Up There

In the Ottawa Evening Citizen, Reader David Forbes told of a chance meeting in a cafe with a Royal Canadian Air Force flyer:

He was sitting at the next table when I sat down--a fresh-faced young man. . . . He did not look a day older than 21, I decided. He just sat there looking at the wall opposite and, after a moment, produced a packet of cigarets and began to fumble in his pocket for a match. I struck my lighter and ... he smiled his thanks.

"Have you been over yet?" I asked.

"Yes, since before Dunkirk."

"What was it like?"

"They'd have been licked if Hitler had invaded. . . ."

"They did try it--didn't they?"

"So they say."

"You must have seen a lot of action?"

"Yes, I was in the Battle of Malta, as well as in Burma. . . ."

"The Japs must be really tough fighters," I said.

"They are--better fighters than the Germans. . . ."

"Are you home for good?" I said.

"No, on furlough. I'll be going back in two months. . . ."

"You're going back!"

"Yes, although I'll be in another department." His voice was subdued and he stared at the wall opposite. "I love it," he added. "Up there." His eyes indicated the strip of blue sky visible through the window. . . .

Several people stood before our tables with trays in their hands and we both rose.

"Where do you pay?" the airman asked.

"Down at the counter."

And as he put on his coat, I noticed that there were several fingers missing from his left hand. He moved slowly [with] a slight limp. . . . And then I saw that his awkward walk was caused by his not having become accustomed to his artificial left leg.

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