MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
Over the weekend I encountered a vet who had flown Jugs and Mustangs in the MTO. He came up to me as I was wearing my ATF 'tanker' winter combat jacket and we talked for a brief time.
He said he kept his A2 even though supply said they couldn't leave with them at the end of the war. He said nobody was going to take it, but nobody was budging. The line for turn in was not moving because each pilot was refusing to give his A2 back. He said before long, word started being passed back, "Tell them an Italian kid stole yours and you're willing to pay the five bucks for a lost jacket, pass it back.."
By the time he got there, the weary SGT said, "Let me guess, sir, an Italian kid stole your jacket this morning?"
He said his grandson was a USAF B-52 pilot and he had the vet's original A2, so it was still in the family.
I bet this happened lots of times at the end of the war with men who weren't going to part with something they'd considered part of them by then. I've talked with infantry vets who said it was heartbreaking to part with their M-1 rifles when it was all over.
He said he kept his A2 even though supply said they couldn't leave with them at the end of the war. He said nobody was going to take it, but nobody was budging. The line for turn in was not moving because each pilot was refusing to give his A2 back. He said before long, word started being passed back, "Tell them an Italian kid stole yours and you're willing to pay the five bucks for a lost jacket, pass it back.."
By the time he got there, the weary SGT said, "Let me guess, sir, an Italian kid stole your jacket this morning?"
He said his grandson was a USAF B-52 pilot and he had the vet's original A2, so it was still in the family.
I bet this happened lots of times at the end of the war with men who weren't going to part with something they'd considered part of them by then. I've talked with infantry vets who said it was heartbreaking to part with their M-1 rifles when it was all over.