Flying Higher


Margaret Wilson was the daughter of the famous Lieutenant John Wilson, who had a record of seventy-five successful missions in his flying career. She was also the only female pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. I’m the only person to whom she has entrusted this secret. My name is Captain Franklin Nelson Jr. I fly in Commander “Michael” Wilson’s division.

Margaret Wilson was taught to fly by her father when she was very young, and she was fighting the Germans in the very same plane that her father had once flown.

John Wilson died at age forty-six and left his seventeen-year old daughter all alone in the middle of World War One. He had had to ditch his plane into the ocean when he was hit by a German fighter. Then, when he was swimming for shore, the Red Baron himself flew overhead and killed him with his machine guns.

My father, Franklin Nelson Sr., witnessed the whole thing before being killed two weeks later. The Royal Flying Corps managed to salvage and repair John Wilson’s plane and it seemed fitting for his “son” to fly his plane. Now, two years later, Margaret was the commander of her own squadron.
…

Margaret Wilson looked over the side of her airplane, and through the clouds, she saw the exact place her father had been killed. She shivered as she thought about him. She had asked her friend, Frank, many times to tell the story that his father had told him only once. Frank was the only person who knew that she was a girl, but he was definitely not the only person who knew about her father. Her father was perhaps the most famous pilot in the Corps, and she was close to beating his record.
Her squadron had just taken off from an airfield about thirty-five miles away, and they were now flying high over enemy lines with plenty of cloud cover so they wouldn’t be spotted. There was so much noise below from gunfire and artillery that hopefully no one would be able to hear the planes roaring overhead either.

Suddenly, Margaret heard a voice crackle over her radio.

“Commander, we have spotted an enemy plane two miles north of our current position. We are waiting for your orders, over.”

“I hear loud and clear Frank. We will proceed towards it, over.” Frank was her wingman and the best friend anyone could wish for. She trusted him more than anyone in her squadron. He had helped her learn to live like a man.

“I will relay the message to the others, Commander, out,” Frank said, and Margaret smiled. It was cute how he called her “Commander” no matter what the situation. She banked and began heading towards the planes Frank had spotted.
…

“Commander, es gibt feindliche Maschinen aus dem Suden. Wollen wir hinaufziehen?” Commander, there are enemy planes approaching from the south. Shall we attack? The German pilot asked the Red Baron over his radio.

“Ja, gehen Sie immediantly weiter.” Yes, proceed immediately.
…

Margaret expertly dodged the first German’s attempt to shoot her. She then delivered a counter attack and saw the pilot slump forward in his chair. One down, ten bazillion to go. Margaret turned her plane when she heard Frank begging for help over her headset. She gasped. The plane chasing Frank belonged to none other than the Red Baron!

Instantly, Margaret thought of the last time she had seen her father. She thought of the telegram that had come telling her he was dead. She thought of all her training to do what her father had done best. She thought of learning to fly. And she thought of something she had thought of many times before…how she would kill the Red Baron.

Picturing her father, she began gaining altitude until she was well above the two of them. Flying well ahead of them, she began to dive. It was one of Frank and her favorite maneuvers. She would fly on what appeared to be a collision course with Frank, but in fact, she was inches away from his tail. She was planning to dive straight in between Frank’s tail and the Red Baron’s nose.

She was diving so fast that Frank and his plane were a blur, but she heard his voice over her head set, “Just like we used to, Commander.”

Margaret saw the Red Baron pull away from Frank’s tail and seconds later she zoomed inches away from Frank’s tail. She pulled up and began climbing up to a higher altitude when she was suddenly jolted and she saw jagged rips in her right wing. Turning around she saw the Baron hot on her tail. She also saw Frank flying high above her.
…

Frank circled high above Margaret and the Red Baron. He then went into a dive similar to Margaret’s, but he was aimed straight for the Baron, his machine guns roaring. He saw the Red Baron’s plane wobble slightly, and then he zoomed past and pulled up. The Baron pulled out of the way in the nick of time and resumed following him again. Margaret pulled up and then did a rolling dive towards the Baron. He then proceeded to follow her.
On and off they went like this for what seemed like hours, until finally, Margaret’s engine began smoking. It was getting darker, and Frank and Margaret had been conserving their ammunition on each of their dives and they both were low on fuel. The Red Baron didn’t seem to be running low on anything.
Margaret’s voice came over Frank’s headset. “Frank!” he heard her cough, “I’m going to have to ditch,” another cough, “Cover me-” her voice was cut off by the Red Baron as he once more pelted her with gunfire. Frank saw her propeller stop turning, her engine had quit. She was getting closer and closer to the waves.
Margaret was flying a Sopwith Camel. These planes were extremely dangerous to ditch in the ocean because all the weight was in the front of the plane. The wings, the engine and the pilot would go underwater and the tail would come up almost immediately after the plane hit the water.
…
Margaret splashed down in the ocean. She felt her tail come up vertically. The plane began sinking rapidly, and she barely had enough time to take a deep breath before she was submerged. She tried to push herself out of her plane, but the current pulling her down was too strong. She was trapped!
There was a tremendous jolt and Margaret felt the tail of her plane flip over her head. She was suddenly upside down and no longer moving. Her face was plastered in sand and she couldn’t move. She was beginning to feel light-headed and her ears were hurting because of the pressure. She was so disoriented that she couldn’t tell which way was up. Then she saw some bubbles float past her head. Bubbles! Bubbles went upward! With most of her remaining strength she heaved her plane upward. She barely managed to wriggle her upper torso out before slipping in the sand. The plane crashed down on her legs and she collapsed again.
She realized that she could no longer move her legs. She tried to pull herself out and when her feet finally came out, she tried to breathe in, and only inhaled water.
…
Frank watched the bubbles from Margaret’s plane and then banked and turned on the Baron. He open fired with the last of his bullets. When he finally heard only clicks when he pulled the trigger, he looked up at the Red Baron’s plane. He saw with satisfaction that the engine was smoking and the Baron was struggling with the joystick.
Then he saw the Red Baron’s guns flash and he felt a horrendous pain on the right side of his chest. He looked down and saw his own blood seeping through his shirt. He also saw that his engine had stopped working. He was skimming over the water. He passed over where Margaret’s plane had gone down. He suddenly saw her about to reach the surface, then falter for some reason and begin to sink again.
Frank made up his mind right then and there. He stood up on the seat of his plane, wobbled slightly and then dived towards Margaret.
…
Margaret couldn’t breathe. She knew she was drowning. Suddenly she saw some spurts of gunfire above the surface. Frank!
Follow…Frank’s…guns…Get…to…the…surface…
She was about to reach the surface when Frank’s guns stopped. She couldn’t tell which way was up. She felt tired, so tired.
Suddenly, Margaret saw Frank in front of her. She saw blood, and she saw his soft brown eyes. She thought she saw him reaching for her, but then, she fell into darkness.
…
Frank towed Margaret’s heavy body through the water. She kept weighing him down. He spluttered and coughed up water. He was so tired, and he felt as if he didn’t have any strength left. He couldn’t hold her up any longer.
Stop thinking like that! You’ve got to reach that shore!
When he finally reached the shore, he had no idea how far he’d swum. He hauled Margaret onto the beach and collapsed next to her.
“Margaret, I’m…sorry.” As soon as he whispered those words, Frank slipped into unconsciousness.
…
A search and rescue team stumbled upon the bodies of Commander Michael Wilson and Captain Franklin Nelson three days later. Captain Franklin Nelson had lost a tremendous amount of blood and the team couldn’t believe he was still alive. Michael Wilson had died and had been buried at sea later that week. Frank was rushed to a hospital where he had been rehabilitated until, finally, he was able to return to the beach.
Frank walked to the place he had dragged himself and Margaret. It was a beautiful day, but he could still remember that night so vividly. The shining sun easily became stars and clouds in his mind. The sparkling blue sea became a thirsty, dark monster, swallowing Margaret’s life and almost taking his.
He didn’t know what to do and where to go. He had lost the use of his left arm, so he could no longer fly, and he was getting an honorary discharge next month. He didn’t know if he could get a job anywhere, and he didn’t really want to leave the service. He wanted to keep searching for the Red Baron.
Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice behind him, “Then keep searching. Join the Royal Navy and learn to sail. You’ll survive with one arm. I know someone who did. You can still do great things Frank. I want you to.”
Frank turned and caught a fleeting glimpse of brown hair and a Royal Flying Corps jacket. He just stood, dumbstruck, staring at the spot where she had disappeared. There was a necklace sparkling in the sand, and he stooped to retrieve it. It was a silver locket in the shape of a heart. Intricate designs had been carved into the surface and a tiny latch on the side held it closed.
Frank carefully opened it and looked at the inscription inside.
Though the sea is cold and the sky is gray,
We’ll be together again, one day.

My name is Chief Petty Officer Franklin Nelson Jr. I was the Chief Petty Officer on the Iron Duke in the battle of Jutland, and, after the war, I became an author. In World War Two, I worked in a plane factory and after that war, I wrote Flying Higher. It was about Margaret Wilson, and how she was the only woman in the Royal Flying Corps. It ended up winning the Caldecott Award in 1952. The last line is the poem that Margaret left me. I’ve never believed in ghosts, and I still don’t, but something magical happened on the beach that day, and I’ll never forget it. Never.