War Was Hell

While promoting his new memoir, former Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert has claimed that he was the one who shot down pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Saint-Exupery, who had a long history of civilian flying in Africa, was flying a reconnaissance mission in support of the upcoming Allied landings in Provence when he went missing on July 31, 1944. His plane was recovered, but his body has not been found. (If your French is up to it, you can see the full article from Le Figaro here.)

For his part, Rippert is all torn up about the news that is coincidentally driving his book off the bookstore shelves. "In our youth, at school, we had all read him. We loved his books," he said. "If I had known, I would not have opened fire. Not on him!"--David E