Captain Spoomer

According to the narrator of "All the Dead Pilots," Spoomer is a snob from a family of snobs who owes his rank to the influence of his uncle, a general. Spoomer's snobbery is displayed when he tells his dog not to eat the trash behind the enlisted men's mess hall: "You mustn't eat that stuff," he says; "That's for soldiers" (519). Spoomer also uses his rank to impress women; he has taken one from Sartoris before the story begins. He also pulls rank on Sartoris to keep him from seeing 'Toinette in Amiens by giving him "some duty not in his province at all and which would keep him on the aerodrome for the afternoon" (519). He also has a notable lack of experience flying the airplanes under his command; he is only qualified as an observer.