One of my neighbors (he passed away several years ago) was a waist gunner on a B-17 in the European Theater. He and the nose gunner combined to shoot down a German Me-262 jet, but on their next mission another 262 got them. The crew managed to bail out and they spent three days making their way back to friendly lines.
After the war, he went to OCS and transferred over to armor. During the Korean War his jeep struck a landmine and he lost his left leg and damaged his heart and lungs by inhaling the fireball. Despite all of this, he returned to active duty and lived for another fifty years.
