 Too late to win back the smell that land breeze That ain't land just smells. That's my old lady's ravioli. Weft it on a Bronx breeze I kid you imagine I go to Italy cradle a ravioli. What do I get K rations? I offer five I get K rations I give them the arm K rations Italy cradle our ravioli my income back What's ravioli? I got to come back to my old lady in the Bronx I'll take those devil crab down at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco One of the towns changed much. How about you Tex? Glad to be getting home Makes no never mind to me one place is good a better than other What about all them stories used to tell about your old man's ranch and how you couldn't wait to see Texas again? Sure, I'd like to see Texas again, but would Texas like to see me Certainly Texas wants to see you Sure state techs you were born and brought up there Sure, it's my state major as long as I can fit back in it again. I was a cattle man, sir Roadhead and branded since I was that high. We're gonna love being a saddle now. I got a hunch. You'll ride again techs Maybe you won't break Broncos, but then all of us coming back. It's got to make adjustments You were a doctor, sir. You can still write prescriptions. I was a surgeon Tex But I've still got lots to do Always did have a hankering for industrial medicine. I probably wouldn't have done a darn thing about it until now I know what's on your minds. You sing to yourselves. Where does this guy come off with that rare sunshine stuff? Boys, I'll let you in on a little secret Sometimes I feel lower than a grasshopper's belly I've had two arms for 43 years and I don't like losing one of them any better than you do But I've got one advantage over you fellas. How is the orthopedic surgeon over 200 amputations to my credit? I've seen more cages like us than you can count. I know every reaction and Black as we may feel now. I'll give odds that a year from today. We'll be singing a different tune Sure, it's cripples Creep falls hell lucky man Lucky other than a lot of guys we know oh sure It's a setback for us Tex, but we're alive We can see and hear and feel and think once we've gotten over the hurdles will be able to work and enjoy life What's gonna happen to us major? I Mean Do we get our feet on the ground? Plenty we've got lots of things to learn. Where do we go after we get back to the States? Straight to an amputation center where the army set up the best specialized care for guys like us There are centers all throughout the United States But wherever we're sent we'll find the most modern buildings and equipment in ideal conditions for the program of recovery They've got planned for us with the finest trained medical personnel in charge of our treatments Before we get our prosthesis, that's the fancy name for artificial arms and legs We've got to get our whole systems in good condition We'll be worked over like a heavyweight champ with 10 million bucks on him But first some of us will need another operation to fix over our stumps so that our new legs and arms will fit perfectly That won't be as tough as it sounds and believe me. It's worth the delay Some of us may start in with baths hydrotherapy treatments if we do need them They're going to make it feel a lot better keep it clean get it really healed Some of us will get lamp treatments the ultraviolet ray is one of the best aids for tuning up your whole body There's one kind that's used for spatial areas. It concentrates on whatever part of you that needs particular care Or we may get massage and as soon as possible we'll pitch in and do our part of this job Massaging helps shrink and toughen the stump so we can start using our prosthesis that much sooner Bandaging is extremely important too. It should be done quite often three or four times a day This is another thing we'll take over and do for ourselves as soon as we can Those elastic bandages do a great job in compressing and shaping up a stump and Naturally it's going to be very important to get plenty of exercise Certain muscles are going to have a lot of new work to do the way we stand and walk is going to depend a lot on Strengthening those long muscles in the back and building up those in the belly Or maybe we'll be out there on the rowing machine strengthening our normal legs and arms Take one of the devices for exercising leg stumps Moving the leg against the resistance of the pulley develops thigh muscles like nothing else It all adds up to one thing you simply get yourself in good shape to be fitted with your new leg or arm And here's something we mustn't forget We've made real progress in developing artificial limbs and believe me the men in the orthopedic shops who make them our artists They really know their stuff when you get fitted. It isn't like having a pair of GI pants tossed at you It's custom-made and it takes time and patience to fit it just right, but they don't stop until it is right Incidentally will be fitted for our dress arm here too And once we're set with a good arm or leg. We're ready for the next lap the final big one We're ready to start to learn how to use it This last lap starts a little hard, of course Well, it was telling me it's plenty tough learning to walk. I'd be kidding if I said it was easy geez Must be like you're on a tightrope Ever learned to ride a bike Rocco. I was tops on the Grand Concourse major. I Remember falling on my ear a dozen times before I got the feel of it We were on our own and it'll be the same now Nobody can learn it for us a man just has to sweat it out himself until he gets a sense of balance Well, actually, I don't think learning to walk with an artificial leg is any harder than learning to ride a bike But it means plugging away at it day after day Naturally, it's easy to get discouraged when even a simple thing seemed hard But suddenly you'll get the hang of it and wonder what was so tough about a little thing like getting up out of a chair They've got mirrors so that you can correct your posture and develop an even gate Walking backwards is good exercise, too. Then after a while you're ready for trickier things like stairs And you'll find that with all the specialized equipments, you're really getting someplace Even making progress in fast trips to nowhere on a bike And then outdoors kicking a ball around to help your coordination Then you'll find yourself back in competitive sports running that score up higher all the time And dancing besides limbering up your legs and developing balance has other advantages that I don't need to explain to you Yes, I've seen men do things. They thought they'd never do again There's no limit to what can be done if we just set our minds on doing it Do you really think I'll be in a saddle again major? Well, I'd say that's up to you Tex As I see it our toughest hurdle isn't on the physical side. It's the mental handicaps we put on ourselves Canadian flyer lost both legs and nine months later. He was flying in combat again Just wanted to fly badly enough and he did yeah, but not everybody can be that good major, right? In a track star who's lost a leg can't run a hundred yards and ten flat So he'll switch to golf or swimming from my experience nature does queer things When a man loses one limb all his strength and skill seems to go into his other limbs me I don't want no other skill I've been riding her in a taxi cab seven years All I want is to drive my old hack again If you like the rest of those New York cab drivers, I'll take this subway Oh, I'm no jockey major crumble offender now and then in close maneuveries, but nothing spectacular Learning to drive isn't so tough, but our problem is a special one. I mean yours and mine Rocco If you lose a leg then balance is the thing you have to win But in the case of arms the trick is more in coordination The prosthesis is worked by the muscles of the opposite shoulder For example when we move the left shoulder forward that pulls on a gadget that comes around the back and connects with a hook on the right arm In other words the movements of the opposite shoulder will open or close the hook I've seen men who've lost their arms learn useful work sometimes better than the jobs they had before But of course in the beginning we'll have to master the simple problems of everyday life like switching on a light turning on a faucet Opening a door then you go on to something harder things like picking up change your own of course Drinking a bottle of coke or taking your hat off Until your hands automatically do what your minds tell them to do without depending on help from anyone and Finally your prosthesis gets to feel like it's really a part of you And then when we've gotten that far we'll be ready to graduate to the advanced program at the amputation center At these centers, they've got plenty of varied facilities for healthy outdoor activity And that'll be the big thing now a general building up of our bodies with sports So we'll be spending a good deal of the time using our new limbs and pleasant pastimes Anybody that's worried about being in the saddle again or to see a whole class of amputees mounted up for long rides in the sun swimming like all these activities provides healthy exercise and recreation combined a few thrills you can count on sailboating or for relaxation gliding along in a rowboat Sharing the oars with another guy and when you're up there on the diamond back in that great American game You'll really feel like a solid citizen again So sooner than you think possible now you'll be walking out of the hospital ready for civilian life Every movement more and more natural You'll be back to the good way of living Handling yourself just like you used to that's great because I've seen hundreds of cases And that's it boys if we come out anything like them in I've seen I'll be satisfied It sounds pretty good to me better for you than me Why what do you mean? Lake don't look so bad After time people don't notice it No, I'm stiff People stare at you What do you want me to say Rocco that we won't be self-conscious at first? Sure, it'll seem strange for a while Some people are vain about wearing glasses, but they see better when they wear them and false teeth Pretty beautiful dames have to wear them But teeth come in darn handy when there's a thick steak on the table and the question is to eat or not to eat for my money Anything that helps a human being function better has a beauty of its own Ask any man who's using a prosthesis if you'd like to get rid of it You laugh at you if I could just drive my cab again You'll drive your cab again Rocco. You'll do lots of things After we're discharged, we'll be able to take our place in the world among men Good morning, major. Hello fellas And women You know major there's something else been on my mind. I'll read your mind Rocco How are they going to feel about us our wives and our girls? Yeah the girls we haven't got yet Let's take our own personal Gallup poll Well, Miss Phillips, would you come here for a moment, please? Sit down miss Phillips What's this all about? We're going to ask you questions Now miss Phillips, how long have you been a woman? 26 years next month sir good then I can ask you a tough question and if you don't answer honestly overboard miss Phillips How do women feel about men like us I Don't quite understand major. What's their reaction tortoise men who have lost limbs? Well, if you want the truth Certainly you'll run into some girls who'll object But not as many as you think Maybe you wouldn't want them anyway Let's get personal miss Phillips How do you feel on this subject? Yes, I haven't thought about it that way for some time now that you asked me though I remember something that happened once But that's ancient history. We like history miss Phillips spill it out. Will you one summer a couple of years back? There was a Saturday night dance at the hospital I was one of the hostesses and my job was to see that the bashful gi's Lingering around the edges found girls to dance with There's a soldier standing there alone watching the girls and I thought he was just afraid to speak to any of them But when I asked him if he'd like to dance with one of the girls He said he'd been looking over the field and hadn't seen anything that interested him But now he found me. He was ready to go. I told him I'd try to find him somebody who looked like me But he kept pouring on his line about what an adorable nose I had and what a sweet chin and what the rest of me did to make my uniform dress seem like a thing of beauty I just didn't like his type When he tried to swing me into the dance. I told handsome I had work to do He was crushed Flatly and completely I went on with my work and discovered another chap looking a little lost. I Knew he would never bring himself to approach any of the girls and when I asked him if I could find him a partner He said he wouldn't want to inflict himself on any of them There was just something about him that made me say I'd be glad to help him get into the swing of it until he Was ready for one of the other girls to take over We don't even dancing a moment when When I looked up and there was handsome staring at us He looked at his arm And he was obviously feeling very sorry for himself I realized what he must have been thinking Imagine my dancing with another man after passing him up cold There could be only one reason What could a nice girl see in a man with one arm? Then he saw something that was really a surprise to him Because the man I was dancing with had also lost an arm But he wasn't whispering sweet nothings in my ear and he wasn't handsome How could I explain that I just took one look at Joe and liked his shy smile and the way his ears grew How could I tell handsome that his arm had nothing to do with it that I would have turned him down if he'd had two arms or six arms How could I tell him that most women The kind that is solid inside anyway Don't fall in love with a man because of his manly beauty But for reasons that no one on God's earth could explain Well, I didn't have to tell him Sally came along as for me I just kept on dancing with Joe all evening. Well, I guess that's that Guess that's that Have I answered your question major? Thank you miss Phillips very well about this joe you're tasked with you ever see him again He'll be waiting at the dock tomorrow if he can get off from work Well, they'll have plenty of competition. I feel sorry for him. Well, don't waste your pity. No one has to be sorry for joe What do you mean? Well, joe has it all figured out He once said to me If you're shy or apologetic about yourself Then the person you're talking to gets embarrassed and begins to pity you And that's the end of a beautiful friendship But if you just put the whole business in its proper place Why then you're accepted like anyone else who isn't a perfect specimen I guess it's what a man's got inside of him that counts. Hey, I've got work to do. See you later boys The important thing is what a man has inside of him It's the final answer to what we do with our lives after we win the war all our lives soldiers and civilians Wounded or not wounded Or it's going to be an interesting world a busy world with new industries new opportunities You can be a part of it if you want to be If you convince yourself that losing a limb doesn't mean a man is finished that in many cases he's only begun Let's look at some ordinary men men like yourselves who have taken their loss But already have fitted themselves back into the modern world Some with new jobs like this man helping construct ball turrets for bombers Hi My name is hennard liskey. I was with the 125th field artillery in north africa Until I was wounded in tunisia blind 88 millimeter artillery shelf That where I lost my leg that from there was sent to the 26th general in africa to the person jones general hospital bella quick michigan There was discharged And now i'm a civilian now i got a job and i'm feeling fine Some returned happily to the security of their old jobs like this farmer Our mandorak of carpenters made the third class united state the neighborhood reserve I got a wounded in water canal. They took me to hospital after monday. They shipped me back to the state I stayed five and five five months in the state. They got me an artificial leg and here i am on the farm again Other men who have not allowed their loss to change their lives like captain howard young former bomber pilot with the united states aid their force Wounded raiding a nazi submarine base His right arm gone no longer able to fly actively for the army, but spending all the time possible still flying Hello men Right now i'm assigned a duty as a classification officer the air force redistribution station in san amonica I interview returning aircrew personnel and help them find new assignments here in the states After the war is over I intend to return to my former occupation of hotel management By myself a light plane and renew my private license and continue to fly All those who had never been quite set on what they wanted to do Until they came back and really found themselves like guy bolty Dartmouth graduate now working for the owy and writing a monthly article for a well-known magazine Who organized and helps run an american veterans organization I was wounded at alamane. I had volunteered for the british army in july 41 And then I was standing up and they let off an 88 I lost this leg here But then I got home and got married and had to get a job Now i'm so busy that I don't know what to do with myself. I got four jobs Men who came back like this tail gunner of a flying fortress His arm torn off by an enemy shell as his plane returned from a bombing raid on sardinia Hi fellas I'm staff sergeant philip trapani. I'd like to have you meet my fiance jenny I enlisted in the army january 23rd 1942 I've come back to detroit I want to enlist in another war One war isn't enough for one fella At least not me I become engaged and I want to enlist in the Field of matrimony Or men who came back to share in the government of the democracy for which they made their sacrifice Like this congressional representative in the last war I was a member of the fighting irish 69th of new york I went through every major engagement with the regiment in france And on november the first 10 days before the war ended My leg was blown off in the argon forest. I want you to know That your congress and your government Are behind you every step of the way There are those who have not only adapted themselves to life today But who have developed special adjustments special skills with their new limbs Albert gall operates cranes steam shovels bulldozers so expertly That men with two good arms have difficulty keeping up with him And possible to him too are the many little things of everyday living The things a man always likes to do for himself For recreation ralph deedy businessman of bellflower california has shown that even without legs a man can still bicycle And engage in many other sports And this is james barar arms lost in action on guadalcanal january 1943 Now married and a civilian again He's employed at an army amputation center as a physical training instructor Training other arm amputees in automobile driving and other activities And there's pete gray playing from memphis in the southern association For 1944 he led the league center field as defensively Hit well over 300 was second in run score fourth in total bases Led the league and set a new record in stolen bases Pete gray an inspiration to his team A great competitor whose best feats at bat or in the field come when his team needs them most And besides the thousands who have adapted themselves to older new jobs And those who have developed special talents There are some who despite the loss of an arm or leg have risen to great prominence and achievement There is this man major alexander disavirsky brilliant aircraft designer flying the famous thunderbolt fighter. He developed Author of victory through air power and noted military analyst russian ace of world war one Major disavirsky lost his leg bombing a german destroyer Honored by many governments for his contributions to the progress of aviation He is responsible in this war for the development of bomb sites Stabilizers propellers and many other innovations now in use wherever our planes fly Apart from his rigorous professional career major disavirsky is able to enjoy a healthy active existence A skillful swimmer and diver he manages to find time each day to enjoy these beneficial exercises And leave this man is proof that though a limb is gone It is still possible to enjoy a healthy existence With a fine home an attractive wife And all the things that go to make up a successful life if there is any magic And getting adjusted to the loss of an arm or a leg It's the kind of magic you won't see on any stage or read about in the book of tricks Everybody has his own share of that kind of magic It lies in the hidden resources we all have And even don't know we have When I found I had lost my leg I was in despair I felt that my life had come to a dead end But I soon learned a thing like this cannot stop you and will not stop you I learned that the loss of one faculty is quickly replaced by the development of other faculties And you will learn it too You will find that the compensation will take place With complete sincerity I can say that the loss of my leg actually helped me When I came back from bombing the german destroyer I wanted desperately to keep on flying in spite of my handicap But in order to fly I had to study the ways and means of adjusting the mechanisms of an aeroplane In order to suit my special needs That led me to discoveries that not only made my flying easier for me But increased the performance and safety of aircraft for all flyers I never could have done these things if I hadn't been hurt Because it was the loss of my leg that made me think of flying as something more than sheer sport Your experience may be different Your answer may lie in other fields But remember this nothing happens to your mind when you lose an arm or a leg You didn't want anyone to guide your life before and there is no reason for anyone to guide it now You will find that you have abilities you never knew existed The Nazis and Japs did not take them away from you Nobody can