It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!!  It’s the World War I Flying Ace swooping in on his doghouse for a visit to Sun City Peachtree!!!

Snoopy— uh, World War I Flying Ace— must be taking a break from his battle against the Red Baron (real name Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthhofen).  He is probably exhausted, although he had just enough strength to call out, “Curse you, Red Baron!” as he often did following previous battles.

‘Ace has been fighting the Red Baron since October 10, 1965, when he first appeared in The Peanuts Gang comics.  He had a lot of ground support from his troops during his battles, beginning with Schroeder, who kept up morale by playing popular World War I songs on his toy piano.  Woodstock and his bird friends served as mechanics, ‘Ace’s sister, Belle, was a nurse for the troops, and their brother, Spike, served as a member of the infantry.  Marcie provided loyal support as the dashing pilot’s French lass.

During the Vietnam War, an American fighter squadron wanted to use Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace as their mascot, so they sought permission from Charles M. Schulz.  Since Schulz was a veteran himself, he granted approval.

Ultimately, Schulz had changed the focus of ‘Ace from the Red Baron-fighting pilot to battling love and loneliness.  As he confided to writer Rheta Grimsley Johnson in her 1988 book, Good Grief, “It reached a point where war just didn’t seem funny.