Some bombers are heroes. The headline on this article reads: “Wartime bomber hero celebrates 70 years of marriage to wife involved in Dambusters raid.” Other bombers are terrorists, like the Boston Marathon bombers. How do you tell the difference? What we are conditioned to think is that a bomber who wears a U.S. military uniform (or the uniform of an ally of the U.S.) is a hero; all of the other bombers are terrorists. The truth is that no man who wears a particular uniform and drops a bomb on someone from the safety of his plane at 40,000 feet is a hero at all. Even if he is killing Huns, Japs, A-rabs, or gooks.

The Best of Laurence M. Vance