I'm Hit!, I'm Hit!

Bob slammed back his copilots seat and threw his hands over his face."I'm hit!
I'm hit!" he shouted. I whirled around to see Bob over my right shoulder from
my position in the nose. Bob was writhing in pain holding his head. Then Paul
came on the intercom, "There's no blood, you're not hit, get back up here and
help me on the rudders". "I'm hit. I'm hit." Bob shouted. "No you're not!" Paul
retorted. "Pull your seat forward and get back on the controls with me." Paul
was getting mad. We had just been hit and a 20mm round had come into the
cockpit. It bounced and ricocheted all over the cockpit, and when it was almost
out of steam it hit Bob right on the nose. But it was so weak that all it did
was swell his nose up to the size of a small grapefruit, but it didn't even
break the skin. But it really hurt. Bob finally pulled his seat forward and got
on the controls with Paul. After we landed Bob went on sick call. The flight
surgeon examined him and promptly kicked him out without treatment saying he
had men who really needed help and Bob wasn't one of them. And since the round
didn't even break the skin, poor Bob never even got a Purple Heart. For years
after that, very time we all got together, the moment we saw Bob we would all
say, "I'm hit. I'm hit." . And Bob would blush red, look shyly down and say "Aw
you guys...." I remember when Bob died I thought to myself, now he is really
hit.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer