Wannabes.
My dad flew the Emerson Nose Turret. A few years back while he was still living in Arizona (he's still living, but not in Arizona) I was playing golf with him, an F6F instructor pilot (inverted flat spin recovery specialist), and a P38 pilot (pacific theater).
The P38 driver would not drive a car. He'd had three Lightnings shot out from under him without getting so much as a hangnail, and decided he'd used up his lifetime allotment of luck. His wife did all the driving. The guy had more cool stories, and was not the least bit embarrassed to say he was one of the 90% that distracted the enemy long enough for the 10% to shoot them down.
He did spend a fair amount of time in the water waiting for pickup. One PBY, one submarine ride, and a PT boat lift off a hostile island; not sure which one.