Sir Douglas Bader was a pilot who lost both
his legs in a plane crash before WW2. He was fitted with artificial
legs & resumed flying. In 1939, when Germany & England went to
war, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
Flying with two artificial legs, he shot down 22 enemy airplanes in the Battle of Britain. He became a national hero, & an example of how even a handicapped man could still be able to serve his country.
Then in 1941 his plane was shot down over France & he parachuted into enemy territory. In the process, both of his artificial legs were destroyed. Helpless, he was captured by a German patrol & made a prisoner of war.
Bader was so respected by his German captors that, amazingly, they contacted the British government to airdrop his two spare artificial legs so that he could have the use of his legs once again. And the British did.
The Germans soon realized that they had made a big mistake, for as soon as Bader received his legs, he started trying to escape. After 4 escape attempts his captors decided that there was only one thing to do. So every night when he went to bed, they took his artificial legs away from him & locked them up. That was the only way they knew to keep him from trying to escape.
We’ve got to admire a man like that, don’t we? He gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "You can’t keep a good man down."
Flying with two artificial legs, he shot down 22 enemy airplanes in the Battle of Britain. He became a national hero, & an example of how even a handicapped man could still be able to serve his country.
Then in 1941 his plane was shot down over France & he parachuted into enemy territory. In the process, both of his artificial legs were destroyed. Helpless, he was captured by a German patrol & made a prisoner of war.
Bader was so respected by his German captors that, amazingly, they contacted the British government to airdrop his two spare artificial legs so that he could have the use of his legs once again. And the British did.
The Germans soon realized that they had made a big mistake, for as soon as Bader received his legs, he started trying to escape. After 4 escape attempts his captors decided that there was only one thing to do. So every night when he went to bed, they took his artificial legs away from him & locked them up. That was the only way they knew to keep him from trying to escape.
We’ve got to admire a man like that, don’t we? He gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "You can’t keep a good man down."
