Here's another inspiring story.

[Frank Browne]

After reading Skip's post about Jay Zeamer's passing, I was thinking of some of the other stories of bravery and heroism that are covered in Martin Caidin's book The Flying Fortress. A very notable one is the story of Cpl Maynard "Snuffy" Smith, who won the Medal of Honor on his very first mission! Smith was the ball turret gunner on a B-17, and after his airplane was shot to ribbons, and the ruptured oxygen bottles were feeding flames so intense that the bulkheads and skin of the airplane were starting to melt, and after four of his fellow crewmen had bailed out because of the heat, and after moving from gun to gun to hold off attacking German fighters, managed put out the fire by throwing burning belts of .50 cal ammo out the windows and beating down the flames with his hands wrapped in blankets!

I love the very last line in the movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri when the admiral says...."Where do we get such men?"