D. Patrick Caldwell on The Joys of Flight

This ubiquitous line ends many a toast. It's the last line of the Skydiver's Hymn, you can hear it in army chants and fighter pilot songs, and even rugby players and hash house harriers sing it in their toasts. I think it is a way to honor those among us as well as those who came before us.

I was introduced to this phrase through a few specific songs and chants, and that is what shaped my feelings about this phrase. They may be wrong, but it's what I think about when I hear it.

One song I heard it in was Dos Gringos' Has Anybody Seen My Wingman? where the flight lead looks around and can't seem to find his wingman. Imagining the worst, they say, "him, him, f**k him. What a way to go."

Another fighter pilot song is, Dear Mom, Your Son is Dead. The history of fighter pilot songs goes pretty far back; most that I've heard are from the Vietnam Era. Pilots would come back from an intense air battle and would head to the bar to cool their nerves and share their harrowing tale. Several of these tales became songs.

One such story is that of Don Gentile, one of top aces in the European Theater during WWII. One time, he found himself in a dogfight and out of ammo being chased by two FW-190s. Gentile called for help, but the rest of his squadron was above the clouds and couldn't find him. Concerned his two kills during that battle wouldn't get recorded, in the heat of battle, he called, "If I don't get back, tell 'em I got two 190s."

So, with that being said, the "Him, Him, F**k Him" search label will be dedicated to the irreverent recognition of those whom I think deserve it. Some may be the macabre roasting of in "what a way to go" fashion and others will be a dedication to the bold pilots who managed to become old pilots.

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Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.