2023-12-22 15:24:55
The Heroes of the Sky
Joseph Kessel
Arthaud, 760 p., 30 €
Mermoz. The name alone is enough to evoke the one who was still nicknamed The Archangel. In 1936, he was lost at sea. Two years later, his friend Kessel wrote a warm and epic biography of the aviator. In a new volume of the works of the old lion, Arthaud editions bring together three books – including Mermoz, published in 1938 – and several articles devoted to aviation. Volunteering as an aviator during the First World War, Joseph Kessel knew them all: “Only we, the pilots, can understand the value of what we do. How to explain it to laymen? » Who could in fact understand this fascination with flying angels ready to risk their lives each time they take off? “The mail has to get through,” declare the heroes of Aéropostale.
Fifth volume dedicated to Kessel in this collection of classics by travel writers, The Heroes of the Sky recounts the beginnings of aviation. It’s first The crew, his first novel published in 1923, inspired by Kessel’s own involvement during the war. This is the emotion of the first missions, the feeling of power that the aviator writer shares with the young recruit in the novel: “Herbillon forgot everything to enjoy the happiness of being healthy, of being strong and of ascending into the blue at the same time as the dawn. » But the story does not end there: Herbillon teams up with Maury. In the cabin they have a linked destiny. But one’s wife is also the other’s lover. What remains of loyalty, of the instinct for camaraderie, of squadron life? Isn’t the young aviator at risk of burning his wings? “You feel entitled because death is our closest companion…”insiste Maury.
Camaraderie
In the Sandstorm, Kessel retraces the beginnings of Aéropostale. Kessel, reporter, embarks on the Toulouse-Casablanca-Dakar line inaugurated on June 1, 1925. More than the challenges of major stopovers, it is the life of the pilots that he describes, happy partygoers: “With the Aéropostale pilots, Kessel is immediately on the same page. The atmosphere of the squadron resurfaces, the memory of the brotherhood of men, of picturesque discussions, of long nights nourished by drinks and stories, of breakdowns, of rosy dawns. comments Étienne de Montety who prefaces the work. Kessel tells “the simple and strong camaraderie”, but also the accidents and attacks of the men of the desert: “An engine failure could usher in mysterious days, dangerous encounters, captivity, life in tents, agony in the sands. »
During this report, Kessel met Guillaumet, Saint-Exupéry, Mermoz. Jean Mermoz, the friend whose existence he retraced : “Do I have sufficient interior resources to tear you away from the pall of glory, to dissipate the icy incense and restore you in your flesh, in your heart, in your violence and your humanity? “, states Kessel, who engages in an exercise of admiration. Mermoz, the poor child born with the 20th century, who only dreams of adventure: “I could have just as easily been a Méhariste or a missionary. » He will be an Aéropostale pilot. But he had to prove himself: he also experienced breakdowns and the desert: “I don’t know if that’s fair. But I know that only great trials, great falls, great successes and great chances make a man great. » Legendary figure, Mermoz disappeared at sea with his aircraft, the Croix-du-Sud, on December 7, 1936.
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