Not in the Face of the Enemy: Canadians Awarded the Air Force Cross and Air Force Medal, 1918-1966

David Bennett is the national director of the Department of Workplace Health, Safety and Environment at the Canadian Labour Congress in Ottawa.

The Air Force Cross and the Air Force Medal were awarded to officers and
men respectively to recognize bravery while flying, though not in active
operations against the enemy. Such work included instructing and
training flights, and the handling of aircraft in emergencies, rescue,
and transport.

While Not in the Face of the Enemy is clearly a book for the aficionado
by a prolific author of such works, it has an interest beyond a record
of bravery in the skies. Most warfare depends for its success on a
military infrastructure, not just the skilful use of equipment. Part of
the historical understanding of such infrastructure consists in knowing
how a military machine goes wrong. In particular, the health of the
troops or the reliability of equipment is just as important as tactics
and firepower. The virtue of this book is that it gives us a series of
vital clues as to the functioning and malfunctioning of the military
enterprise. Fifty years after the end of the Second World War, the deep
history of the conflict is only now emerging into the light of day. Not
in the Face of the Enemy is the stuff out of which such deep history is
written.