[edwest2]

We are far removed from those events. Also, we do not have the original participants to consult with and clarify or dispute any points. I think it is odd to see "disillusioned" or "war weary." I recall reading Adolf Galland's first impression of flying the Me 262: "It felt like angels were pushing me."

Whether or not the men involved felt like "outcasts" or "exiles," they acquitted themselves well. American G.I.s thought they would be home by Christmas, 1944. I am wary of books that look at the mental state of people whose legacy lies in their accomplishments, which occurred as recorded and regardless of their emotional state or official or unofficial status. Like all good soldiers, they fought for their country.

As an aside, I've grown tired of seeing "war-winning" applied to the V-2 or Me 262 and other German developments from the war. Pilots were fighting in the heimat. A photo was published in Luftwaffe im Focus that showed an Me 262 pilot standing next to his mother. He had baled out near his house. Good soldiers fight till the end, even when all appears lost.