Harrowing. Hole blown in wing, lost two engines, bomb bay doors blown off. Plane ditched.
The plane was shot down under heavy flak seventy miles from the coast of Japan miraculously near to an American submarine. The entire crew was rescued. An officer aboard the sub captured the whole thing on film in color.
Two years previous to the Denver 9News report a copy of the film showed up at Denver resident Richard Vanden Huevel's front door. Apparently a son found it in the father's closet.The video clearly shows Vanden Huevel being rescued 60 years earlier when he was twenty years of age.
Strapping lad too.
I see a young kid who doesn't see fear," Vanden Huevel said.We see that too. [The video share code from 9News is a mile long. It displays here but without an opening image. I do not trust it.]
10 comments:
As a slowly fossilizing 69-yr-old veteran of a combat tour in Vietnam (USAF) viewing that clip brought tears to my eyes..
"We were soldiers once, and young."
Holy smokes what a video, and how wonderful for that man to see it late in life.
Incredible!
We owe those boys so much.
They say that every man who's never seen battle asks himself whether he's a coward.
Don't know about others but that's true for me.
One of those weird things that sticks in my head is the Quint monologue where he says he was most frightened when the rescue plane finally showed up and he was there floating in the water waiting his turn.
I think I get that.
It's really a film, but I'm being pedantic.
Virgil-
Thank you for your service.
That is a great piece of film. How fortunate those men were. You could certainly see the joy in their faces at being rescued.
"We were soldiers once, and young."
I'm a few years younger vx but damn. It's my firm belief I was put on this earth for that one year over there, leading Marines in combat. In reflection it was the highpoint of my life.
Tears indeed.
Amazing. Nice day to be rescued.
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