Paul Urquhart dropped by Suvudu today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway in a somewhat unique way: talking about the snubfighter pilots as unsung heroes in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Not only that, he teamed up with artist Frank-Joseph Frelier to illustrate some of the great combat pilots introduced via the Expanded Universe.

As Jason Fry’s authorial sidekick in Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare, I got the chance to write about the development of fighter tactics in a galaxy far, far, away and how the advantages and limitations of combat planes translate into the vast arena of space. Between us, we produced “biographies” for almost every major warplane type from the movies, novels and comics.

But last week was the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, a decisive air battle with more than a passing resemblance to some stories in the Star Wars universe — and reading about the real-world fighter combat reminded me of another key component of any war: the people.

One of the pilots Urquhart and Frelier highlighted that might have gotten some audible noise of excitement out of me? Syal Antilles, daughter of Wedge.

And if you need a bit of heartwarming in your life today, take a look at the helmet Syal’s holding. That appears to be the one that belonged to her father.

Paul talked about a bunch of other pilots that have made their marks on Star Wars and the Expanded Universe and there are other great illustrations of some neat minor characters to go along with the post. Head on over to Suvudu to check the rest out.