The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-03-03

you WON uO-pllOtS hilu BIedSepdhS
Of the ground crew alike--to keep
her polished and adjusted and tick
ing like the high-precision watch she
was when you got her.
"Well, as I said, there was a
rise in the runway, and as / ped
aled up 1t, for a minute / was afraid
what / would see, looking ahead.
But then my heart suddenly gave a
big pound, because there was Old
99's vertical stabilizer-the big curve
of her tail rising high like a game
salmon's tail fin--gleaming above
the runway; SO pumped the bike a
few times more, being thankful 1t
was a good American bike I'd
bought off fighter pilot instead Of
the junly Jap copies that are so
cheap in Manila, only, my God, then
just then
"I don't know whether I got of
the bike at that point or not. Or
fell off it. Or rode on a while, and
then left it lying by the runway.
All I can remember Is how Old 80
looked and, a little later, walking
over the field, slowly, toward her;
afraid to come too close, too fast.
Think about it not as a plane that
has burned, or even your own house,
but like 1t was good friend burned
UP. And all that Is left is that tall
silver tail still up in the air, not
even scorched or moke-stained, and
am walking over the field toward
her.
"Her poor old ribs black, twisted
now; and with the aluminium skin
melted off them so her carcass Is
naked, and you can see right
through into the pilots compart-
ment, and the seats where ] sat, and
good old Tex, my co-pilot, right be-
side me. And my control wheel,
and my two sets of pedals, and the
duplicate set for Tex, only all melt
ed or twisted with the heat--even
the wall bracket where the coffee
thermos used to hang is still there,
only all twisted. And her four mo-
tors tumbled forward out Of their
nacelles in her crumpled wings onto
the ground-everything about Old SO
still there, only melted and bent
and ruined and her back sagging
and broken, like you would take a
delicate silver flying fish between
your fists and break its back and
drop it on the ground to die. i
Everything there, only something
else, too. And / couldn't make out
what it was. Yet l must have
guessed. Because I began to feel
sick at my heart and my stomach
when saw that curious, half-burned
bundle of something lying there un-
der the crumpled wing, and as / got
closer I couldn't even deny to my
self what it was. One of my crew.
Lying under there. And right be-
side him another. Poor faithful
boys, following orders, staying 10y
ally by Old SO even in the face Of
the advancing Japanese bomb pat
tern across the field like a hailstorm
--and under the planes crumpled
belly still another, and under the
tail our little Dodson--he must have
run under there for shelter, and Old
99's tail settled down on him as her
back Orders melted when she
burned. But only after had walked
around the tail could I see the eight
in a line.
"There they were, lying so very
still on this beautiful quiet day, my
eight boys of Old 99's crew in
senseless, irregular line toward the
woods, to which they had been rum
ming for shelter when they all had
been killed at once, and left sprawl
ing as they died.
81 remember standing there by
the tail and counting one, two,
three, in that line and so, on up to
eight, toward the woods-my boys
and each one / knew. Standing
there, could see it but not realize
it even though I knew it-knew
which ones would have their wives
and girls crumpled pictures in their
pockets. I knew they were dead
now, and I started walking down
that irregular line of men who had
been running toward the woods, and
then very suddenly it began to get
me. For while don't know what
did. Then ! remember going along
the line from one to the other, talk
ing to each the way ! always would,
and patting him on the shoulder
like he were alive, because for me
they weren't dead yet. And cry
ing. And I'm not ashamed Of that.
Talking to each, from good old
Sergeant Burgess, who was near
est the plane, on down the irregular
line to dear old Tex at the very
end, with all his clothes torn of by
the blast. recognized his Shout
ders. They were a fighters big
broad shoulders-Tex had been box
ing champion Of Texas A. & M.
$50 maybe for me it begins when
! got to where Tex was lying, and
sat down by him to talk it over, lift
ing his curly head with one hand
and patting his hairy back with the
other. It was still soft and warm. It
wasn't body yet. It was Tex him