It's been six years ago this month that my father-in-law passed away. His picture in Army uniform sits on the mantle next to the picture of our daughter's graduation from boot camp.
His generation never talked much about the The War, but stumbling across the above video made me think of him and one of his war stories.
Dad's armored unit was stopped along side a large stream in Germany (April 1945) when something screamed by close overhead. He wasn't sure what it was but he was certain "it sure as hell didn't belong to us."
In the event of an air assault his motto was to get clear of the armor if he could - Sherman tanks weren't called "Zippos" for nothing.
Just in time he dove into the stream and the German jet returned and blew a half track to pieces. The Me-262 carried four 30 mm cannons in the nose and could raise quite a ruckus. Starting in 1941, almost 1,500 of these jets were built but less than 300 actually saw combat. It was far too little too late by time they entered the war.
Still, they scared the crap out of an 19 year old corporal.
And they are flying again.
2 comments:
My dad was in the Pacific. I'm glad he's not here to see what his country has become.
they called them the SWALLOW, but if that thing don't look like a SHARK nothing does.
Post a Comment