There is a german veteran of the panzer korps. He was 17 when he was assigned as the kommanduer of a Panther in 1945. He was then posted to poland during the fighting retreat. While his convoy rested in a small polish town, a massive russian artilery barrage came in. He was standing out of the coupla of the turret when the first rounds hit. A shell from the inital wave hit very near to his tank and a large piece of shrapnell, said to be 10cm in length, punctured his cheek, landing in his mouth. He was thrown down into the body of the tank, saving him from any other wounds. When it was all over he and his crew emerged to see that little of the town was left. He was later just patched up and sent back to the front.
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"Victory at any Price!"
SS-Panzergrenadier