192 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 2 letters “Mermoz” and “Ton Jean,” Buenos Aires, May 3 and 17, 1929, to his “Dear Mom”; 3½ pages and 4 pages, in-8 format, on Aeroposta paper. Crossing the Andes Mountains. May 3. He reassures her. “I got away with it again this time—by the skin of my teeth! I had only a one-in-100 chance of not perishing. I took that chance. But what a feat!! It borders on the impossible, on legend. None of the pilots who went down in the Andes ever made it back. Because of this, I’ve become a flying sensation, and all of Argentina is singing my praises. I think if anything were to happen to me, they’d give me a state funeral. The French colony recently held a grand celebration in my honor, and the ambassador presented me with a gold medal struck especially for me. The Company gave me a gift of 20,000 francs. The Count de la Vaulx had me nominated as an officer of the Legion of Honor. In short, you see, my dear Mom, there’s absolutely no need to worry. I’m doing well, except for my ever-present tapeworm”… After his leave, he plans to return to South America: “Financially, I couldn’t do any better anywhere else. Besides, I’m now the chief pilot for the entire route, and they’re counting on me to conduct reconnaissance flights for all the new sections to be established. I’ll be leaving in July or August for the West Indies in a seaplane, and I might even go as far as New York. And besides, I’m caught up in the whirlwind. Perhaps we’ll take on the Indochina route. So I don’t see an end to my travels”… May 17. He returns “from a second trip to the Argentine Cordillera to organize the landing strips for our Chilean route, which I’ll inaugurate and begin operating next month—but this time with special aircraft that are on their way to us. The route will be tough. More than 6 hours at an altitude of 6,000 meters on both the outbound and return legs. Naturally, as chief pilot, it’s up to me to handle the initial flights; that doesn’t bother me—quite the contrary. I love to fight and win. Now that they call me the “French Lindbergh” here, noblesse oblige… hmm! I was supposed to leave for Cayenne earlier. We’re going to open a route in that direction. […] There’s talk of granting us concessions in Indochina, Siam, and Japan, and then Madagascar. Now I’m caught up in the whirlwind and scheduled for future trips”… Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family