Back Again

The wheels hit with a thud. Not the best landing Tom thought. Throttles were idle, flaps going up, bob was shutting down 2 and 4.

"back again aye Tom" said bob over the noisy engines. Tom always opened his pilot side window right after landing. Something about the fresh air and a sense of safety. They had survived mission 22.

"yeah, still plenty to do though", said Tom referring to the number of missions they had yet to fly and the surveyed damage to the German industrial complex on this mission.

They were safe. But the images of that mission and the boys that were lost would never leave Tom's mind. Bud Stillman flying Betsy Ross about 1/2 mile ahead of Tom's plane on the first run exploded. Not a soul survived. Gone, instantly. No chance to ask for someone to write Mom. No chance for a final prayer or request for forgiveness, whatever a man does when his last breath is upon him.