《空军战士》第34章

this　flak　typical；　lighter；worse；　or　what？〃　The　photographer　grinned　and　shouted　back；　〃It　wasn’tlight。　Each　mission　seems　to　get　worse；　but　I　can　’t　believe　they　couldget　more　up　here　than　they　did。〃
Over　the　inter；　Cord　asked；　〃Flight　engineer　back　there？〃　He　wantedto　know　what　the　trouble　was　with　the　gas　gauges。　Number　three　engine　sputteredand　quit。　〃Get　something　to　three；〃　Cord　ordered。
〃I’m　trying；〃　the　engineer　answered。　〃I’m　trying。〃
Cord　realized　what　had　happened。　On　the　inter　he　said；　〃The　bastardshit　our　gas　lines　over　the　target。　They　’ve　just　vibrated　loose。〃
The　number　two　engine　quit。　The　engineer　repeated　that　he　was　tryingto　transfer　the　gasoline　flow。　He　could　not。
〃We　’re　losing　altitude　and　control；〃　Cord　yelled。　〃We　’re　at　sixteenthousand；　a　couple　seconds　back；　we　were　at　eighteen。〃　He　added；　〃Standby　to　bail　if　necessary。〃
Then　number　four　engine　quit。　Then　number　one。　There　was　a　long　momentof　quiet；　only　the　sound　of　the　wind　that　buffeted　the　plane　about　in　theglide。　Then　〃the　terrible　clanging　of　the　bail…out　bell　crashed　the　quiet。〃
Everyone　got　out　okay；　landed　safely；　and　became　POWs。　For　TenHaken；the　co…pilot；　and　the　rest　of　the　crew；　it　was　their　first　mission。　It　wasnumber　thirty…two　for　Lieutenant　Cord。　For　the　photographer；　number　seventeen。For　all　of　them；　it　was　the　last。
〃Anon〃　made　up　words　to　sing　to　the　tune　of　〃As　Time　Goes　By〃：
You　must　remember　this
The　flak　can’t　always　miss
Somebody’s　gotta　die。
The　odds　are　always　too　damned　high
As　flak　goes　by。　。　。
It’s　still　the　same　old　story
The　Eighth　gets　all　the　glory
While　we’re　the　ones　who　die。
The　odds　are　always　too　damned　high
As　flak　goes　by。
Learning　to　Fly　in　bat（3）
Once　in　the　fall　of　1944　McGovern　went　up　in　a　practice　run；　with　onlyhis　co…pilot；　Bill　Rounds　and　his　navigator；　Sam　Adams；　along。　McGovernwas　upset　with　Rounds　because　while　McGovern　was　flying　co…pilot　with　Surbeck；Rounds　used　his　free　time　to　go　into　Cerignola　to　find　a　girl。　He　contractedVD　and　had　to　be　treated　with　sulfa　powder。　McGovern　was　about　ready　tokick　him　off　the　plane。　But　on　this　practice　mission；　which　was　done　primarilyto　give　the　co…pilots　who　had　not　yet　been　flying　some　experience；　Roundsdid　most　of　the　flying。　〃He　took　that　plane　as　if　he’d　been　doing　thisall　his　life；〃　McGovern　said。　〃I　think　I　could’ve　done　as　well；　but　I　couldn’t　have　done　any　better　and　I　had　a　lot　of　practice。〃　Rounds　just　tuckedinto　position　and　held　it　there。　That　night；　the　pilot　of　the　lead　plane；a　captain；　came　to　McGovern　in　the　officer’s　club　to　say；　〃You　know；　George；you　’ve　got　one　hell　of　a　valuable　co…pilot。　He　flies　the　best　formationof　any　co…pilot　I　’ve　seen。　That　guy　is　tremendous　—　you　better　hold　ontohim　with　both　hands。〃　Right　then；　McGovern　decided　to　forget　about　Rounds’s　VD。　He　figured　he　had　better　let　the　man　do　what　he　wanted　on　his　offhours。
___________________________
Lt。　Donald　Currier　was　a　part　of　one　of　the　first　B…24　squadrons　ofthe　Fifteenth　Air　Force　to　arrive　in　Italy　and　thus　flew　his　first　missionin　January；　1944；　one　of　the　first　of　his　group。　It　was　two　days　after　hissquadron　had　arrived　in　Italy。　The　target　was　the　railroad　yards　in　Perugia；just　off　the　Tiber　River；　in　support　of　the　ground　troops。　But　when　thebombers　arrived；　it　was　snowing。　Landmarks　were　obscured。　The　lead　navigator；having　no　radar　（which　only　came　nine　months　later）；　was　unable　to　see　anythingbut　clouds。　Currier　was　the　navigator　flying　in　the　B…24　on　the　wing　ofthe　lead　plane。　〃I　looked　desperately　for　something　I　could　see　and　recognize；〃he　recalled；　but　he　saw　nothing。
The　lead　plan　opened　his　bomb　bays。　The　bombardier　in　Currier　’s　planefollowed　the　leader。　He　put　his　finger　on　the　toggle　switch。　When　the　leaderdropped　his　bombs；　he　and　the　other　bombardiers　did　the　same。　Currier　sawthe　bombs　fall　in　open　countryside。　He　saw　some　bursts　of　flak　on　one　sideand　far　away　and　thought；　I　don　’t　know　why　the　Germans　bothered。　We　certainlydidn’t　do　them　any　harm。　He　and　the　pilot　and　crew　resolved　〃we　would　goagain　and　again　until　we　got　it　right。〃
Currier　would　go　on　to　make　a　career　in　the　Air　Force。　Looking　backfour　decades；　he　said　that　in　his　experience　〃it　seems　incredible　that　wewould　be　flying　a　bat　mission　with　so　little　training　or　experience。〃But　that　was　how　badly　the　Fifteenth　needed　pilots　and　crews　in　January1944。　It　was　because　of　that　need　that　the　AAF　instituted　the　policy　ofrequiring　just…arrived　pilots　to　fly　as　co…pilots　for　five　missions　beforetaking　up　their　own　plane　and　crew；　since　the　men　had　gone　through　the　speeded…uptraining　program　in　1944。　In　1945　the　manders　changed　policy　again；　puttingnew　pilots　and　their　crews　into　action　as　soon　as　they　arrived　in　Italy。And　it　was　the　casualty　list　that　forced　the　manders　of　the　bomb　groupsto　keep　demanding　more　replacements。
Bombardier　Lt　Donald　Kay　arrived　in　Italy　in　May　1944　and　was　assignedto　the　783rd　Squadron；　465th　Bomb　Group。　Of　the　three　classmates　in　bombardierschool　who　came　over　with　Kay　and　were　close　friends；　two　were　killed　inthe　air　and　the　other　became　a　POW。　Overall；　Kay　recalled　that　of　the　seventeenoriginal　crews　that　started　the　war　with　him；　only　six　finished。
Sgt。　Anthony　Picardi　of　the　455th　Bomb　Group’s　742nd　Squadron　（whohad　visited　his　family’s　village　and　met　his　grandmother）　saw　a　B…24　crashon　the　runway　while　trying　to　take　off　for　a　mission。　It　blew　up　on　impact。Nine　of　the　ten　crew　members　were　blown　to　bits。　But　one　had　〃his　arms　blownoff　from　the　elbow　down　and　his　legs　blown　off　from　the　knees　down。　He　wasactually　crawling　away　from　the　inferno。　He　was　digging　into　the　dirt　withthe　stubs　of　his　elbows；　trying　to　survive。　Right　then　and　there；　I　realizedjust　how　precious　life　is。　He　crawled　right　up　to　us；　looked　us　straightin　the　eyes；　and　then　closed　his　eyes　forever。〃
For　McGovern；　on　his　first　five　missions　as　Surbeck　’s　co…pilot；　thingswere　not　so　rough。　He　saw　some　flak；　went　through　it；　and　got　out　of　itsafely。　The　B…24　did　not　take　one　hit。　〃I　felt　rather　secure　after　flyingthose　missions；〃　McGovern　said。　I　could　observe　all　those　things　withouthaving　the　responsibility　of　handling　the　plane　myself。