168 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Your Jean,” [Buenos Aires, October 17, 1928], to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 4 pages, small in-4. It has been a long time since he last wrote to them, but he had told his mother about his “travel adventures in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. […] Time is passing with disconcerting speed. Did you have a nice summer? Here, we’re having a very bad winter. A day of snow—a rare occurrence—but rain, oh! It just won’t stop, especially in Brazil. Terrible weather like I’ve never seen in Europe! The aviation work is very hard. As for me, I’m well-trained at it now. I’m sure to set another record for flight hours this year, because I never stop. Between my flights, I crisscross all of South America on raids and exploratory trips. That doesn’t stop me from weighing 87 kilograms. And then, if I don’t go to France before February, I’ll take a well-deserved two-week break in December, just to be on the safe side, because I’ve never put as much effort into aviation as I have this year. This will certainly be the crowning achievement of my career—I’ll admit it without modesty for once. Everyone here knows it and tells me so, even my comrades, which is rare in a world as full of showboating as ours. I’m starting to believe that I’ve actually accomplished something, even though it feels perfectly natural to me! What would I do then in aviation? Currently, we make regular mail runs in 9½ days—4 days by plane to cover the 10,000 km. of overland travel and five and a half days by boat to cover the 3,500 km of the maritime leg—a distance we will fortunately reduce to 2,400 km with the upcoming operation of our seaplanes, which will bring the total time to 7½ days. What an effort and how much organization this has required of us, especially in a country like Brazil, which is partly pro-German and opposes us with all the inertia it can muster. Our correspondence is growing slowly but surely. People here are beginning to realize what we’re doing. But it’s not without its difficulties"... Correspondence, No. 152. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family