We were using live ammunition during maneuvers in Germany when a phosphorus flare fell short, coming perilously close to me and some of my buddies. We did what most people do under such circumstances — we ran for our lives. “Get back to your weapons!” shouted the officer in charge. “Why are you men running?”

As one private ran past him, he answered the officer, “Because we can’t fly, sir.”
— Myron Epstein