ALGERIA, LOVE AND WAR

They were 20 years old, most of them. They were fighting an opponent whose face they did not know, as they rarely saw the enemies they were assigned. The youngest, fresh out of flight school, had been chosen to fly light ground attack bombers and drop bombs, rockets and shells. And, like their elders, to fight in support of their ground troops. They wanted to defend the land of Algeria, which they were told was an integral part of France and, thanks to them, would remain so. 

Without always being aware of it, these young men had often become attached to this country and its Blackfoot inhabitants, to the beautiful young women they were with. Some of them found happiness for life. Others returned to France with only their disillusionment as their baggage. All of them were marked forever...

The author: 

A certified fighter pilot, Germain Chambost spent fifteen years in the Air Force (1953-1968). He flew 269 war missions in Algeria on the B-26 Invader and participated in two nuclear test campaigns in the Sahara. He became a journalist and major reporter for the newspaper "Sud-Ouest", covering conflicts in the Middle East, Israel, Lebanon, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. A reserve colonel and volunteer aero-club instructor, he has a total of 6,700 flying hours and is a regular contributor to the magazines Piloter, Aviation Civile and Icare.