Robert E. Irion, Sandy, Utah: an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann, September 20, 2002: Saving the legacy tape no. 537, 538, and 539

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Robert . Irion eptember 20th 2002 My v ry first pass I got the best shot I've ever gotten in my combat film. h first bullets that hit blew this plane up. And I pulled up off of it went out and picked ut another and went after it. BEN: These are on the ground, right? ROB: Yeah these are parked on the ground right- put their tails back in the trees, under these trees, and they'd pull them out and fly. But anyhow, the first one just blew. When you see the film come on he goes, "psssew!" Just puff, just "puff!" Okay, did a couple more passes then I hear my good friend Bill McClarence saying, "I got hit! The flak there, it got me!" And everybody was talking back to him, "You okay?" "Yeah I'm okay, I think." But anyhow, I'd seen some flashes coming out from this field. And so my next pass I made a pass at that. And I took two passes at it and I hit around it the first time, but the second time I hit this gun emplacement dead center. And then in the old days when I was a kid and would go to war movies, World War I scenes and all, someone would be shooting his gun and he'd get hit, and he'd stand up and he'd fall over. And you'd see these things and the guy would stand up and fall over. I thought that was a movie. These three guys in this gun emplacement, when I hit them, it was like all three bodies just went up stiff and flopped over. They just- just like the movie scene! It must be a- when you get struck and mortally wounded, your body must just go - something happens to the muscle in reaction because I could see those three guys just raise up and fall. And they didn't fire any more guns at us. 89