James T Magill

Army / World War II – Germany.  Company "D" 774th Tank Battalion Shell backfired while he was in a tank. Shell hit a fire extinguisher inside the tank and blew up which blinded JT for 52 days.  Lost section of elbow, only had skin keeping upper and lower arm attached.  His arm was stuck to where he couldn’t get out of the tank.  He asked another solider to just cut the skin, which would have lost him his arm, in order to get him out.  The situation was pretty bad around him.  But the soldier finally got him out without having to do this.  He was put onto a jeep to be taken towards the back lines.  During the ride, JT got shot in the back of the neck with the exit wound being in his shoulder.  As he arrived back at the hospital, another German shot JT in the leg.  JT was given a gun and was told to just shot straight ahead, although he couldn’t see, he was told he had killed the German. Was in the hospital in San Franciso, California for over a year.