Death of The Ball Turret Gunner

[MrCriticOfAll]

Chilling thought.Great upload.

[thebladerunner11]

Remember this clearly from school 35 years ago!

[Colbert2008]

This is a great poem and a great video to go along with it! Thanks for uploading!

[NCMCOMMANDER]

Them boys that crawled into them cramped "Balls" had a Pair larger than any that were in any type of aircraft in those days. Due to placement mostly. Thats even when not in combat.

[fraggle1jock]

great little poem, but the music is annoying.

[HatsandSuch]

That background music really cheapens it. It would be better to just hear him read his poem.

[mrceebees14]

The song is from the Gladiator sound track, but was also used in the 9/11 documentary movie the day after when the Officers are on the Bus driving to what was left of the World Trade Center and the surrounding areas.

[mrsdoyle4]

Background music is lisa gerrard

[rentatrip1]

I thought this was a song by Warren Zevon ? 

[tasteless504]

Thanks for posting this! 

[moogug]

That bit at the end where they are pulling the burnt body away from the fire with sticks was a pilot of a crashed P-47.

[MrBBBEN]

no its not i looked it up attach a link from what u got it from for me 

[furiousz555]

@picardposer I think he means "the nightmare of fighters". It's "the nightmare fighters". me thinks thats right...

[picardposer]

@furiousz555 nope. this is a recording of the POET reading HIS poem. AND the original draft at the end shows "the nightmare of fighters" are HIS words. 'nuff said.

[furiousz555]

@picardposer yup,true. the thing is, when you look up the written text on several sites it says "nightmare fighters" that's how I heard it first. but yeh, it's the man himself reading it, so 'nuff said indeed..

[KingOfTheClutch]

"When I died, They washed me out of the turret with a hose" that's pretty disturbing, these guys fought to keep this country (and at the time the involved nations) from the hands of the then corrupt Germans, that's all the respect they got......it's sickening.

[texNoz]

@KingOfTheClutch

It was war and war is messy. Do you think they had crates of satin scarfs and silk hankies to clean these guys out of the turrets? No mate, they had water hoses.

It has nothing to do with respect, it had to do with getting ready for the next man's turn in the turret.

What do you think they are tugging on with sticks at 1:03 to 1:07?? They were salvaging what's left of a corpse to send home to mum and dad.

[1hanapaa]

There has been much discussion about this poem being a statement about abortion.

I take the poem literally as to what the poet Randall Jarrell actually saw.

[ScienceFan1859]

@1hanapaa claiming allusions to abortion is beyond poetic license. Although he did not serve in ball turret, literal interpretation with poetic elements is obvious.

[neomuttley]

Ironically, it was thought that being the Ball Turret Gunner was the most dangerous spot on the bomber. Statistically, it turned out to be the safest place on the plane. The waist gunners got it the most. The Ball Turret was armored (no safe place on an aluminum plane). Many gunners had their Sperry2 turrets to thank for making it back.

[alincrys]

what's big deal? hundreds of gunners died in this war, also the music is in command and conquer generals too.

[hardpuke]

NIce..My grandpa did his 25 in the "ball"...I guess I'm lucky he made it.

[StylexStyler]

his 25.?

[jannetts]

25 missions

[BlameRepublicans]

@StylexStyler don't take the bait just pretend you know what he meant, do feed the fishers.

[lecou18]

Goddamn he must have had some balls to do that - I salute him.

[DankMcstankey]

@hardpuke

You guess? Don't you like your grandpa?

[wannabehendrix]

@hardpuke Your Grandfather has my eternal gratitude! God bless him.

[tireiron]

Thanks! I like to hear the way the Jarrell wanted this heard.

[myhuxpo]

That's just.. wow.. Amazing......!! Quite moving!

[granskare]

I recently watch my vhs copy of Memphis Belle and it had a part about its belly turret gunner...maybe here on YT?

Not so easy to go to war .

[BasicModelling]

Yes.. :) Very..

[thenomadrhodes]

Wow Beautiful, just Beautiful thank you.

[daugter4theking]

Thank you! You just helped me with my english lesson! :D

[vansskaterd]

same with me hahaha :D

[tasteless504]

Wow! Author read his own! AND a copy of the original writing! Primary documents rock! Nice music! 5 of 5!

[Bran247]

Should I ask what they are draging with the sticks at the end?

[pitbull73]

It`s the pilot of a crashed P-47 Thunderbolt their dragging... Rest his soul...

[pauliexixi]

This poem just punches me in the stomach. So fucking good.

[Totlethegreat]

does anyone know what the background music is?

[picardposer]

Elysium fields from gladiator soundtrack with Author reading his own poem.

[MrBBBEN]

@picardposer it is not

look it up

[ScienceFan1859]

@MrBBBEN the excerpt of the POET reading HIS poem is track 5 on disc 3 from Poetry Speaks (2001) ISBN #1570717206 and the scan of the ORIGINAL transcript that contains "nightmare OF fighters" in the POETS own handwriting is on page 223 of the same book. Most sites get it wrong. That's why historians and scholars prefer primary sources. This video has BOTH of them included! 5/5

[tasteless504]

@ScienceFan1859 your tilting with windmills! the bad copy of this poem (with "of" missing) dominates the web: google, youtube most have it wrong. Let it go! LOL

[tasteless504]

@MrBBBEN btw I think that the poet is the final arbiter of his own work, and if his reading is "nightmare of fighters," then that's what I would go with. Poetry is fluid, and while he might have simply misread, he may also have chosen that particular reading for reasons not apparent to us. I think Jarrell himself is the best source in this case, no matter what the trolls, lit. profs, or Norton have to say about it. And you can quote me! ;-)

[mrsdoyle4]

@Totlethegreat Hi background music is lisa gerrard

[matrix49A]

@Totlethegreat Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator soundtrack)