64 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 14 letters “Jean” or “JMermoz,” Beirut, Saïda, and Palmyra, September–December 1921, to his “dear Little Mom”; 57 pages, in-8 format; the last letter on Aviation du Levant letterhead. Squadron 57. In military aviation in the Levant. Beirut, September 19. He describes his journey, which was superb despite the discomfort. He is surprised by the heat and the high cost of living; he will soon be promoted to non-commissioned officer and is heading off to training in Saïda: “I have a good first impression, and that’s a lot. And besides, I find it fun and interesting—all these customs of the Arabs, Bedouins, and Jews. What can I say? Here, I really feel at home, in my branch of the military; there’s a sincere friendship and a genuine bond among all the pilots, regardless of their rank. Anyway, things are going great”… Saïda, September 23. He leads “the good squadron life” out in the countryside, far from any settlements but close to the sea. He’s paid in piastres and hopes to be able to save some money soon. While waiting to fly, he reads, swims, works out, and observes: “Arabs perched on small donkeys, disappearing beneath their loads, trot toward Damascus, the destination for caravans from the Syrian desert. They sing wild and strange melodies, accompanying themselves on a reed flute that emits high-pitched, shrill sounds. It’s quite amusing. The women follow on foot because here, they are the ones who work and the men are the ones who stroll about. Most are veiled”… He is shocked by the brutality of some Europeans toward the locals: “They seem very passive, but in the mountains, they are completely different, and woe to the isolated European”… – September 30. He’s going to start “flying that old Bréguet again. […] I want to come back with my head firmly on my shoulders and all my wits about me. Avoiding the effects of the sun and alcohol—that’s the secret. It’s all about willpower and habit. ” – October 4: “I flew again this morning and it’s going great. Now I’m completely happy because I’d really missed it—it’s been two months since I last held the control stick”; he’s in charge of cooking; we eat with our fingers; he has a pleasant room, but at night it’s infested with fleas and bedbugs… – October 10. There are also scorpions in the room… – October 16. Time is passing, and he’s worried about not hearing from anyone; he’s had colic and asks for paregoric elixir and opium tablets to be sent to him. – October 20, he finally receives a letter and tries to cheer his mother up: “Try to overcome your excessive sensitivity a little, as I do myself […]. I assure you, do it, without resorting to contempt; one can cloak oneself in a light armor of philosophy and indifference. One is fully entitled to that when one has suffered greatly”; he, for his part, had come in first among all the pilots in training: “ I now have my very own plane, a 350,000-franc toy, and my mechanic, who’ll be accompanying me on my flights”—on a mission to Palmyra: “From there we’ll fan out over the Euphrates and all the rebel provinces”… – October 25, he’s about to leave on a mission: “It mostly involves dropping bombs, strafing the rebels, and taking photographs; it’s not always fun, and this ‘civilizing’ hunt repulses me a little”; he is permanently assigned to the 54th Squadron: “I had my plane repainted and varnished. It looks amazing”… – November 5. A counterorder canceled his mission at the last minute. “My plane is fully equipped and armed from top to bottom; it, too, is waiting to see what happens”… Palmyre, December 4. He’s had his “fourth breakdown”: engine blown, plane undamaged and towed; his spirits are high: “Don’t say, my dear mother, that I’m selfish. […] Morale has nothing to do with affection; I love you with all my soul and I miss you—there’s no need to tell you this, you know it—but my independent, and I’d almost say wild, temperament is in perfect harmony with this immense solitude, which is terribly wild. That is the source of what I might call my serenity”... – December 10: He envisions his return and the joy of being reunited; he’ll come back with his savings: “It’s all yours”; he’ll be stationed in Nancy “on night bombing missions in a Goliath or a twin-engine Farman. I like that.”… Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family