They're following up on the other aces of World War I this time.
They were the Aces in the sky - proud knights who flew their planes into deadly combat. Loved by the public, feared by their enemies, the victorious pilots of the Great War rose to prominence as gallant heroes. But the personal stories of those celebrated pilots were also memories full of excruciating pain, of terrible loss, and inner struggle. Body and mind of those aces were broken by the constant danger of fighting in the air. Those who survived bore more than a few scars.
You'll find similar stories in other aces of the period. That romanticism was part of the culture for pilots of the day, and those who survived the war would often find life after the war to be a very difficult beast due to dealing with the consequences of their actions- including, for many, the inability to return to the cockpit. These real life heroes would also serve as the basis for decades of pulps focusing on aerial adventures with daring flying aces, which would in due course inspire the next great cohort of aces to step up come World War 2.
Remember that real life is not bound to plausibility, but actual reality, and as such can produce incredible tales that fiction authors envy. World War 1's war in the air is full of them. Go find them.
"Crimson Skies" should have lasted longer.
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