ORIGINAL: strega7

*hmmm I don´t know really ..... sadly, my father is dead since 10 years, so I could not tell/read him this story.

But, when my father was in mood, he tells a bit from WW2. Not often and not long, but it was very "deep". Long time ago, I asked him "what about heroes ?" and he told me, there were no heroes in WW2, only unlucky or lucky soldiers. The unlucky one is dead. The Devastator raid is what we called "Kanonenfutter", a sensless attack. Heroes ? What is a hero ? better, what was a hero in WW2 ?

My father was by the "8.8 Flak" , later by the guided missiles "Schmetterling". He was one of the lucky soldiers who survived the Ploesti-raid << as you know, the famous Liberator low level attack >> and the war at all. He was p.o.w. for I think 3 years.

He told me, that "his" gun brought down a few of those big ships in Ploesti, he told also, that he shot down a Mosquito low level attacker by machine gun. This Mosquito-victory brought him a so called "Eisernes Kreuz Erster Klasse" because after all the soldiers ran away, my father stood by the machinegun and fired without ending at this deadly bird ...... WOW ... I told him "Hey you are a hero" and he said "No, I was an Idiot and killed 2 persons in this aircraft, but I was a lucky Idiot, I survived the strafing run of the "wooden wonder" ...... and Ploesti ? "No son, no stories about Ploesti" .... and my old father, the AA-gun-Hero went later to bed and found for a few days no sleep anymore .... Heroes ? I dont´t know any, only victims on both sides.