A Lighthearted Exchange Among Pilots
Captain Thenault:
Any questions?
Eddie Beagle: [''raises hand'']
Yes, sir. Will we be back by lunch?
Captain Thenault:
I mean any intelligent questions.
Eddie Beagle:
Sorry. Just trying to loosen things up.
Captain Thenault:
Don't.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Futility of War and Loss
Reed Cassidy:
Some day it'll just end. Everyone will go home, get on with their lives. Tall grass will cover the battlefields. And all the pilots we've lost won't mean a damn thing.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Consequences of Unauthorized Military Flights
Captain Thenault: [''After Rawlings flew and landed behind German lines to rescue Lucienne and her family''; ''Setting aside the papers, Thenault pins a Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm on Rawlings' uniform'']
Use of French military aircraft for personal purposes is strictly forbidden! The report I have says that you repeatedly made flights into and out of German-held territory to fly out several French civilians, while being shot at by both infantry and anti-aircraft cannons. Busy night. I have here papers recommending your court-martial. I have contacted headquarters in Paris and they agree with my recommendation completely, so it won't do you any good to go over my head! Congratulations, Rawlings. And don't ever do that again.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Leave the Bullets with the Germans
Captain Thenault: [''Points at the sky'']
We don't want you bringing bullets home; we have millions. Leave the bullets up there. Let the Germans take them home.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Justice in the Sky
Captain Thenault: [''To one of his pilots, complaining of a German pilot who killed a member of the French squadron after he successfully crash-landed'']
Reports can be filed. But you want justice? You are the man in the sky. You are the man with the gun.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
