Memorial Day, Plus 1

August 1st, 1918

The morning of August 1st, 1918, the 27th Aero Squadron was assigned the duty of escorting 2 aerial recon planes. This was the 4th day of First Lt. Oliver T. Beauchamps service in the war. The events of that day are somewhat vague, but there is one fact that remains, it was one of the worst days for losses in The Great War.

The pilots gear up and take flight. They meet up after take off and head out to meet the two aerial recon planes. The squad is flying the same mission the 27th still has, air superiority. The recon planes were flying in a zig zag pattern across the front lines, snapping pictures of artillery and troop movements. After a few trips across the front, the squad is attacked by The Red Baron's Flying Circus. The Germans wax the Allies with a quickness. The fate of First Lt. Oliver T. Beauchamp is sealed. How he met his end has some debate, but it is known he did not live out the day. The first account (and probably the most accurate) is two German Fokkers jumped Beauchamp and shot him into the ground. He would have had one of three option there. I like to think the machine guns ended him quickly and he didn't suffer. The Spad he was probably flying at the time was made of little more than wood and cloth. The second account has him returning to base only to die from a crash landing. I have even read somewhere he crashed behind enemy lines and dies at the hands of the Germans. Who knows at this point. What we do know is enough. One of our best and brightest young men from Somerset county, MD went to war and he didn't come back.

I read the story of First Lt. Beauchamp and it reminds me of the word sacrifice. Hell his service is the definition of the word. Which brings me back to Memorial Day. I know many remember the names, but thats to individual for me. The families that lost those loved ones will keep the names. They need no help remembering the loss, they live with that everyday. Anyone who died for duty, honor, country is a hero. And thats what I like to think about on Memorial Day, the nameless hero, the unknown soldier, the pilot who saw three days at the front.

You are missed.