Redneck Vacation

A TGIF Memorial Day Special
Sometimes, it's not really just luck
Contributed by Mike of New York

What a terrific - true war story!!!

This story is confirmed in Elmer Bendiner's book, The Fall of Fortresses.

Elmer Bendiner was a navigator in a B-17 during WW II. He tells this story of a World War II bombing run over Kassel, Germany, and the unexpected result of a direct hit on their gas tanks. "Our B-17, the Tondelayo, was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a 20 millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple."

On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck. The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but 11 had been found in the gas tanks. 11 unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had been parted for us. A near-miracle, I thought.

Even after 35 years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.

He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer. Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were as clean as a whistle and just as harmless.

Empty? Not all of them! One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech. Eventually they found one to decipher the note. It set us marveling. Translated, the note read: "This is all we can do for you now"

Apparently, the people who made the bombs did not share the ideologies of the Nazi. Praise God!

Verified by Truth or Fiction

Sorry, I just had to include this. True, the language may be offensive but this video got me in stitches.

You might want to share these videos as you gather around the campfire this weekend.

Coke's Ad Men certainly know how to create a viral sensation. This is brand new. They created a bottle that needs another Coke bottle to open it. Creative in many levels.

I wish I had known about this before we bought our furniture. I wonder how much they cost.

Interesting video that shows how world events led to World War I.

Here's a similar video that shows how close World War II brought us to becoming a Nazi world. CLICK HERE

Not exactly something I would recommend for your Memorial Weekend barbecue. The calories alone will kill ya! But it made the news! In my younger years this would have looked a lot more inviting.

Leave it to the Britts! This is a video that has been in my collection for a while. I figured that since it's a long weekend, you might have time to watch this.

I might have shared this before but I think this deserves another look. You don't need to be a New Yorker to appreciate this.

Before there was Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, there was Jonathan Winters. Mr. Winters made the strangest sounds and the weirdest facial expressions. Here he comes up with different uses of a piece of stick.
Enjoy your Memorial Day! A salute to all the heroes! TGIF!