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Old November 11, 2018, 08:54 PM   #56
shurshot
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Join Date: August 25, 2006
Posts: 1,819
"I was there and as I walked down through the long lines of vehicles I noted that some of the drivers were lifting the hoods on their vehicles. I followed this up and saw one big burly Kraut had a ballpean (sic) hammer in his hand and he was going, quite systematically, from vehicle to vehicle and smashing the distributor caps after he lifted the hoods.
I followed him down the line, keeping one row of vehicles between myself and this scoundrel and right after he raised a hood and drew back to smash the distributor I shot him right through the kidneys with the old .45 Pachmayr." (Askins).

Askins MUST have been afraid as he used caution approaching the German, keeping a vehicle between them. Perhaps he didn't want his skull carved in if the German rushed him or spun and threw the hammer. One car width isn't that far away, well under 7 yards. It also might have went down quite differently than how he described it. He might have been very afraid, yet ego wouldn't allow him to describe the scenario more truthfully in later years. Who knows, not one of us were there to witness firsthand. This is from text sskins wrote. Given the tense situation at the moment and War time atrocities and stresses, I'm not passing judgment on Askins as others readily have, as I wasn't there in his shoes. We all may have handled things differently. Perhaps he WAS a war criminal. It's also possible the incident never even happened. I just have difficulty taking ANY writer 100% seriously, whether it's ones description of himself being a cold blooded gunman, or shooting an elk on the run at 400 yards with a .44 Magnum, or a CNN article. Writers get paid for writing. Editors also have been known to heavily "edit" stories to make them more dramatic or to their personal agenda. Speaking from experience, once you sign the contract and cash the check, THEY own the story. And they can and DO change whatever they want.

Last edited by shurshot; November 11, 2018 at 09:01 PM.
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