Imagine for just a moment that you are a World War II glider pilot. You're sitting in your fabric-covered CG-4A glider waiting for the snatch. You have no co-pilot to talk to. Behind you are 15 combat troops, praying that everything goes okay. You're praying too, because there is nothing you can do about it.
A C-47 tow plane flies by at just above ground level, snagging your tow rope with a hook and jerking you from a standstill to 120 knots within seconds. You are airborne, but you have no control. You also have no communication with the tow plane. The pilot of the tow plane will decide where and when you are released. You sit back and wait, because there is nothing you can do about it.
As you approach the battle zone at 500 feet above the ground, you see the tracer rounds striking the tow plane. You watch intently, but there's nothing you can do about it.
Suddenly, you are on your own as the tow plane releases you and banks away. Now you see the tracer rounds converging on you. You can't fire back, because you are unarmed. Someone behind you is hit. You know this because you can hear the screaming, but there's nothing you can do about it.
As you sink to the ground, you see the carcass of another glider impaled on a wooden pole, one of thousands that Field Marshall Rommel has planted for your arrival. Another is laying upside-down after striking a hedgerow. You're concerned for the fate of your friends and the troops they were carrying, but there's nothing you can do about it.
You spot an opening between two trees. The field is furrowed, but fortunately you are aligned with the rows. You are focused on your landing, because this is the one thing throughout this entire mission that you can control. Still, without an engine, you will only get one chance. You flare the aircraft and plant the landing gear. The aircraft comes to a stop, and your troops unload. Your mission and your aircraft are finished. It's time to leave before the Germans introduce you to one of their 88mm anti-aircraft/anti-tank guns.
Nearly 6000 men did not have to imagine this scenario. They lived it in places like Sicily, Burma, Normandy, Southern France, Holland, Bastogne, the Rhine, and Luzon. Some of them lived to describe the experience. Many of them did not. A few of those brave men are still with us today. On Veteran's Day, please take a moment to remember them in your own way.
Source: World War II Glider Pilots Association