strange story from WWII

[jnyork]

One Of Those Stories For The Ages.

It goes without saying but we’ll do it anyway. World War II was the bloodiest conflict in the world, sending the most amount of soldiers to a fight which ended with the greatest civilian and military casualties ever recorded. That’s saying a lot. There are a myriad of books written about this war in general, but since there were so many people involved, there are even more books written about their personal accounts.

There are so many takes on this horrendous time in our history, but think about the small incidents too. There were probably hundreds of thousands of acts of heroism that we’ll never hear about and maybe even more miracles that went unnoticed. We’re glad to say that we found one of those stories that include both.

Owen John Baggett was born in 1920 in Graham, Texas. By 1941 he graduated from college and went on to work on Wall Street, but by the following year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps (now USAF)when the United States entered the war.

A studious man, he graduated from pilot training in just five months and was sent to Burma, flying a B-24 Liberator. What he happened the following year is one of those stories we just described.

On March 31st, 1943, Baggett and his squadron were sent on a mission to destroy a bridge of strategic importance. On their way, the B-24s got intercepted by Japanese Zeros which hit the squadron hard. Baggett’s plane was riddled with bullets to such an extent that the crew was forced to bail out.

While parachuting, a Japanese pilot decided that downing the plane wasn’t enough. He circled around and started shooting at the bailed out pilots, killing two of the crew. Seeing this, Baggett did the only thing he could. He played dead.


Not convinced Baggett was dead, the Zero pulled up to him at near stall speed, the pilot opening his canopy to check on his horrendous work. Not wasting any time and thinking on his feet (no pun intended), Baggett pulled out his pistol and shot the pilot right in the head.



This is considered the best shot by a Caliber .45 M911 pistol of ALL TIME.

The last thing he saw was the Zero spiraling toward earth.

When he landed, he and the other bailed out crew members were captured and sent to a POW camp where they remained till the end of the war. They were liberated by OSS agents (World War II version of the modern CIA) and Baggett was recognized as the only person during the war to shoot down a Zero with a pistol.

[Ben_Rumson]

INCREDIBLE!

[AJMD429]

Baggett bagged a zero...

[Merle]

That's quite a story - thanks for posting!

[Lastmohecken]

I have read this story before. Just goes to show you what a cool head and a 1911 can accomplish.

[Lastmohecken]

That is one situation where I would hope my pistol was secured by a lanyard in case I was fumble fingered and fumbled my gun. I guess being a horse pistol to start with was one of the reason the 1911 had a small loop for a lanyard.

[2571]

Took 45-50 seconds on internet to find inconsistencies in the ways gut told this story throughout his life.

Hope story is true, and more and better besides.

[Blaine]

Took 45-50 seconds on internet to find inconsistencies in the ways gut told this story throughout his life.

Hope story is true, and more and better besides.

And, he drops another turd in the punchbowl.

[Merle]

Took 45-50 seconds on internet to find inconsistencies in the ways gut told this story throughout his life.

Hope story is true, and more and better besides.

Did you ever consider that the memory gets fuzzy over time?

[octagon]

TROLL ALERT. DO NOT FEED.

[jnyork]

Took 45-50 seconds on internet to find inconsistencies in the ways gut told this story throughout his life.

Hope story is true, and more and better besides.

If the sun is shining, it only takes 45-50 seconds on the internet to find someone who authoritatively states it's cloudy and raining.

[Griff]

His obituary states it was a revolver. Written by surviving family, not necessarily the most impartial of persons. Historical records by the Japanese state no losses on their part during that battle. He did retire a Col in the Air Farce. Who knows... but let's not badger each other over details. If it were patently untrue, I've been known to call the forwarder of such to task. Now, did you hear about...

[2571]

I said I hoped it was true.

I'm not the one who published a different internet account for the world to consider. It's really not the kind of story that tolerates inconsistent versions well & one would think a kinsman would take particular care to accurately retell such a remarkable story in an obituary.

It's a good tale but one ought not lose sight of the fact, "Truth is beauty and beauty is truth".

[Blaine]

I said I hoped it was true.

I'm not the one who published a different internet account for the world to consider. It's really not the kind of story that tolerates inconsistent versions well & one would think a kinsman would take particular care to accurately retell such a remarkable story in an obituary.

It's a good tale but one ought not lose sight of the fact, "Truth is beauty and beauty is truth".

When Buds are talking around the campfire, it's really not cool to blow wind in their face....Seriously, you'd never be asked to another campfire. You might know it, and everyone might know it, but STFU

[Lastmohecken]

Print the legend. I think it is possible that he pulled it off. And on another note, relatives often get it wrong, I have seen it personally, many times, and memory tends to alter specifics sometimes. I see this in my Dad at 82, he remembers things a little differently then they were sometimes, we all do it.

[2571]

When Buds are talking around the campfire, it's really not cool to blow wind in their face....Seriously, you'd never be asked to another campfire. You might know it, and everyone might know it, but STFU
[/quote]

I appreciate your advice but my mom told me a stories about a kid who kept crying, "Wolf!" and the real GW refusing to tell factual inaccuracies about his comportment in the orchard.

I can't remember a time any of my crowd told a 'fish story', let alone a Burger King, Home of the Whopper, yarn about themselves.

Anyway, whatever happened, may this soldier RIP.

[JB]

There's no direct evidence that the story is true, but it's a fun read all the same

[vancelw]

His obituary states it was a revolver. Written by surviving family, not necessarily the most impartial of persons. Historical records by the Japanese state no losses on their part during that battle. He did retire a Col in the Air Farce. Who knows... but let's not badger each other over details. If it were patently untrue, I've been known to call the forwarder of such to task. Now, did you hear about...

I was thinking the pilots usually carried an M&P 38 Special, not a 1911.

[Merle]

There's no direct evidence that the story is true, but it's a fun read all the same

Nor is there any evidence it is not.

[donw]

let it go. the man served his country much better than many. the very fact he survived a Japanese POW camp is testimony enough as far as I'm concerned.

my dad was in WWII and Korea. he began his US Army career in the Cavalry in Panama in the 1930's. he would not speak of any of his experiences throughout his army career that spanned 23 years.

what a suppressed memory will say, no one knows. i suspect "Self preservation" and not wanting to relive those memories is much too painful for most.

[Merle]

let it go. the man served his country much better than many. the very fact he survived a Japanese POW camp is testimony enough as far as I'm concerned.

my dad was in WWII and Korea. he began his US Army career in the Cavalry in Panama in the 1930's. he would not speak of any of his experiences throughout his army career that spanned 23 years.

what a suppressed memory will say, no one knows. i suspect "Self preservation" and not wanting to relive those memories is much too painful for most.

Yep, this sums it up!

[JB]

There's no direct evidence that the story is true, but it's a fun read all the same

Nor is there any evidence it is not.

Just like all the bring back military arms "Taken off a dead German officer. It's was him or me, and he came out on the losing side.." There's a lot of b.s. stories from vets of all wars.

[Merle]

There's no direct evidence that the story is true, but it's a fun read all the same

Nor is there any evidence it is not.

Just like all the bring back military arms "Taken off a dead German officer. It's was him or me, and he came out on the losing side.." There's a lot of b.s. stories from vets of all wars.

Probably true, but there is no conclusive proof either way. That's why I refrain from judging.

[7.62 Precision]

And on another note, relatives often get it wrong, I have seen it personally, many times, and memory tends to alter specifics sometimes.

I used to run the prepress department at a printing company that did all the funeral programs for two funeral homes, among other clients. I read lots of obituaries. One I will always remember, I can almost quote it word for word (I apologize for not remembering the specific misspellings and grammar errors) was something like this (leaving out some of the rainbows and sunshine fluff):

"_________ passed away peacefully but unexpectedly in his sleep at St. ___________ Hospital. __________ was a loving son, grandson and a devoted father. He made the world a brighter place and was a respected member of his community. He was a faithful employee at Auto Zone of five years and was loved and respected by his co-workers but he was an entrepreneur at heart and was always seeking opportunities to be financially independent."

Here is the true story:
This guy, in his very early twenties, was the devoted father of a couple kids he never interacted with by very minor teenage girls. He had been seeking financial independence since he was knee high, and as a result he had become acquainted with law enforcement and the inner workings of our legal system on numerous occasions. While he did work at Auto Zone, he certainly was seeking other financial opportunities. Domino's Pizza was one such opportunity, but since the pay was no better than Auto Zone, he had a better plan. Arriving after dark with a pistol in hand, he skipped the workweek and went straight to payday. That worked so well that he repeated it at another Domino's the next evening, and a third the evening after that. Local community officials took notice of his reliability and dedication to his new employment, and decided he needed some official recognition. There were only so many Domino's restaurants in the area, so they arranged a surprise party for him at several. That last night he showed up for work right on time at the next Domino's location, to find a number of officers waiting in the building to escort him to some luxury accommodations. As soon as he saw them, he made the world a brighter place with his muzzle flashes, the police joined him in lighting up that evening, and that resulted in his peaceful passing.

This was one of many such obituaries I read, and I have been in the crossfire of heated arguments between family members about the details of the life of someone deceased as they hashed out these obituaries.

All the details in this story might not be known or exact, but it seems likely that the basic story is true.