In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

3 ___________ No Regrets, No Regrets It took me a few seconds to realize we were going down. So this was it! The dreaded moment for every flyer. I tried the interphone. It was dead. I turned around for my chest pack. It wasn't there! When the ship nosed over, everything loose slid down to the waist. What a careless fool! Flying my usual position at the waist, I had always thought ofevery last detail in preparation for possible disaster. I wedged my chute in so it couldn't shake loose. Next to my chute I had a pair of strong G.I. boots for "walking out." Now I didn't even have a parachute. The ship was gathering speed, and the roar was rising to a deafening crescendo. I tried to figure out what had happened. Were the controls shot away? Was the pilot hit? Perhaps both? We were going down faster and faster. Where the hell was my chute? I was beginning to lose all hope of getting out alive. Out oftouch with the others, I was damned lonely in the tail. I had to do something. I slid down into the waist. Once I got there, I couldn't move. The pressure pinned me to the floor. Now I completely gave up. I kept waiting for the crash, kept seeing myself blown to smithereens. So this was how men died in planes. People have asked me whether it's true that your whole life flashes before your eyes, and at the risk of sounding corny, I must say that mine did. As the ship continued down, a calm enveloped me. The fear was gone. I don't say this to sound heroic. I've learned in two wars that fear is nothing to be ashamed of. 22 ESCAPE FROM HITLER'S EUROPE I had faced death before, but in those situations I had been too busy fighting or running or even too damned scared to think about it. Perhaps the closest I came to the feeling of inescapable death was during the retreats in Spain when the Lincolns were surrounded by the Fascists and we had to break out of encirclement . Then it wasn't fear so much as a certain resignation-a determination to survive but to go down fighting if we had to. Now I was going down, but there was no fighting. There was no way out. I thought of Ruth. She had died soon after giving birth to our son, Danny. I thought of Margie, who had helped rebuild a life for me and Danny after Ruth's death. How much I loved her. And Danny, only two and a half when I left for the army. And my parents and my sister Mae. I was feeling terribly sorry for them. They would all miss me. Well, it couldn't be helped, that's all. Just couldn't be helped. Suddenly I remembered my birthday. What a cruel irony. How dramatic. How fitting that I should end my life with a nice round number like thirty. I had tempted the fates by joking about itthe guys in the squadron would remember that. Would Margie and Danny know? It wasn't important. But still, I wanted them to know. It felt like a dream. It wasn't me this was happening to. The plane was still going down . . . down. When was that ground going to hit? I felt a little sad at my approaching death, but two words kept running through my mind. No regrets. No regrets. I believe I must have spoken them aloud. No regrets, because I had lived my life the way I wanted it. I knew what comradeship among men and women meant. I knew what it was to love and be loved. I had had my share of personal hardship and deep personal tragedy, but above all I had had that special kind of happiness which comes to one who can say he has lived his life with a purpose. I had volunteered to fight against Fascism in Spain. 1] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 11:23 GMT) No Regrets, No Regrets 23 And I had volunteered to fly in this war against Hitler. I had no regrets. A powerful hand still held me glued to the spot. When were we going to hit? Then something began to happen. The pressure was easing. The plane was leveling off. I could move. Maybe, maybe there was hope. I was...

Share