|
"Now, sitting here in the New Mexico sun, my
experiences with these boys seem suddenly remote in time as well as in
distance. They seem like a band of legendary heroes, although I know
well that they themselves would be the first to scoff at such an idea.
All in all, it was the biggest adventure I have ever had -living the
life of constant excitement that is the life on a bomber station.
"They have the look of veterans, these youngsters
in their late teens and early twenties. United in their supreme purpose,
they has looked death in the face repeatedly and unflinchingly. They are
invariably realists and know well the odds for and against their
survival. but there is in them a will to endure - to endure beyond this
struggle, if not as living men of flesh and blood, then in literature or
in painting. So I have no lack of models.
"One thing was quickly apparent as I grew to know
them well. There is no norm for a flier. They are of many types and
classes and seem to have in common only courage, a love for flying and
above all a belief in America's future as a free nation."
|
|
