A postcard from Baron von Riezenstein
Event ID: 518
20 March 1917
50.367639, 3.03435
Near Douai
La Brayelle
Source ID: 29
The dramatic true story of the Red Baron, Wiliam E Burrows, 1972, Mayflower Books p. 128
“Richthofen rarely saw his victims’ bodies. Orderlies were sent to the crash sites to get information necessary for reports and to collect souvenirs. Several days after his double victory of the 17th, however, he received a photo postcard showing the contorted body of the F.E.2 pilot, Lieutenant A. E. Boultbee, lying in the debris of his airplane. The inscription on the other side read: ‘Sir, I witnessed on March 17, 1917, your air fight, and took this photograph, which I send to you with hearty congratulations, because you seldom have the occasion to see your prey. Vivat sequens! (here’s to the next!) With fraternal greetings, Baron von Riezenstein, Colonel and Commander of the 87th Reserve Infantry Regiment’.”
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