Combat gliders were called by some, "Death Crates," "Purple Heart
Boxes," "Flying Coffins," and "Tow Targets." They weren't pretty, they
had no graceful lines. Viewed from the front, they had a pug nose and a
sloping Neanderthal forehead. Their wings looked like the heavily
starched ears of a jackrabbit placed at right angles on a canvas-covered
frame. Twice the length of the body, these self-same wings were
eighty-four feet in length, 70% as long as the Wright brothers first
powered flight at Kitty Hawk. They could not become airborne, let alone
fly, unless assisted by an engine-powered tow plane. And for those
riding in the back, it was like flying "through the gates of hell." The
men who were trained and assigned to guide gliders into battle were said
to be the only pilots who had no motors, no armament, no parachutes, and
no second chances. Like the aircraft they commanded they were called
inglorious names -The bastards nobody wanted; Glider gladiators in
wooden chariots; Hybrid jackasses; Glory boys. But if you had any sense
at all, you acknowledged that the "G" on the wings insignia pinned to
the pilots' uniforms stood for "GUTS."
