After World War II, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force and served as a lieutenant in the King's African Rifle Team in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
1940 September 19, although he didn't get special training in the task, he found himself in an accident. He couldn't find Mersa Matruh, the airstrip of the 80th squadron in the south, and his plane was short of fuel. He was forced to land in the desert and hit a boulder, which led to skull fracture. He regained consciousness, but not sight. In spite of this, he finally resumed his flying state and participated in the battle of Athens.
He began to experience some severe coma, which made him in slow motion and awarded a combat soldier the rank of flight officer.
Unable to continue air combat, he was sent to the British Embassy in Washington as an assistant air attache, with the aim of neutralizing the isolationist views that Americans still hold after Pearl Harbor by giving a pro-British speech.
He even became an intelligence officer, providing information from Washington to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
"My job is to help Winston get on well with Roosevelt and tell Winston what that old guy is thinking." [2]
However, this was also the time he spent in Washington, which contributed to his future writing career.
Another British writer and poet, C.S. forest, was also stationed in Washington, D.C., writing allied propaganda materials for the allied cause. He wrote a piece of cake himself, later renamed it "Shoot Down Libya", and finally bought Saturday Evening News for $65,438+0,000. He went on to write his first children's book "Elf", a naughty little creature of the Royal Air Force in 65,438+0,943.
This story was sent to the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who read it to her grandchildren. Walter Disney even commissioned the story to be made into a film, but it hasn't been finished yet.
Therefore, we may all know all the interesting short stories of roald dahl, which often make readers think about his gripping endings, not to mention his popular stories that eventually became famous movies.
However, I don't think everyone really understands his war efforts. In fact, Dahl also provided information to the British Security Coordination Department, which is part of MI6, which really shows what an accomplished intelligence officer or spy he is.
Interestingly, another famous author of children's books has a similar background story.
Anthony de Saint-Exupery, the author of The Little Prince, is a pioneer of a pilot. His plane crash in the Libyan desert (strikingly similar to the accident in Darfur), although his accident broke the record because of speeding in an air race, also inspired the little prince's background story. A pilot crashed in the desert and became friends with the little prince.
However, unlike Dahl, Saint Exupé ry is not so lucky. During World War II,1July 3, 944165438, Saint Exupé ry disappeared while flying an unarmed P-38 from Corsica on a reconnaissance mission, and never came back to attack his squadron.