As I am in the Recreational Vehicle business, a large portion of our customers are retirees. I had the opportunity to meet a man recently named Bert Shepard.
Bert was a very good pitcher and had nearly made the Majors when WW2 reached the States. He flew P-38J's in the European Theater and was shot down in 1944. His leg was removed by German doctors, and he spent the next year as a POW.
A Canadian man fashioned an artificial limb for him while in the camp. He began his rehab with the assistance of other POW's and even a few of the guards.
Bert was released in April 1945, and immediately went back to the diamond. He pitched one game for the Washington Senators.
I also met the guy who owns the rights to Bert's Story. This will probably be a miniseries in the next couple of years.
I asked for a job as an exrta at the airfield, so I might get to be around some warbirds. He said I might get to be one of the old German farmers that tried to beat Bert to death. I guess I look more like an angry farmer than a pilot.
