William D. Royster

I HAD A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF WORLD WAR TWO

I went to the war in a seat facing aft.
All I could see, was what we had past,
And as we sailed on through the blue,
I had a bird’s view of World War Two.

I could see the Zeros rise from the ground
And I could see the flak burst all around.
I could see the searchlights scan the sky,
And I could watch the phosphorous bombs on high.

I saw a Zero spiral to the ground
Later, a B-29 followed him down
It don’t always happen, like we want it to,
I have a bird’s view of world war two

I heard flak rattle against the ship
I thought we might have a one-way trip
The plane steadied it’s self, and went on its way.
We would live to fight another day.

At Iwo Jima the crew called to me.
They all knew I’d be the first one to see,
If our bombs hit the target, that was their wish,
But I had to tell them, we only killed fish.

On March 9 and 10, a promise we kept.
We hit Tokyo, while the city slept;
The Japs found out, to their dismay,
You don’t mess around with the US of A.

The flames that I watched lit up the night.
The flames soon reached a tremendous height
Over One hundred and fifty miles away
I could still see the glare, over Tokyo Bay

I know that I had the best seat is the war.
I could lean back and listen to the engines roar
I was proud as punch, and everyone knew
I had a bird’s eye view of World War Two.

Author’s Note: Dedicated to the 73rd Wing 499th Bomb Group, 879th Bomb Sqn: Crew 60 flying the “Big Stick”: Saipan 1944-45