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The most badass thing I’ve ever read.

With this week being anniversary of the D-Day landings there’s a few posts going around of special individuals. There’s this guy:


This is Norman Jackson a recipient of the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest honour for servicemen. He was a crew member of a Lancaster bomber who on night raid against a factory in Germany came under attack from a fighter. He’s wounded by shell splinters from the the attack and out of action.

Realising the right wing of the plane is on fire he straps on a parachute, grabs a fire extinguisher and [b]climbs out of the plane on to the wing[/b] while it’s flying and fights the flames with the extinguisher. His hands and face are burned in the process but he hung on. A second attack from the fighter blows him clean off the wing. The rest of the crew make it home but he was captured by the Germans and paraded through the streets before being imprisoned.

Despite his wounds he escaped from a POW camp and made contact with the US army in France and reunited with his old crew.

The balls on this guy, how did he fit them in the plane??
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uncleshawn · 41-45, M
Thanks for the info. Will look this guy up. Truth is more amazing than fiction.
WintaTheAngle · 41-45, M
@uncleshawn you’re not kidding
uncleshawn · 41-45, M
@WintaTheAngle I found this about the story:

https://www.historynet.com/norman-jackson.htm

There is no way to make up a hollywood movie like that. That is amazing beyond comprehension. Kids need to be reading about people like that instead of doing video games, internet, and tv.
WintaTheAngle · 41-45, M
@uncleshawn Thanks very much for the link. Yes what an incredible man, such bravery and only 25 years old. I think if they made a film of his experience it would be dismissed as wild fiction. But here’s to him. Thanks for the reply.
uncleshawn · 41-45, M
@WintaTheAngle Thank you for posting it. There is a website that lists all the citations for Medal of Honor winners of the U.S. I skimmed part of it once to get a sense of things. Stunning. Like you said, there need to be movies about these people. Then just recently I came across the story of the British attack on the German naval base in France to destroy the gate of the drydock for the big battleship that was at sea. That has got to be made into a movie.
WintaTheAngle · 41-45, M
@uncleshawn I get lost on sites like that going from one hair razing story to another. People should certainly be aware of these people. Especially in a time when negativity and ridicule seem to be so fashionable, it’s important we have these examples of normal everyday people who refused to accept a negative situation and did something incredible. Veterans stories seem to get written off as tasteless and jingoistic by people today but I think they’re just amazing.