Thunderbolt (Memorial Day 2020)

... this is a heck of a good World War II documentary - 'Thunderbolt' (1947) - directed by William Wyler and John Sturges, and photographed by members of the Army Air Forces... it's currently been playing on Netflix - is where we first viewed it a few months back...

(You Tube video)

... excellent accompanying narrative voiced by actor Lloyd ("Sea Hunt") Bridges:

- "This is how ya' live when you're an airplane driver fighting an air war..."

- "Major Francis "Spanky" Manda - squadron operations officer... he's 22..."

- "Captain Howard Hickok - flight leader... he's 23..."

- "Gil Wymond - commander... he's 24 - the old man..."

- "Group commander Lt. Colonel Archie J. Knight... he's 27..."

- "57th Fighter Group... three squadrons... 1000 men..."

- "Alto Air Base, Corsica... good steel mat runway - 150ft x 6000ft..."

- "The brass upstairs plans the war... they want something... you do it... don't always know why... 

   don't always care... but you know there's a reason - a good one..."

- "The P47 Thunderbolt... one man - one engine - extra fuel tanks for range - rockets - 500lb bombs - 

   cameras - you've got eight guns - cyclic rate of 800 round per minute - 106 bullets a second..."

- "You're in the air... game of follow the leader - the squadron leader - he doesn't tell you what to do - 

   does it - you follow - wing tip to wing tip..."

- "No bombsight on the P47 - the pilot does his own aiming... last man goes in - drop your bombs - 

   pull out - black out for a second - the blood drains from your head - but you're young - it comes 

  back fast..."

- "A hit - no more bombs... you've got plenty of gas... plenty of ammo... go on the prowl - see what 

   you can find..."

- "Railroad tracks... not a bad way to find a train... you find one... give it a few squirts - might kill

   somebody..."

- "A light house out there... wonder if I got any ammo left - yep..."

- "Radio station... blow out a few tubes..."

- "Somebody in that field - no friends of mine..."

- "Gerry vehicles parked in that farmyard - must be a headquarters..."

- "Houses around here look kind of suspicious... uh oh... whaddya know!..."

- "Heading home... one plane light... nobody saw it happen... maybe he spun in... maybe he bailed

   out... you'll think about it later..."

- "Alto... home..."
- "All you know is, for some the war is expensive... you wish the people back home could at least
    see it..."

---------------

"... the object of war is not to die for your country 

but to make the other bastard die for his..."

                                           - Gen. George S. Patton

"Aminals is 'Telligint"

... Ig the cat has his own towel which is used to dry him off when he comes in from the rain - one of his favorite things (which he has come to expect)... he came in a few nights ago, and unnoticed by us, soaking wet... he sat there meowing for a while, trying to attract our attention... we were preoccupied with some business... after being told to "BEAT IT!" a few times, he gave up, went over to the towel rack, pulled his towel off onto the floor, then rolled around on it to dry himself off... he's pretty smart...

"... why don't you shove that camera up your ass and do something useful - like dustin' the house!!..."