This was the first book I did in the Monastery. It is available on Amazon either as a Paperback or Kindle. All paperback sales go to support the monastery while the Sisters have graciously allowed Kindle sales to go to me.
Explosion in the Sky
by Don Koch – Surprise, Arizona
My friend Don Ruff was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps during WWII. His bomber crew consisted of 11 personnel.
While flying on a mission over the China Sea, Don was praying his rosary, as was his custom. He was positioned after the bomb bay that held nine 500-pound bombs. Something triggered an explosion and Don’s next recollection was coming to, 30 feet under the water, praying the Hail Mary.
The plane had been flying at 5,000 feet when the explosion occurred and plummeted a mile to the sea. Don remembers seeing wreckage and body parts as he made his way to the surface.
The surface of the sea was aflame with burning fuel and he had to splash the surface to keep the flames away. There was always the danger of sharks, but after a short while Don was picked up and brought to shore to the Naval hospital.
They put a screen around Don because he was expected to die.
Don fooled them all and came home to eventually marry the fiance of his buddy who died in the crash. He is now the father of eight and grandfather to numerous grandchildren. Don was closest to the explosion, and yet he is the sole survivor from the exploded and crashed bomber.
This incident is briefly covered in the military logs.