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I had just been
sworn in the Army Air Corps — there wasn't much noise in the room
— most of the fellows were quiet, busy thinking. There were lots
of thoughts running through my mind, and never once at that moment did
I think about death. I was wondering how I would look in a uniform,
was the Army as tough as Bill said it was, or was it as soft as Joe
said it was. I found myself hoping that Joe was right. Are those sergeants
as tough as they are in the movies?
Suddenly, a loud
voice boomed out, shaking me out of my thinking stupor. "Is anyone
in here from Syracuse?" said this soldier with two stripes on his
sleeve. He was just a corporal. Four or five fellows eagerly raised
their hands. "All right, you five guys," said the corporal,
"get those buckets over in the corner and pick up all the cigarette
butts." "Holy smokes," I said to myself, "he can't
do that." But, he did — the five fellows were picking up the
butts and I guess if I had been from Syracuse I would have been picking
up butts also.
Yes, I was in the
Army!! I didn't like the Army, the only person that ever took care of
you was yourself. War was going on, and being in the Army was a very
helpful factor in eventually subjecting me to the hardships of war.
I had read, and seen movies about the Army and war but I never thought
I would see any of that. I spent three years in the Army, about half
of that time in combat.
War is death; I saw
more than one of my buddies go down in flames. War is destruction; France,
Belgium and Germany will be rebuilding for the next 50 years. War destroys
man's character and mind; many of the fellows in my squadron would jump
every time the door slammed, while others would become upset and very
angry over some minor difference of opinion with his buddy.
Bob
& John, wrecked German tank
It's a little over
six months since I have been discharged, and a little over a year since
the end of the war in Europe. Many times I find myself thinking about
the few years I spent in the Army. There is another side to the Army
and war — a brotherhood exists that never has existed in civilian
life. I learned that a man could love a fellow more than himself, if
only for a minute, an hour or a day — that very seldom happens
in civilian life. I saw men who loved life, give their lives, some of
them not knowing what they were giving it for.
I feel very confident
in saying that the three years I spent in the Army were three of the
most exciting, adventurous and educational years of my life. Did I like
the Army and war? Definitely No!! But, did I profit any from the time
I spent in the Army and war? Definitely Yes!!
From Uncle John
Rippey's memory (as told by Dad):
When not manning his twin .50 caliber machine gun, John was flight
engineer.
One of the interesting things about John's experience was that the Germans
flew the first operational jet fighter against his formation, at least
once. He told me it was so fast that he could not get a bead on the
plane, the Me 262; he figured the German pilot probably had the same
problem hitting the B-26.
Luckily the Me 262 was a late entry (autumn 1944) in the war because
it did cause our bombers some problems — although many were shot
down by allied piston engine fighters. The Me 262 was the first jet
to see action and the only one to see extensive action; the British
also got a jet, the Gloster Meteor, into action in the last few weeks
but it never met the Me 262 in combat.
Your father's aircraft, the B-26, was a hot plane compared to the other,
earlier medium bomber, the B-25, the type that bombed Tokyo. It was
faster and better but the pilot had to be careful, especially in landing
and takeoff.
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"Me
& Wild Willie"
"Me,
Joe, Mac!!! Engineer, Armour, Radio Gunners on Cello's Crew
Charleroi, Belgium, Aug. 1945"
Paris,
1945
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