When Willie Comes Marching Home Page #4

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- We need a replacement, sir, right away.

- Replacement. Yeah.

Call Captain Blake and-

Wait a second.

- Kluggs.

- Yes, sir?

- Do you know anything about a B-17 belly turret?

- Everything, sir.

See that ship out there? She's bound for

England in one hour if you're aboard her.

- If you still wanna go overseas.

- Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

I'll never forget you for- Excuse me.

I'll never forget you for this, Colonel!

God bless you. Sir!

- Hey, Kluggs! Just a second!

- Not now. I'm in a hurry.

Kick in, Kluggs.

There's 60 cents on this meter!

You'll get it. Besides, I want you to wait

and take me back. I'm on my way overseas.

This I gotta see!

Hey, Marge!

- Pop, I'm on my way! I'm going overseas!

- What, again?

This is true! I saw Colonel Butterworth.

This guy's got appendicitis-

- You haven't got appendicitis, have you?

- No, Mom! It's happened!

- Where's the pain?

- I could tell you.

- I'm going to war!

- Oh, no, Bill!

- Don't be dramatic.

- I'm really going! I'm flying in a fortress! Now!

- Have you got that part that has the notice about-

- Will you both listen to me!

I'm going overseas!

- What's the matter?

- I'm so glad you were home.

I was just coming right over.

- Is there something wrong?

- The war. You know.

- Willie's going overseas.

- Oh, really?

- Is that all you've got to say?

- Oh, no, darling.

She's tired of repeating herself,

that's all.

- Well, isn't that just great!

- What's got into you?

Fella comes home to say good-bye to his girl

and his family, and they give him the bum's rush.

Now, that's unfair!

- I thought something had really happened.

- Something really has happened!

- There's a cab out front.

In one minute I'm gonna walk out of this house,

maybe forever, and get into that cab.

In 30 minutes, I'm gonna climb into

a B-17 and take off. Understand?

We're gonna do some egg-dropping

over Germany, and I'm the belly gunner!

Don't say "belly," dear.

- Oh, Bill. He's really going.

- You mean it?

- Wait a second, son.

- I can't stay. I gotta get back to the field.

We fly at 1400.

- They didn't give you warning.

- I went in and demanded combat duty.

- No! You'll be killed!

- I'll watch it, Mom. So long, Pop.

- He demanded combat duty. That's my boy.

- You mustn't go!

I gotta go, Mom!

It's the works.

I gotta blow.

Good-bye, honey.

Good-bye, Mom. Good-bye, Pop.

Good-bye.

- Don't forget to write.

Willie.

Takeoff was on the nose at 1400 hours.

We took a northeast heading

for the great circle route to Europe.

We made a brief refueling stop in Newfoundland,

then headed out over the North Atlantic.

That's when things really got tense.

Radio silence, a great, big ocean...

and us six hours

behind our squadron, alone.

Pilot to crew. We are entering the combat zone.

Take your positions

and check your guns.

Well, this is it, huh?

This is what?

And then things went snafu, and we hit the soup.

We didn't realize

how serious it was then.

We were all dead tired.

We'd been in the air a long time.

Busy Bee to Rooster.

Busy Bee to Rooster. Over.

Busy Bee to Rooster.

Busy Bee to Rooster. Over.

- Here's your ship, Colonel.

- Busy Bee from Rooster.

We're tracking you on radar.

Your bearing is 210 degrees.

Field here is closed. Zero.

You're ordered to land at Field H-22.

Bantam. Over.

We can't go anywhere. We've been bucking

headwinds for the last thousand miles.

We lost an hour over Glasgow.

Busy Bee from Rooster.

What's your petrol supply?

We're on fumes now.

Can you bring us in?

Give me the weather

on all emergency strips in this area.

Cancel H-22 orders.

Stand by.

Stand by on what, sir?

We're burning the sludge as it is!

- We have to put 'em down at A-6.

- But they're closed in as badly as we are.

I know. But they can use the glide path

transmitter for an instrument landing.

Here are your instructions.

Make an instrument landing at Field A-6.

Compass heading from present position

is 68 degrees. Keep in constant contact.

That's out of the question, sir.

Our glide path receiver is out of order.

We can't make an instrument landing.

- Stand by.

- Well?

- No good. Fog at the north base.

- What have you got?

Right.

They've got 100 feet at Station George.

That's 70 miles away.

They can't make it. Circle and await instructions.

We'll hold on as long as we can, sir.

Give us a chance!

There's not a field open

within their range.

- We can talk them down here.

- How? They've got no flare path.

You can't see them. They can't see you.

How you gonna tell 'em where to sit her?

No chance in this soup, sir.

- What do you want to do?

- We haven't any choice.

There are eight men up there.

- Scratch a B-17.

- As you say, Colonel. No choice.

Busy Bee to Rooster. How about it?

Here are your orders.

Take a heading of 180 degrees,

set the automatic pilot, then bail out.

Bail out?

This is a brand-new airplane!

We haven't even used her yet!

We'd like the chance at bringing her in!

Busy Bee from Rooster.

Now get this, and don't be a hero.

There's not a field open.

No place to roost.

That 180 degree heading

will ditch your ship in the Channel.

If you get out in a hurry,

you'll land on the field.

We track you almost directly overhead.

Now bail out!

That's an order.

Over and out.

Wilco and out.

Pilot to crew. Now hear this.

We are ditching the ship.

All hands will check in with me,

then bail out at once. Over.

Nav to pilot.

Roger and out.

Williams to pilot.

Roger and out.

Swanson to pilot.

Roger and out.

Murphy to pilot.

Roger and out.

Harris to pilot.

Roger and out.

- Okay, Andy, let's hit the silk.

- Kluggs didn't check.

Kluggs!

Pilot to belly gun!

Pilot to Kluggs!

Pilot to Kluggs!

Pilot to belly gun!

Did you hear me, Kluggs?

We haven't got all day!

Roger, sir. Roger.

Roger and out.

Hey, Sid, let's go!

So long, sweetheart.

Belly gunner to pilot. Belly gunner to pilot.

I see land right below us, sir.

Belly gunner to pilot.

Can you hear me, sir?

Belly gunner to pilot.

Testing. One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

Testing. Can you hear me, sir?

Answer, sir.

Belly gunner to pilot.

Belly gunner to pilot, sir!

Hey, fellas!

Attention!

"William Kloogs."

No, that's not "Kloogs."

That's Kluggs. Like in, uh, "jugs."

Do you know what-

No, wait, miss-

- Give me that. S'il vous plat.

It's impossible, monsieur.

That's quite a filing cabinet

you got there.

Hey, you spoke En-

You spoke English.

- Yes, I speak English.

- But you're French.

- I worked in a bistro on 53rd St.

- That makes you practically a native.

- You know 53rd Street?

- Sure!

The Stork Club.

Maybe you caught me there. I sing.

- No, I don't think I did, no.

- You know Winchell?

Winchell? Walter Winchell! Yes!

No, no, no. I don't exactly know him.

- But you say you're an American.

- Well, sure!

But lots of Americans don't know

Walter Winchell personally.

Take a gander at the uniform.

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