Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is remembered for his literary work, but in his day he was a famous aviator.

He was 39 years old when Germany invaded France in 1940. He served as a reconnaissance pilot. When defeat came, he went into North American exile, where he wrote "Le Petit Prince."

But he itched to get back into the war, despite being far past the age limit (and battered from a lifetime of crashes). In 1943 he was permitted to join the Free French air force.

On July 31, 1944, he took off in a recon plane. He was never seen again. A fisherman found his identity bracelet in the Mediterranean Sea in 1998.

http://arteyewitness.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-little-prince-at-morgan-library-and.html

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