I'll Be Seeing You

That'll Do Chaps

18th December 1939

Jimmy's Point of View

It's Monday morning today is the day not a day to lose your nerve and yet I was shaking like a little lad I could cry I'm that afraid but this is what I'd trained for, this is what was expected of me but God I can't help but think of my darling Phoebe my sweetheart sat at home, I have a little picture of her that I carry with me that I will take with me in the aircraft I have to do this for her and for our little one. If I'm afraid then those bastards have got the better of me and no one get's the better of Jimmy Flanagan

"Right boys you know what's expected of you let's show em what we're made of yeah" our commanding officer says to us as I turn to look at Jock he's pale and quiet "Jimmy mate" he says "Yeah" his eyes are full of fear "You scared" he asks and I just nod my head "Me too" he says all the lads are "Dismissed" the Captain shouts as we run to the aircraft getting our gear on as we go.
The adrenaline is pumping through my veins right now I jump in the plane and as I sit down and place Phoebe's picture against the controls praying in my head that I get to see her in the flesh again that her picture isn't the last image I have of her beautiful face.
Various voices come over the aircraft's transmitter each of us all a little shaky when we speak when the command comes to head out. The only thing I can concentrate on is everything I had been taught and treat it the same as every other flight I had done. As we reach our ordered cruising height I take a glance to the side of me and the sight is enough to take your breath away, a line of us all united by this one purpose Jock is next to me nothing but a kid just turned eighteen the boy is scared to death so I have to keep him going thinking back to our conversation last night at the billet

The Previous Evening
"What do you think it feels like Jimmy" Jock asks me as he sits eating his supper "What Mate" I ask him "Dying" where the hell is this coming from he can't be having these thoughts "Well that's something you don't have to worry about for a long time yet mate" I say back to him "We don't know that Jimmy" he says back to me as he pulls a picture out from under his pillow it's of a girl very pretty she is "That's my Mary" he says to me "She's lovely" I say to her as I pull my photograph from my bedside "This is my wife Phoebe" I tell "She's a pretty one ain't she" he says "Yeah she is" I say "How long have you been married" he asks "Only a few weeks, two days before I got called up" I tell him "I miss my Mary so much she's a proper little sweetie only sixteen she is" he says "She works in her Dad's fruit and Veg shop that's where I met her" he tells me "I've known my Phoebe since we was little uns" I tell him "I miss her so much especially now" I start "Why now" he asks "She's gonna have a baby in the summer" I tell him with a big smile that I can't help "You're gonna be a Daddy that's smashing" he says and I laugh and smile all at the same time "yeah, yeah it is" I tell him. he looks at me "so both of us got reason to get through this then" I tell him "don't let them win" I tell him "promise me lad you'll fight em" I ask of him "yeah alright I promise
I fell asleep that night with just visions on my beautiful Phoebe and how pretty she looked last night when we, you know making love they say it is and I loved her.

Present Day
"Keep it steady boys when you get the order let em have it" one of the lads calls over the radio I look once again at Phoebes picture praying harder and harder in my head as we come close to our destination of destruction attacking behind the lines "ok boys let it drop" our order is giving as we drop the load of explosives that we're carrying I can't think of what it will do to those underneath you can't think about that for a second but as Bomb after Bomb after bomb is dropped we realize we got company the sight of them all coming towards us is enough to take the wind out of your lungs "alright boys looks like we've upset them take them down" we're called I need to make it worth it as I eye the bastards up ahead of me needing to cause as much pain as possible the adrenalin kicks in even more and I'm fierce in my need to hurt them hit after hit after after hit I try my bloody hardest and seem to be getting somewhere "have it you arseholes" I shout at them my mother would slap me for my language "I've got a wife and baby on the way you ain't having me today" I call to them there are lots of calls coming over the transmitter some are not as lucky as I hear "I'm hit" or "shit there's too many of them" as they start to drop like flies but I'm not giving them the satisfaction screaming at the top of my lungs as I just let rip with a wave of bullets at them not letting up.
I do notice that Jock is still with me battling on until the sky becomes clear there are gone down or have retreated
"Woo hoo take that ya bastards" I shout. I laugh and laugh with more relief than I ever ever have as we cruise home with that image once more of my darling gel, my wife before me. I did it this time and I knew I could do it every time as long as I had Phoebe my purpose my focus, my whole bloody world is what she was. I'm fighting for her and our baby my little family, there ain't no damn Gerry that's gonna take that from me I can tell ya.