大象传媒

Each member of the Polish Army was entitled to several days leave a year. This gave me an opportunity to see my brother, Tosiek, and also an old buddy from Poland, resolute Stan, both in the Air Force. Tosiek served in the Polish squadron while Stan flew as a pilot in the British coastal command.

My visits to the Air Force had been characterized by a very friendly attitude shown to an army guest by those who chose air rather than ground for their preferred sphere of activity. Since on these occasions, I could be the only "Green Bug" among the "Blue Princes," I was received with exceptional hospitality. But, at the same time, on account of my army look from the pedestal of the mental make-up of airmen, I might be viewed as one less worthy to be admired than the idolized pilots. In addition, I found out that any visiting army man would have to be extremely alert not to fall prey to imaginative, yet friendly pranks enjoyed by the cheerful air men.

Taking an army visitor for a spin into the air had always been a must. There, a poor Green Bug, strapped with his parachute to the seat, was at the complete mercy of the energetic pilot in front of him. Depending on the kind of manoeuvre the machine was made to perform, he looked back at his terrified passenger with either a malicious grin on his face, or a satisfactory smile of achievement, depending on the reaction of his victim in the back.

On one of these rides, I was to replace an RAF bombardier to release a bomb on a designated factory target during a traininig flight. My name was properly entered into a flight logbook as bombardier. The bomb looked like a real one, except that it was made out of carton material. Its light weight, however, appeared suspicious. While over the target, on a signal from the pilot, I was to open an orifice on the floor between my legs and push the "bomb" through it. When the order came, the bomb burst open and the sudden rush of air deposited the whole contents of it on me. At that instant, my assumption that there was something fishy proved to be true. Momentarily, I was covered by a mixture of sawdust and flour. At the same time, I noticed the beaming smile of the pilot talking to someone on the ground. If it was possible at that moment for the real Santa to see me, he would have probably thought I was trying to compete against him for the Christmas look. I was all white, sprinkled with red flakes cut from a ribbon. On landing, everyone on the ground was waiting laughing, and immensely enjoying my appearance. Some even took pictures of me.

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