The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-06-25
American Air Aces
Take Wins In Stride
Hugh Baillie Writes Vivid Account of Yankee Men and
Machines in Hour of Triumph in England

Stantly. Then all Is tranquility IN
the still dewy morning.
You are shown into a small room
with rough tables and maps on the
walls. A few fellows are sitting cas-
ually around dinky radio or read
ing Stars and Stripes. Nearby a
softball game gets going. Presently
the radio comes alive. You recognize
the voices of several young gentle
men with whom you lunched yester-
day carrying on most peculiar con
versation such as, look out, Jim"
there's two bandits at four o'clock"
YES, I see EN-. Also five bandits
at one o'clock, couple of thousand
above. They're queueing up"
Then the drawing, relaxed voice
of their commander, 27-year- old
colonel, Everybody keeps eyes open
now"
1.-TWO coming up at three o'clock. !"
Eyes, l see EN-. They're friendly"
BY this time everybody is huddled
around the radio, ground crew
members leaning in the windows
occasionally relaying the latest word
back over their shoulders to those
who can't get close enough to hear.
Nobody says anything. There are
long pauses in the radio conversa-
tons.
Finally the radio again: There S
sort smoking below. They're go
ing into the drink"
-Four or five just bailed out. I'll
go down and circle around EN- till
they hit the drink"
There comes rescue boat"
There's another fort struggling
It's afire. Several fellows are para
chuting into the drink. Can't do
anything for EN-. Too close to the
Hun coast"
So goes the conversation back and
forth between the pilots until we
finally hear the commander say,
"All those whose gas is low go on
home"
A voice replies, 1--WE got 200 gal
Ions
The commander replies with a
whimsical infection, better check
those gauges again."
In few minutes the tension re-
lakes. They're homeward bound
The men drift out to watch the
softball game which oddly enough
has been progressing steadily
throughout. Almost like magic the
planes begin reappearing, and here
Vfrhn ho
just been to the war. You met them
yesterday at lunch and now they
utter polite commonplaceS. Glad
to see you again." How have you
been" well we got three"
One plane bears jagged cannon
shell hole. The pilot inspects it in
terestedly. Somebody remarks, why
didn't you say anything about that
when you got hit?"
well. I was doing all right. Just
forgot to mention It,"
So these kids with colonels'
majors, observation-disclosures insignia
and such so young but now in some
cases with such haggard and
strained looking faces, troop toward
Vic AlCIIOSdUlOll lOOlli W AlldhC
their reports. Some pedal bicycles
quite a come-down from 400 miles
an hour at $4,000 feet. One fellow
who got his second kill out there
few minutes ago accepts con-
gratulations bashfully and makes
himself scarce. All conversation Is
In very low voices.
-
come home later because they're
slower, and there, as they all pile
out, some are bit bloody. One has
bullet hole in his kneecap-a
stretcher case. Another just has a
cash across his forehead. These
bomber crews are restrainedly
elated. THAT fire must have shot
up 5000 feet" says one. Another
tells how they flew so low he could
take movies of people waving in
Holland
Aren't you all IMP"
mo, I could go on another mis-
sion right away
You hear all accents-Texas, mid
West, old South, Bronx. and yes,
Brooklyn. They compare notes, Il
think that fellow we shot down must
have been dead already"
"Sure, he was dead at his con-
trolls. Nobody In sane mind would
have come across our guns Ike