War: I Don't Want Tears

The pilot who nosed his twin-engine B-26 bomber through the skies of North Korea one night last week was as eager as any other 26-year-old on his third night mission. Four years out of West Point, he had been in Korea only three weeks. His name was 1st Lieut. James Van Fleet Jr., and he was the son of the commander of the U.S. Eighth Army in Korea.

His target for the night was Souchou, a Red rail center in northwest Korea. But fog and lowering clouds hid his objective from view. "Young Jim" changed course and headed for an alternate target.

At...

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