In Flight

Tom was generally consumed with managing the aircraft, the crew and the pending bomb run while in flight. Occasionally during the preflight briefings when the intelligence analyst where discussing the targets it would cross his mind that people live down there. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind. Better to think Adolf himself was the recipient of every load.

In the back woods farm community where Tom was raised a rather strict code of Christian ethics surrounded everything. Everyone knew everyone else. Everyone knew everyone elses business. On the occasion some local would sneak off to a neighboring town to grab a beer it generally got back to everyone in a "we ya know so and so was down at the bar".

The roots of the community went back to European communities where the same spiritual upbringing was a cornerstone of life. Men did not swear. Children obeyed their parents and disobeyed at with heavy consequences even after leaving the house. Church was to be attended every time the doors were open which often meant, Sunday for two services, Saturday night for singings and wednesday just to make sure you didnt forget.

In general Tom appreciated this upbringing though he had yet to embrace it. The chief tenants fo the Holy Bible were his guide even without this commitment, repentance, as it would be called back home. He had always felt good enough, and tried to be a good person.

Now here was Tom. 25,000 feet over the same place where his relatives had originated. Many of them of German decent no less. Here was Tom with 8,000 lbs of high explosives destined for a place not many place had heard of, along with dozens of others. Their intent was blow the living crap out of the place. The bombs had no care for where they were headed or to whom the bomb group intended them to fall upon.