CarlEstersohn

Well, there was a movie called THE MEMPHIS BELLE - which was made, I dunno, 20-25 years ago, which was very accurate in its interpretation of what the average mission to Germany was all about. It showed the takeoffs, the landings, the bombs dropping, people getting hurt, and it was an all-purpose film that was very good.

It's available through Netflix, I think.

It's a very good film for those that want to know what happened during WWII over Germany.

That's very difficult to say.

Because there will no more wars like that.

War, if ever fought again, will be different.

It'll be quicker. It'll be more devastating. And... in point of fact, the last real war, officially, that was declared by Congress was in 1941. And since then, the military skirmishes have been undeclared wars, all over the world.

We drank a lot of beer, hahaha! We would go to London every 3-4 days... we'd go to the dance halls, dance with the pretty girls, and that's about all we could do, because London was at war, and they were being bombed, and it wasn't really that safe a place, but we managed to survive.

My worst experience and my BEST experience?

Well, my worst experience was when I got shot down during one of my raids, and landed in Belgium, which fortunately was in Allied hands. The Allied armies had pushed their way up through France, and up into Belgium, on their way to Holland, so I was not made a prisoner of war. And myself and my crew got back to our base in England, and we managed to fly all together 35 missions.

My best experience during the war, that's kinda tough, I'd say my last mission was probably my best because that was knowing that I wasn't going to be subjected to enemy action anymore, and I took over somebody's job as a planning officer, to send missions out, and brief the other guys as to where they were going and where they were supposed to do.

I was still an officer. I didn't have a title, I was just Lieutenant Estersohn. And later I became a captain, and I went home on a troop ship, just about the same time as the armistice was declared in the German theater of war. First week in May 1945. And I got home, became a civilian, and went back to school.

And that's the story of my war efforts.

Sure!

Why not? I'd be happy to do that for you.

(VICTORIA NOTE: Please DM /u/chooter and I'll help set this up)