FLY-BOYS

World War I gave us the fly-boys

Who flew by the seat of their pants.

Many would never return from war

 While others survived by chance.

Their planes were mostly canvas and wood

Gasoline, bullets, bombs and poison gas.

Every pilot carried his own pistol

 Wearing leathers, scarf and goggles of glass.

Aviators had no Parachutes

To escape their burning plane.

Many were forced to jump to their death

Or self inflect a bullet to the brain.

Blimps where known as battleships of the sky

The roar of their engines gave reason for fear

They flew so high they were hard to shoot down

Hiding above clouds till their targets drew near.

 Tracer bullets for the first time were used

In the guns of airplanes to set blimps a fire.

The skies became man’s highway of death

With duty and honor their driving desire.

How many Fly-boys have we lost since then

Those days of the Great War and now?

Where we do get such brave souls of chance

Who rise above their fear then and now?

By Tom Zart