AUGUST 19th - Freedom de French

On this day in 1913, the French aviator Aldophe Pegoud became the first pilot to make a parachute jump from an airplane. He is also considered as the 1st fighter ace of World War I, as well as the first pilot who successfully completed a loop. Basically the dude was a French badass (pronounced Fronch Bodas), until he was shot down and killed in 1915 at 26 years old. Some flames burn fast and bright, my friends. This was a guy, with a very healthy mustache by the way, who was the first person to jump out of plane. I know adrenaline junkies do the same thing these days for giggles, but I’d have to imagine jumping out of a plane back in 1913 was a bit of different experience. He was basically testing out the parachute. Takes a special type a dude to jump out of an airplane without knowing if the chute will work. That’s like Britney Spears agreeing to sing live without knowing if her auto-tune mic is going to work. Except with the added fear of death. Of course this hyper-courageousness maybe the reason he only lived until 26. But I prefer to look at it in a different way. Pegoud didn’t die jumping out of a plane or performing a dare-devil stunt. He got shot down fighting for his country. If he had not done so...aye, he may have lived. At least a while. But dying in his bed, many years from then would he be willing to trade all the days from that day till his dying one for one chance, just one chance to go back up in that plane and tell his enemies that they may take his life, but the may never take his FREEDOM. Okay the differences between WWI and Scotland’s uprising against the Brits are aplenty. But damn if Mel Gibson doesn’t give good speech. Am I right? And Pegoud was still fighting for France’s continued freedom. He just did it with a plane and a heck of a moustache instead of blue war paint and a kilt. Oui oui?

This day has been Marked.