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Another 3rd Armored gunner
reunites with the M-16 half-track.
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Photos below: Russ Eick, Sr., of Durham, CT,
inspects a gun turret very similar to the one that, 58 years
earlier, gave him a place in military history. While with the
3rd Armored's 486th Anti-Aircraft Battalion in WWII, Russ became
the first person to shoot down a German plane from German soil.
After only a few minutes of operating the turret following the
Rose Dedication, Eick's skills and instincts were coming back
fast. He and certain bystanders were amazed. The only problem
was that this M-16 had a fancy optical-sighting device (see below)
which must have come out shortly after WWII. "I wouldn't
trust it," Eick said after a close examination, "but
I would still trust my eyes." |
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