games-pc crimson skies User Manual
4
The
TALL TALES
&
MANY LIVES
of
NATHAN ZACHARY
I
’VE ALWAYS BEEN SURROUNDED BY wide-open
spaces. My folks told me I was born on a mesa under
a full moon. They said I tried to reach up and touch it.
I don’t know if that’s true, but that image has always
fascinated me. I’ve always tried to grab the biggest,
brightest prize in the sky.
I don’t know if that’s true, but that image has always
fascinated me. I’ve always tried to grab the biggest,
brightest prize in the sky.
We were Gypsies, wandering what had been the
American Southwest, doing odd jobs and somehow
scraping by. My folks were often accused of stealing.
They weren’t thieves, but they
were poor and lacked the
stature and eloquent words to
defend their honor.
scraping by. My folks were often accused of stealing.
They weren’t thieves, but they
were poor and lacked the
stature and eloquent words to
defend their honor.
When I was sixteen, I lied
about my age and joined the
Army Air Corps. Six weeks
later I was steaming toward
Europe to fight in the Great
War. Eddie Rickenbacker took
me on as his wingman and
taught me how to fly and fight.
I collected a half dozen med-
als that first year.
Army Air Corps. Six weeks
later I was steaming toward
Europe to fight in the Great
War. Eddie Rickenbacker took
me on as his wingman and
taught me how to fly and fight.
I collected a half dozen med-
als that first year.
But my career as a war
hero ended when I met the
German ace Wilhelm Kisler.
He showed me I wasn’t invin-
cible, downing my plane in
the Alps where I was captured
and stuck in a POW camp.
German ace Wilhelm Kisler.
He showed me I wasn’t invin-
cible, downing my plane in
the Alps where I was captured
and stuck in a POW camp.
I rotted in that camp for a year before a couple of
officers and I escaped—running smack into the Rus-
sian Front. We did the only thing we could: joined the
Russkies and flew their junk biplanes. We called our
squadron the Gypsies, and despite the long odds we
held our own against the Germans.
sian Front. We did the only thing we could: joined the
Russkies and flew their junk biplanes. We called our
squadron the Gypsies, and despite the long odds we
held our own against the Germans.
When the Great War ended, the fighting in Russia
unfortunately continued. The Bolsheviks overthrew the
Czar. I was caught in the middle and had to choose
Czar. I was caught in the middle and had to choose
sides. It wasn’t easy because
I had fought alongside Russian
farmers, and officers, and was
even decorated by Nicolas I—
but in the end, I supported the
People’s Army.
I had fought alongside Russian
farmers, and officers, and was
even decorated by Nicolas I—
but in the end, I supported the
People’s Army.
The Russians that I knew,
however, changed. I watched
the Red Army as they commit-
ted the same atrocities that
had been inflicted upon them.
I figured I had to somehow
even the score, so I started fly-
ing the old noble families
across the border to safety.
While that eased my con-
science, it also made me en-
emy number one of the Rus-
sian State.
the Red Army as they commit-
ted the same atrocities that
had been inflicted upon them.
I figured I had to somehow
even the score, so I started fly-
ing the old noble families
across the border to safety.
While that eased my con-
science, it also made me en-
emy number one of the Rus-
sian State.
I fled to England and at-
tended Oxford University, re-
turning in 1923 to the United
turning in 1923 to the United
IMAGINE OUR SURPRISE when Air Action Weekly received a
telegram from Nathan Zachary asking if we’d like to interview
him. Would we! Ace reporter Patricia Clark met with Mr. Zachary
December 21, 1936, on Hilton Beach, Hawaii. Here, in his own
words, is the story of one of today’s most controversial pilots ...
telegram from Nathan Zachary asking if we’d like to interview
him. Would we! Ace reporter Patricia Clark met with Mr. Zachary
December 21, 1936, on Hilton Beach, Hawaii. Here, in his own
words, is the story of one of today’s most controversial pilots ...