John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (9 June 1922 – 11 December 1941) was an Anglo-American aviator and poet On September 3rd, 1941, John Magee was flying a training mission over the English Channel. It was a bright, sunny day with the sky a perfect shade of blue, and he was truly inspired by the absolute majesty and splendor of the moment. On landing, he wrote his now famous sonnet on the back of a letter which he had earlier written his parents. Three days later, on another bright and sunny day, John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was killed when the Spitfire he was flying collided with another aircraft in mid-air. Several days later, his parents received the letter he had written, and on the back was his poem, "High Flight". It is now a permanent entry in the British Flying Training Manual and the freshman handbook, Contrails, at the United States Air Force Academy.