My grandfather was a US Army Air Corps bombardier in WWII... During one of his group's missions over Southern France (he was based out of Corsica) they had a NCO from a ground division onboard, who at one point remarked "boy I'm sure glad I'm up here far away from all of the chaos and hell on the ground." Two minutes later a 3-inch piece of German flak penetrated the NCO's seat and missed his balls by under an inch.
If you were a combat theater of WWII, nothing was safe. In the air, in a sub, on the ground, in a civilian city under attack, on a ship, anything.
If you were a combat theater of WWII, nothing was safe. In the air, in a sub, on the ground, in a civilian city under attack, on a ship, anything.
I recommend reading Stephen Ambrose's Wild Blue: http://www.amazon.com/The-Wild-Blue-Germany-1944-45/dp/07432... - it gives a realistic portrayal of the air combat facets of WWII and features a lot of George McGovern's personal experiences throughout.