight.

141
Meanwhile, Jack follows the
unwieldy dragon in its
lumbering, zig-zag flight ....

142
 Zooming upward to 
 pour a stream of 
fire into the belly of 
   the monster -

143
"Say! That's the flyin' 
 fool they call the 
   Shooting Star!"

144
The reward of valor.

145
"France is proud to honor
you, Lieutenant - proud
to recognize gallantry in
its Allies, as in her own 
         sons."

146
"You, too, Lieutenant, deserve
the name of ace. May the
enemy learn to fear you, as
we, your brothers in arms,
       admire you."

147
A decoration meant leave -
and leave, with nerves
strained to the breaking point
by week on week of unceasing
warfare in the skies, meant only
        one thing - -

148
Since America's entrance in
the war, the Allies had
prepared - silently, thoroughly 
- for the 'Big Push', the
greatest battle of history. Now
   came the final call .... 

149
"This means the big drive -
at last! We've got to be
ready. Cancel all leaves!
   Recall everyone -"

150
Paris in war-time... the capital
    of the world's gayety
crowded with soldiers of all
races - on furlough from Death
 .... trying to forget ....

151
The Shooting Star!
Here - in Paris!

152
"They're rounding up all the
flyers they can find. Every
man on this list had better
beat it back to his command
  or face court-martial."

153
"You're right, Miss - Powell
was here - Jack Powell, of
the 39th. His gang had a
peach of a fight with six
waiters and a gendarme -"

154
"They started for the 
  Folies Bergere -"

155
Here, for men fresh from the 
front, whose minds carried
the image of unutterable horrors
- here was forgetfulness .....

156
"H'ray for bubbles!"

157
"All set?"

158
"O.K.!"

159
"Run 'way, l'il uniform.
No bubbles in uniform -"

160
"Jack - Jack - don't
   you know me?"

161
"Can't you understand?
Your leave - cancelled!
You've got to go back!
         War!"

162
"No war - jus' bubbles!"

163
"Isn't any war - -
Isn't any war - -
Isn't any war - -"

164
"What's the matter ....
   lost your man?"

165
"Tell me about it, cherie."

166
"He's just a boy. He
 doesn't realize -"

167
"I understand."

168
"If you would catch the
fly, do you set the
vinegar? No, ma cherie!
 But the sugar, yes!"

169
"So - put on one of the 
  dancer's dresses -"

170
"Come wiz me - we will
find ze mos' beautiful
bubbles in ze worl'."

171
"Don' - don' fight! I'll
  go where - wherever
  bes' bubbles are!"

172
"She has bubbles even in
'er eyes - she wins -"

173
"Li'l Bubbles...."

174
"- I'm gonna kiss you!"

175
"All leaves cancelled - -
ordered to report back 
to the front immediately!"

176
"And you wearing 
a uniform, too -
   daytimes!"

177
"Put your clothes on! You 
can't get away with this sort 
of thing in the A.E.F. It's
back home for you, sister."

178
Each day, now, the long roads
of France were filled with
marching men, as preparation
for the "Big Push" swung into
     its final stages.

179
Vanished, the fairyland of
Paris .... Again the stark
reality of flying field - - the
drone of motors - and Death,
   riding the clouds ....

180
"Study your maps, now!
I'll let you know when 
     to take off."

181
"Will you take my 
decoration back to 
my mother, Jack?"

182
"I've got a hunch I'm not
   coming back today."

183
"I'm serious, Jack. Go through
my stuff and see that every-
thing's O. K. before they're
        sent home."

184
"Gee, that's funny!
Mary's not the sort 
     to quit."

185
"Resigned doesn't always 
mean 'quit'. Sometimes
 it means - 'fired'!"

186
"When these home-town
girls get to Paris -"

187
"See here, Cameron - no
one can talk about mary
Preston like that! You
   take that back -"

188
"All right! All right! I
  didn't know she was
       your girl."

189
"Are you in love with
     Mary, Jack?"

190
"Look here, Dave.... It's Sylvia
I love.... and I believe she
          loves me!"

191
"Dave, I wouldn't have any-
thing break our friendship.
But - it seemed the square
   thing to tell you."

192
"You've often wondered 
what I carry for luck...
  well, here it is."

193
"Sylvia gave me this. She
wouldn't have done that 
unless she - loved me."

194
"Give me the locket.
  I'll put it in."

195
"I - I don't want anyone
- even you, Dave - to
      handle it."

196
"This is no time for horse-play!
German balloons are up - back
of Hill 124! They're breaking 
up our whole troop movement!
      Get after them."

197
"Friendship means a
hell of a lot to you,
   doesn't it?"

198
"All set?"

199
The eyes of the enemy,
spotting our troop 
movements....

200
"Shell!"

201
"Hey, Red - snap out of it!"

202
An enemy battle squadron
closes in behind to cut
off the two Americans.....

203
To protect his flying
  mate, David hurls
himself into a desperate
       combat -

204
David's first wild 
rush disposes of 
one enemy -

205
Then another German
falls....

206
But now comes the reckoning
- the remaining two Germans
have gained altitude - David is
      at their mercy....

207
Earthward .... twisting
and doubling through
the clouds ....

208
Meanwhile, jack reaches
the objective - - two
balloons in a sheltered 
       valley.

209
Triumph! - but where
    was David?

210
Sick with foreboding, Jack
   turns his plane for home -
while David, like a hare doubling 
    from the hounds....

211
All that night - with "zero hour"
set for dawn - - the Allied
armies were moving stealthily
to their appointed posts ....

212
Behind the enemy lines...

213
Through the night -
waiting - hoping -
praying -

214
At dawn a lone German 
plane, scorning its
fiery reception -

215
Daybreak ... Along the battle-
front a dream-like stillness...
in the trenches, men crouching
shoulder to shoulder, hardly
    daring to breathe ....

216
Laying Bangalore torpedoes,
to tear a way through the
barbed wire which had
protected them so long.

217
"I'll square things up for 
Dave - or I won't come 
        back!"

218
The idling motors quicken....
Flight by flight, like eager
birds of prey, the airplanes
leave the ground. The big drive
     of the air is on!

219
Driven by a mad desire 
to avenge his comrade,
Jack plunges across the
German lines - alone!

220
A morbid fascination, half 
  hope and half dread,
draws him toward the Mad
        River.

221
On foot, the doughboys
continue their irresistible 
advance.

222
German reserves, hurrying
forward to meet the
new thrust....

223
A German general and
his aide -

224
By mid-morning, the Allied
advance was general all
along the front....

225
Groping blindly forward,
shattered remnants of the
American first wave reached
  the enemy's trenches.

226
The enemy counter-attack!

227
Fresh American waves 
renew the attack....

228
"Attaboy! Them buzzards
are some good, after all!"

229
French Colonials join
in the attack.

230
Near the Mad River ... in the
marshes, where even in
peace-time, few stragglers
    found their way -

231
The enemy retreat
becomes a rout -

232
The uproar of battle dies
away. Over ground strewn
with the dead, Jack heads his
     plane for home.

233
There before him - a 
 lone German plane -
heading straight for the
  American lines!

234
"Jack!"

235
Only the hated Iron
Cross - only another
foe to be slain without 
      mercy -

236
"Jack - don't you know me?"

237
"He has not long to 
live. So young! Come,
    Monsieur -"

238
"I stole the plane - thought
maybe I could get across
      the lines -"

239
  "Dave - Dave! You're 
not badly hurt - I'll get
      a doctor -"

240
"If it were any use, myself
would have gone. It is
minutes only, Monsieur -"

241
"C'est la guerre!"

242
"Don't go, Jack! Just
stay here with me -
for a little while -"

243
"Oh, Dave, Dave - I was
trying to get just one 
more Heinie for you -"

244
"Don't, Jack - oh, please
don't - - it wasn't your
         fault."

245
"You didn't shoot me, 
Jack - you did bring
down - a Heinie ship
 - don't you see?"

246
"Dave, you know I didn't
mean - what I said about
the picture - don't you?"

247
"You - you know there
is nothing in the world
that means so much to
me as your friendship -"

248
"I knew it - - all the
       time - -"

249
"All - - set?"

250
Suddenly the clamor of
war is stilled.... the
iron grip is broken.... the
     smoke clears....

251
Home.... and a man
returning, where a 
boy had gone away....

252
"I-I wanted to hate you, 
John, but I can't. It
wasn't your fault. It
     was - war!"

253
Memories....

254
"Mary - there's something 
I feel I ought to tell 
          you -"

255
"One night in Paris -"

256
"There was a girl - and I
forgot myself - I don't know
who she was - I never want
       to know."

257
"- and then -"

258
"Remember - I saw the war,
too, Jack! And I can't blame -
anyone - for anything! What
happens from now on is all
that matters, isn't it, dear?"

259
"Do you know what you 
can do when you see a 
   shooting star?"

260
"You can kiss the girl 
      you love."

The End