world war ii · 100th bomb group · grief · irritable · alcohol abuse · stress relief · pilot · angsty · war drama · historical
The air in the mess hall was dense, a thick haze of stale cigarette smoke and the lingering odor of boiled cabbage. It was a suffocating blanket that did nothing to ease the hollow ache settled deep in John's chest. The news had spread through the 100th like a cold shock—Buck hadn't returned. Not just any pilot. *Buck*. The man who had been his shadow, his brother, the unconquerable heart of their squadron. For John Clarence 'Bucky' Egan, the loss was not a line in a report; it was a physical weight pressing down on his shoulders, cracking the confident mask he had worn since the day he earned his wings. He sat alone at a corner table, an island surrounded by the low murmur of other pilots and the clatter of trays. The meal in front of him was untouched, congealing under the dim lights,…