"Let's Get Outta Here!"

      Robbie Martin was walking with his classmates in the high school hallways, moving like a herd from one classroom to another. Rather suddenly, once again there was that old familiar nasty taste in his mouth...almost metallic, he often compared it to blood. Whatever the flavor, Robbie knew another epileptic seizure was imminent...coming any second. He cautiously but deliberately began making his way over to a bank of wall lockers that he could lean upon. His friend and constant companion didn’t need to be told what was about to happen. Kenny Grenotti aka Kenny G. had been Robbie’s constant companion since kindergarten and was right by his friend's side as Robbie’s body became completely rigid and he assumed that vacant, thousand mile stare as he was sliding to the floor and the seizure suddenly washed over the boy.

     Despite his outwardly appearing catatonic state, inside his own head, whenever this happened, somehow  Robbie instantly knew who he was and in a nano-second he had figured out exactly what his situation was. This time his name was Jimmy and he was the 18 year old rear gunner and radio operator on a United States Navy SBD Dauntless dive bomber. His plane was but one unit of the four squadrons searching for the “main body” of the Japanese fleet and this was the Battle of Midway. 

     Jimmy’s rank was an Aviation Radioman Third Class and his hands, sweating nervously inside his leather gloves, were tightly gripping the twin wooden handles of his plane’s rear seat .30 caliber (7.62mm) machine guns. He had just informed his pilot that there were a host of Japanese Zeroes, suddenly visible after flying out of the sun initially unseen by their enemy, swarming in to challenge the American attackers. Jimmy jerked the guns up and out of their cradle and sharply pulled the charging handle back, arming his weapons. Although he was focussed on the job in front of him, out of his peripheral vision Jimmy could see other planes in their flight succumb to the relentless attacks by the Japanese fleet’s combat air patrol, and go down in flames and smoke. He would have to feel sadness or anger...or whatever emotion boiled to the surface later, but right now he could do nothing less than be the highly trained and proficient airman/sailor that he was.

     Suddenly bullets were tearing into their aircraft and Jimmy strained mightily to keep his gun sight on the plane that posed the most immediate threat as he listened to his pilot’s frantic order to get those Zeroes off of them. Then, they both heard their squadron leader give directions to the attacking dive bombers. Apparently there were four great Japanese aircraft carriers just up ahead and planes were assigned to attack specific targets and the chase was on! Jimmy’s pilot, as usual, performed admirably as several Zero fighters made deadly passes at their aircraft. The dive bomber easily nosed over and began its steep, thirty second long dive toward the target that was maneuvering desperately. Jimmy felt like his plane was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard spot as the screaming dive bomber took anti aircraft fire from the Japanese surface ships as well as withering fire from the streaking Zeroes who pressed home their attacks on the American planes with total disregard for the threat of their own AA fire from below. 

     As their plane hurtled downward at 275 miles per hour and an ideal 70 degree attack angle, Jimmy’s stomach was doing that fluttering, tickling thing that it always did on the roller coasters back home at Kennywood amusement park  in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yes, he thought briefly, the sensation was very similar with the noteworthy exception that no one was shooting at him on the roller coaster. He was lifted out of his seat as well and actually had to fight to keep from being essentially sucked out of his plane. All this was going on as he was desperately trying to knock down their attackers. 

     Suddenly, his shots ignited one of the Zeroes and Jimmy watched, fascinated as the pilot slid back his cockpit canopy and stood up to parachute out. But, all of a sudden the Zero simply exploded and the pilot was ejected to be sure, but certainly not safely at all...Jimmy watched in almost sympathetic horror as the doomed Zero pilot fell away from his exploding aircraft and both plane and pilot tumbled through space in flames that would soon enough be extinguished upon impact into the Pacific Ocean far below.

      The dive bombing attack continued as their SBD barreled downward with the disregard required for all the flak that seemed to be directed solely at Jimmy’s plane. As Jimmy was firing at the numerous Zeros still swarming around he could see other American planes being shot down, but the attack continued. Suddenly he heard his pilot whoop with excitement and joy as he yelled into the plane’s intercom that the Dauntless two bombers ahead had just landed it’s 1000 pound bomb directly amidships of the Imperial Japanese Navy IJN aircraft carrier Soryu...a veteran of the Pearl Harbor raid. Mere moments later the pilot screamed out in elation again as he reported the plane ahead of them had  scored another hit! A second 1000 pound bomb hitting a little bit aft of the giant red circle, representing the Japanese national symbol of the rising sun painted near the end of the flight deck and bow of that mighty warship. 

    Jimmy could hear his pilot essentially talking to himself and promising not to waste their bomb. Then Jimmy told his pilot they were at 2,000 feet, upon hearing they were at 1,500 the pilot announced “Bomb’s away” and began pulling out of his dive immediately after releasing their own 1000 pound calling card. Jimmy’s stomach was in butterflies, knots and everything else that it could feel as the plane was pulled out of its dive, levelled off, the pilot excitedly yelled to Jimmy “Let’s get outta here!” and began to climb in altitude and start the run towards home, the American fleet and their aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise CV-6. Streaking over the stricken Japanese carrier, it was Jimmy’s turn to take the grand view of this historic moment and turning his head like it was on a swivel, Bobby could see for the first time the Japanese fleet almost in its entirety. He could see three great Japanese carriers, all in a similar condition, burning furiously and suffering several secondary explosions. He could also see their own bomb hit almost directly in the middle of the flight deck about a third of the way from the rear of that vessel. He excitedly shared the details of their bomb’s impact with his very proud and pumped up pilot. It was only later that he would reflect on the battle and wonder where that fourth Japanese carrier had gotten off to. 

     Suddenly, Jimmy was struck sharply square in the chest as a spent 7.7mm Zero machine gun round had found its mark. The impact knocked him out and he was alive but unconscious for the rest of the flight back to the Enterprise. His pilot had repeatedly attempted to communicate with him afterward in flight but received no answer and feared the worst. The thought that his radioman and gunner might be dead caused him great alarm and consternation. To have a great victory like this be marred by  the death of his crewman was a terrible thing to consider for the pilot who had just covered the spectrum of emotions. His rear seat gunner was like a little brother to the pilot who himself was only twenty three years old and just two years removed from being a Midshipman studying and  playing football at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He had promised Jimmy that they would either survive or die in a blink but whatever, they were not going to become POWs.  These two young men, brave American warriors engaged in a struggle for their nation’s very existence, were in this together, for better or worse, in life and death.

     Kenny G. was down on one knee holding his trembling friend's very cold hand. Jimmy was very active and went through a variety of gyrations and desperate movements all during the seizure, he almost always did. The school Principal and nurse had immediately come to Jimmy’s side as soon as they were contacted and the other students had all gone into their classrooms. Slowly, Jimmy’s tensed up body began to relax and his breathing resumed a normal rate. He opened his eyes to see the anxious faces of the Principal, nurse and his reliable buddy Kenny G. This wasn’t the first episode to happen to Jimmy in school...or at home. But, each time was different and wherever these seizures took Jimmy was always unexpected, usually dangerous but, sort of fun too...afterwards!

     As usual, after one of these episodes Jimmy was exhausted and given the option to go home early if he felt the need to. Although he didn’t always accept that standing offer from the school Principal, on this particular occasion Jimmy admitted that he needed to go home. This episode had been particularly stressful and Jimmy hoped that he was the only one to notice that he had voided his bladder during the seizure. He sweated profusely during the whole time as well but it wasn’t until he got home and into a nice, hot shower did he realize that there was now a rather large bruise upon his chest...and it hurt! Of course Jimmy knew where it had come from and it reaffirmed his plans to start writing these things down as they happened because he could, at first and for a few days, recall everything implicitly. Then Jimmy smiled as the hot water washed over him and his mind drifted back to his recent experience…”Oh man...” he thought to himself, smiling slightly as he reflected on his day, “...those Japanese carriers were a totally jacked up, burning mess!”