100 years ago...

Volker_Nemsch · 28 October 2016, 12:25 AM

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... the great Oswald Boelcke died.
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Gregvan · 28 October 2016, 12:45 AM

Thanks for posting that, Volker - you beat me to it, by about ten minutes.

If I'm not mistaken, ceremonies commemorating Boelcke are being held today at the present base of Jagdbombergeschwader 31 "Boelcke", and also near Bapaume, in the vicinity of where Boelcke fell. This is one anniversary many of us should take note of, indeed.

"On the 28th of October we flew once again under the leadership of the great man. We always felt secure when he was along. There was only one Boelcke..." Manfred von Richthofen

Gregvan · 28 October 2016, 12:51 AM

"It is strange that everyone who came to know Boelcke imagined he was his one true friend. I have met about 40 of these "one true" friends of Boelcke, and each imagined that he indeed was the one true friend. Men whose names Boelcke never knew believed they were especially close to him. It was a strange phenomenon that I have observed only in Boelcke. He never met a personal enemy. He was equally friendly to everyone. no more to one, no less to another. The one who was perhaps closest to Boelcke was the one who collided with him..." Manfred von Richthofen

"I am only a combat pilot. But Boelcke...he was a hero." Manfred von Richthofen

Jos · 28 October 2016, 02:46 AM

Hello,

Here are several pictures of his funeral and one of Boelcke and Parschau...

The first one shows Freiherr von Lyncker, handing over a wreath -in name of the Kaiser- to Boelcke's father.

The picture with Parschau is taken from an article called: Ein Besuch bei Boelcke ( A visit to Boelcke).

Regards,

Jos

Gregvan · 28 October 2016, 10:42 AM

Here is a French news article about the dedication of a memorial plaque to Boelcke at Bapaume today; a remarkable and wonderful gesture:

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/66341/art...anco-allemande

And here's an article in Today's Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an...rter-1.2845727

Viggen · 16 November 2016, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregvan

Here is a French news article about the dedication of a memorial plaque to Boelcke at Bapaume today; a remarkable and wonderful gesture:

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/66341/art...anco-allemande

And here's an article in Today's Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an...rter-1.2845727

Nice articles. oswald Boelcke seems to have been a a very special person. He died to early but his early death maybe saved him from much evil. We do not want to have seen him in WW2 ! Is it known if there were any special commemoration of the hundred years aniversery of his death inside germany or in his hometown in Dessau ??

Anna-Karin S

Volker_Nemsch · 16 November 2016, 07:31 AM

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He died to early but his early death maybe saved him from much evil. We do not want to have seen him in WW2!

We simply will never know. But Oswald Boelcke was an open minded person with an independent point of view and so I guess that it would have been a had job for "fat Hermann" to convince him to join the "dark side". On the other hand people in the early or mid-1930's did not have the slightest premonition of what would have happened after 1939 in Germany. Udet is one example for that...

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