Lt. Owen John Baggett was a crewman on a B-24 stationed in India during World War II
On March 31 1943 Lt. Owen John Baggett was a crewman on a B-24 stationed in India during World War II. On one mission, his plane was attacked by 13 Japanese Zeroes while they were attempting to bomb a bridge in Burma. The plane was hit in the fuel tanks and caught fire, forcing the crew to bail out. As they descended with parachutes, the Zeroes continued to attack, killing two of the crew and wounding Baggett in the left arm. Feigning death, Baggett watched as a curious Zero pilot approached him, performing an astonishing bit of aerobatics to get a closer look at the wounded American. At just the right moment, Baggett drew his service pistol, a Colt .45, and fired four shots, hitting the Japanese pilot in the head and causing the Zero to crash. Baggett was captured and taken to a POW camp, where he was surprisingly received and feted as a hero by the Japanese camp commander, a colonel, for his fine shooting at the Zero. This is an example of the Japanese military's peculiar Bushid...