I've shared this story before but here it is again;
Back in 1983 during the dead of winter in West Germany, I was stationed on a mountain top among a ring of 28 launchers holding I-Hawk missiles. I was in the motor pool pulling an all night shift because the site operated 24hrs and needed repair support for the launchers and loaders vehicles. So, around midnight I ventured outside in a raging snowstorm, at 3800 ft, to trudge uphill to the ready room for coffee and a snack. It's only a few hundred feet so I didn't wear all of the heavy clothing that I should of. I got there okay and back too. While I was unlocking the door to get into the motor pool the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up. I had that feeling that something was behind me. I turned to my left, into the raging blizzard of snow and found myself looking at a 5 ton wrecker that had rolled towards me out of the gloom. The front bumper hit my left hipbone and pinned me to the door with my right arm behind me. I was stuck. As it turned out, the driver had not set the parking brake, either the mechanical or the air, and the truck was in neutral too. The wind pushed it down a slight incline towards me. So, there I was with a huge truck pinning me to the door. I theorized that if I managed to twist to either side the damn truck would roll forward and crush my ***. Or, maybe I couldn't get loose. I had to decide what to try and in a hurry as I was unprepared to be outside for long in that storm, the MP's were huddled on their guard shack 100 feet away upwind and wouldn't hear me shouting for help. Same deal in the other direction. After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was really only 20-30 seconds, I decided to try to twist away and dodge the bumper. I had decided to duck under the thing as it came forward. I decided that I would rather have my head crushed and die than have my legs crushed and live if I tried going up instead. I reasoned that I was already stiff and cold and leaping UP was not likely to be easy in such a state. I gathered my courage and twisted to the left, dropping like a stone under the front bumper. After a second or two I realized the truck had moved only an inch or so. What? WTH?
Come to find out in the morning that the trucks front axle pumpkin had been only an inch away from hitting the safety bollard in front of both sides of the roll up doors. I moved and the truck stopped as it hit the concrete bulge of the bollard.
The driver who last drove the truck got an article 15. I got a lot of x-rays and bruises. That left hip is now sore with arthritis in my old age., lol.
If that incline had been just a little steeper I would be in a wheel chair.
