sidevalve,
What a gripping tale - and how well told ! You were lucky that it was in high summer though - in a freezing Continental January it would've been another story altogether.
Looking forward to the next chapter. But space them out a bit to allow for comment and questions to come in from the readership (whatever did happen to your watch btw ? - must've been ripped off your wrist when you baled out).
$38 for a watch in US in 194? You bloated plutocrat ! I got quite a decent one for $5 (and a pair of Ray-Bans for the same money). The Ray-Bans ploughed the bridge off my nose later, during an unsceduled "arrival". The watch flew with me on all my ops, but got nicked on Quetta railway station. Its replacement (Rs150 then, a Longines, say £600 now), still ticks, but loses time badly in spite of a recent servicing. Current quartz job (£5 new) is a perfect timekeeper.
You can interpret my callsign: Danny42C (Arnold Scheme).