“Death’s Lament” by William E. Barrett
THIS November we’re celebrating William E. Barrett’s Birthday with four of his pulp stories—one each Friday.
Before he became renown for such classics as The Left Hand of God and Lilies of The Field, Barrett honed his craft across the pages of the pulp magazines—and nowhere more so than in War Birds and it’s companion magazine War Aces where he contributed smashing novels and novelettes, True tales of the Aces of the Great War, encyclopedic articles on the great war planes as well as other factual features. Here at Age of Aces Books he’s best known for his nine Iron Ace stories which ran in Sky Birds in the mid ’30s!
To close out the fiction portion 
of our Barrett celebrations we have “Death’s Lament”—the story of Billy North who left home to fight in the war to avenge his brother’s death, but is stuck flying in the observation squadron where they fight the war with pencils rather than bullets!
In the crucible of duty-tortured skies was welded the stuff of which fighters are made—for only in the thunder of red-eyed guns could Angus play his death music for a friend.
From the May 1932 War Aces, it’s William E. Barrett’s “Death’s Lament!”
- Download “Death’s Lament” (May 1932, War Aces)
Some historical background was included with the story:
