Our Story comes from long-time listener David Larsen. He is a regular contributor to the show and was the focus of the haunted doll series we did on The Horror Express. David sent in this story he calls, Friendly Fire.
Hey Ron, this isn’t my story exactly but it was one I was told as a child.
Growing up I had an elderly neighbor, his name was Mr. Schade. For five dollars, the occasional bit of smoked salmon, and as many stories as we had time to go through, I would mow his lawn for him. Oftentimes, I would mow the lawn after lunch and then enjoy stories until my mom would come calling me for dinner which was usually around six or seven. This story is from World War II and is about one of his friends who I will simply call “Mr. C.” and is a story of how his ankle injury had saved his life.
It begins on an LCVP or Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel. They were crammed into these boats like sardines. Mr. C and his mates were landing on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and were some of the first few hundred young men to storm the Nazi’s pillboxes. They were terrified but knew that what they did that day needed to happen and would help to topple the Third Reich even if it was only a foothold. For Mr. C.? He remembered praying that he would get to come home and that he would get to see his family again.
The doors slammed open and he and his mates had no hesitation. They sprinted towards what looked like certain death. He passed what he called “shapes of young men” who had already fallen to enemy fire. He sprinted past them scared but determined to take the ground they needed to take.
The crack and rattle of shells and small missiles whizzing past unrelenting were all around him. Then more cracks and booms centered in on his position and a searing pain shot through his ankle sending him to the dirt. Mr. C looked up only to see his panicked friend firing on a pillbox. He watched in horror as his friend fell to the ground from the gunfire that surely would have been his fate. He was shot by accident as his friend had panicked and shot him through his ankle saving his life at the price of his own. At this point, Mr. C stopped his story and lifted his pant leg. With a smile, he showed me his fused unmoving ankle and the remainder of the scars he earned that day.
I hope I did his story justice, and I am so thankful to him for everything he did and for telling me this story. Mr. Schade is now 94 and still goes fishing on a regular basis. He has always been like a grandfather to me.
David Larsen, Ogden Utah.
Thank you David for your story, and I thank both Mr. C and Mr. Schade for their service.
This Week’s Podcast: On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week we have a new episode of Ghost Stories With Sylvia. This time we have two emails to respond to, celebrity ghost stories, and a history lesson you won’t want to miss. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link
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