[Michael.SF.]

My father was a WWII vet, serving at the tail end of the war. I wrote a tribute to him that was published in my local paper. In it I related one of his favorite stories:

As memories of those days gone by come to mind, you can almost hear his voice, while you picture the scene: He was at his battle station, just below the flight deck of the USS Boxer, somewhere in the Philippine Sea. The plane overshot the deck, landing in the ocean, flat on its belly. The pilot slid the canopy back, inflated the life raft, dropping it into the water, then slowly lit a cigarette and took a long drag. As the plane began to sink, he stepped out of the cockpit and into the raft.

“Never even got his feet wet” was always the punchline.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Michael.SF., for sharing your Dad's story.

[beachn4fun]

Thanks for sharing that. This too could be a scene from a movie.

It’s wonderful your father shared his experiences.