On a bright, sunny, spring morning in 1950 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, 120 of us new recruits were seated on the grass at the parade field, listening to a corporal make a presentation on the .45 caliber pistol.
He was standing on a box about two feet high, and he obviously had a high regard for himself as he “talked down” to the troops.
As he demonstrated and described the safety features of the .45, he told us to never press it into someone’s ribs as to do so would put pressure on the front of the barrel, and the pistol wouldn’t fire.
As he said “Let me demonstrate,” he pressed the .45 into the palm of his left hand, squeezed the trigger and blew his left hand off! Only some hanging tissue remained. He stared at his hand for a few seconds, fainted, and fell off the box.
Most of the troops applauded that careless fellow as he fell on the grass!