We meet Johnny Cloud’s freckle-faced crew chief, Shamrock, at the start. He’s earnest and takes pride in keeping Cloud’s Mustang in tip-top shape from tail to prop. But war is brutal, so he attaches a four-leafed clover badge on the cowling for good luck.
Shamrock confides that he worries about Cloud’s safety, and so he asks him: “What’s it really like up there?” Cloud pauses and says nothing. He cannot find the words to describe the horrors of combat, so he looks away.
On the next mission, the Happy Braves intercept a wave of German bombers; the fighting is fierce and two P-51s are lost along with their pilots, Stevens and Phil. The bombers are turned back, but Cloud feels demoralized.
When Cloud returns to base, Shamrock asks his question again. And, like before, Cloud is unable to answer.
When Cloud takes off the next day, Shamrock notices that the good luck emblem has fallen off. He waves his arms, but Cloud is gone. What little protection he could proffer is moot.
Shamrock panics!
The Happy Braves Flight pass over a trio of German tanks, but they press on to their target: a radar station. As they approach the target, flak gunners open fire, and with hot metal exploding all around them, the P-51s fail to destroy the station.
Before they can mount a second run at the radar station, a gaggle of Fw-190s emerge from the sun and force the Braves to retreat.
When the flight returns to base, they discover that the three tanks had attacked the airfield. Shamrock was taken. Cloud worries. Is Shamrock still alive?
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