Blood and Fire: The Hero Who Conquered the Skies - Hardcoverby C. M. S. Thornton (Author) "Blood and Fire" is the life story of First World War hero William Palstra between the years 1917 and 1919. In his letters and diaries he tells of fighting in the trenches on the Western Front with the 39th Battalion AIF, the famous and earth shattering Battle of Messines, being awarded a Military Cross by the King at Buckingham Palace, joining the Australian Flying Corps and learning to fly biplanes, braving artillery