STAND DOWN AND LIVE

Many unusual things have happened in my life to make me
believe in "Guardian Angels." One night after we had been
transferred to the 422nd Squadron because our First Pilot had
been made Squadron Commander, we were alerted for a mission
early the next morning. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much
that night because we were too excited about the next day.
After midnight, the duty clerk came into our barracks calling
out the crews to wake up and report to the flightline for a
mission. When he was about to leave, we realized that he had
not called us. I asked him, What about Captain Conklins
crew?" He said, "You're not going, you've been replaced, go
back to sleep." We did just that but got out latter to wait
for the Squadrons return. We counted the big B-17 Fortresses
returning to base like everyone else and knew that several
were missing. The crew that had replaced us didn't come back.
One of the men was a friend of mine. I have a scarf that
belonged to him. After fifty years, I don't even remember his
name, but he took my place that night. Thanks, friend.
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