Aerial Victories and Wounds
He scored his initial victory on 17 December 1916, making numerous passes at a French Caudron over Bras before shooting it down.
On 17 July he scored victory number 11 although he was wounded again and did not score again until 9 August. On 11 August he downed a British RE 8, and was wounded yet again the next day. Victory 14 was on 29 September, possibly because the wound kept him out of action.
On 18 November he was commissioned as a Leutnant. He was wounded for the fourth time on 30 November 1917, wounded in both his arms and chest. His subsequent crash then completely broke both arms. He lay under his smashed aircraft for hours before counter-attacking German infantry overran the wreckage and rescued him. On 4 December 1917, while he was recovering from his wounds, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. The injuries kept him out of action for months and he would not score again until 16 April 1918.
After recovering, he rejoined Jasta 17. At this time had two airplanes dedicated for his personal use. He dubbed them Mops and Lilly. He flew "Mops" and "Lilly" to score 3 more victories before he was severely wounded yet again on 6 May 1918, this time in the left ankle. His next victory came 5 months later on 5 October. He scored twice more in the final days of the war, and had his second unconfirmed triumph on 8 November.
Read more about this topic: Julius Buckler
Famous quotes containing the words aerial, victories and/or wounds:
“But with some small portion of real genius and a warm imagination, an author surely may be permitted a little to expand his wings and to wander in the aerial fields of fancy, provided ... that he soar not to such dangerous heights, from whence unplumed he may fall to the ground disgraced, if not disabled from ever rising anymore.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
“The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Entrance and exit wounds are silvered clean,
The track aches only when the rain reminds.
The one-legged man forgets his leg of wood.
The one-armed man his jointed wooden arm.
The blinded man sees with his ears and hands
As much or more than once with both his eyes.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)