Last of the Many

The pilots of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain were often referred to as the Few. One book paying tribute to the young men of Bomber Command referred to the “bomber boys”, in contrast, as the Many. And we have lost another one of this band, a very special one.
The story didn’t make it into the news outside the U.K. it seems. I only heard of it via a link, forwarded by a friend, to a British newspaper. The lack of coverage of the funeral of Wing Commander Jack Harris does seem to me, sadly, rather apt; almost symbolic of the way the “bomber boys” were mostly forgotten. You see, he was the last of the Many. Jack Harris was the last surviving wartime Bomber Command pilot, and when he passed away recently at the age of 104 it truly meant the end of an era. Harris survived 37 ops with 550 Squadron and was one of the lucky ones who returned to his family and went on to live a long, happy life by all accounts. Rest in Peace Mr. Harris - “...we shall not see his like again.”
The loss of the vast majority of the ones who were there means that we are left with those who came after to tell the story of history, and that is a sad loss.
I recently started the much-talked about TV mini series Masters of the Air. I had trepidation going into it, as American storytellers tend to have (to put it mildly and politely....) a skewed, jingoistic attitude when it comes to telling Second World War history. Saving Private Ryan was an amazing film, but the British are only mentioned in passing, and that mention was to disparage General Montgomery. The same with Band of Brothers which depicts British forces rarely and in a poor light. I recall a British tank commander in one episode who pooh-poohs the American G.I.’s warning and promptly gets himself and his tank destroyed by the Germans. Those dumb Limeys right?
I am only two episodes in to Masters of the Air and already I see the writing on the wall. A pompous, tactless British Bomber Command pilot gets in a fight with the Americans in a pub and gets his ass whupped after telling the Yank airmen their daylight campaign is foolish “suicide”.
Oh, our American friends make me shake my head sometimes! But actually, (and sadly) they don’t seem so much like friends these days. My wife and I were planning a 10th wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii this year, back to where we were married on the beach, but all U.S. destinations are off the menu for the foreseeable future. American products and produce are off the shopping list as well...if you had told me six months ago that I would be eagerly bagging up Chinese carrots at the grocery store, I would have called you crazy. But these are strange times and that bullying orange gasbag has us all a bit crazy. Last week I was out for a walk and spotted a Cybertruck approaching up the quiet suburban road...I swear it took all the restraint I had not snap to attention on the sidewalk, lift my right arm and yell out “Heil Musk!!” as the ugly beast went by. I can’t promise anything if it happens again......