Because Nordhoff's letters include dialogue, description, and lengthy anecdotes, they are more like narratives than personal correspondence. He emphasized technical explanations of maneuvering during attack and the exploits of others rather than celebrating his own activities. His colorful and vivid style as well as his frank account of suffering and courage contributed much to the popularity of the book. This celebration of courage combined with realistic description of suffering pervades the rest of Nordhoff's books.
In 1918, after successful flying careers, Nordhoff and Hall were assigned to edit The Lafayette Flying Corps (1920). They completed the two-volume history and collection of lives and letters in Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1919. Nordhoff's own entry in volume one reflects his feelings of having to spend the balance of the war "removing split infinitives from military reports." Although neither man began the task eagerly, the history of the corps and records of its members in volume one and the letters presented anonymously in volume two represent well what David Lloyd George considered "the knighthood of this war." Although both volumes were well received, the letters tracing first training, initial battles, and time at the front are unforgettable.
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