"Veteran Bert 'Termite' Shepard" ~ As we commemorate Veterans Day let us reflect on the words of Michel de Montaigne, "Valor is stability not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." Bert Shepard, a baseball pitcher, coach and veteran, exemplified these words. A common expression in Washington D.C. at the time was, "First in war, first in peace and last in the American League." In 1945, however, the Washington Senators had a pretty good team. Still above .500 in August, fans were feeling good about WWII nearing its end and the Senators chances for a pennant. Negativity about the team's chances began to creep in when they came upon a brutal stretch of schedule. The Sens had to play 10 games in five days. That's right, five consecutive doubleheaders. Winning a doubleheader is difficult. Winning five? Impossible. They almost did it. They would go 9-1 over those five days, pass the Yankees in the standings and remain on the Tigers heels in the pennant race 'til the end of the season...miraculous. Ironically, it's the one loss that remains in our baseball consciousness not the nine wins. In that lone loss of those 10 games, a 15-4 drubbing to the Boston Red Sox, three things would happen that would make the record books. First, Boston outfielder Tom McBride would tie a record and hit 6 RBI in one inning. Second, Washington relief pitcher Joe Cleary would surrender seven runs on five hits with three walks in only a third of an inning. His ERA of 189.00 remains the highest of any pitcher in history to record at least one out. And finally third, Bert Shepard would take the mound as the only pitcher with one leg to ever make an MLB start. He would shut down Boston in his 5.1 innings of relief allowing one run on three hits. Despite his brilliance that day and the cheers from the home crowd, it would be his only major league appearance ever. Those three things happening in one game are improbable, but not as improbable as Bert Shepard's one legged journey to the mound that day. Bert Shepard was born on June 28, 1920 in rural Indiana, corn country. His town of Dana was made famous by native son Ernie Pyle the great WWII correspondent who was born there. Bert was one of six brothers who all said that things just came natural to Bert. He excelled at everything he did. He signed his first minor league baseball contract of $60 while still in high school. He would bounce around the country for various teams playing first and pitching. He was released by teams often due to control issues and a high number of walks. In 1942, the war called and Bert joined the Army Air Corps. He trained in California and earned the rank of Lieutenant and became a P-38 fighter pilot. Stationed in England, his 55th Fighter Group was the first to fly combat missions over Berlin Germany during the day. In May 1944 his 55th Fighter Group baseball team was scheduled to have their "Opening Day." Bert was the team ace (both on the mound and in the air) and was team manager. Thinking he'd be back in time, he volunteered for his 34th combat mission of the war. It would be his last. With D-Day looming, his squadron was charged with strafing any railroad, fuel depot, bridge or military target they could find. It was on this mission, for which he volunteered, that he would be shot down. An anti-aircraft shell ripped through the bottom of his plane tearing his right leg apart causing him to hit his head so hard it fractured and he blacked out. It is estimated his plane was traveling close to 400 miles per hour when it hit the ground. A group of German farmers wanted to kill him but, of all people, a German Luftwaffe doctor from a nearby hospital drew his side piece to fend off the locals and then pulled Bert from his wrecked P-38. The hospital did not want to work on the fallen American pilot, but the Luftwaffe doctor, a lieutenant named Ladislaus Loidl, insisted they let him in and tended to Bert's leg himself, amputating it below the knee, saving Bert Shepard's life. Bert was sent to a German POW camp where he met a Canadian POW who helped fashion an artificial leg for him. Within a month Shepard was playing softball in the camp. The German doctor who performed the surgery was so delighted about Bert's progress that he ordered the hospital staff to pay the camp a visit to observe the American pilot they refused treatment. Shepard was returned home as part of a prisoner exchange in February 1945. The boat he was transported on had 37 other men with prosthesis fashioned by the Canadian Bert met in camp. His name was Don Errey and it is believed he helped 300 soldiers with artificial limbs while he was a POW. Bert's next stop was Walter Reed Hospital Bethesda, MD. It was here that Bert would meet Robert Patterson, Undersecretary of War. Patterson, upon learning of Bert's desire to get back into baseball, pulled some strings and asked Washington Senators owner Clark Griffin to give the war hero a chance. He did, signing Shepard to a coaching contract with a chance to pitch if he improved. Once healthy, Shepard would throw batting practice and exhibition games. Though he only pitched in that one MLB game, he would often pitch in charity games for the war effort. The Army used his story to inspire the many wounded vets returning back home. He also pitched for a group of amputees to raise money for soldiers who could no longer work. Bert would have six more amputation surgeries while he played baseball. His leg was often sore and raw, but he always stayed determined and kept his sense of humor. He laughed at his wooden leg inspired nickname "Termite." When he had trouble keeping his sock up a teammate suggested a rubber band. Bert quipped, "It will cut off my circulation." His team of leg amputees were called the "Flat Tires" and they would play a group of arm amputees called the "Broken Wings." Humor was key to healing. Bert used his notoriety to help the cause of amputees who had it far worse than he. He visited with and advocated for those who couldn't find work and adjust to their new life. He spent countless hours talking with wounded veterans about things only they could fully understand. Bert stayed positive, thankful that the injury happened to his right leg and not his left because he was a lefty pitcher and wouldn't be able to push off on his opposite leg. Shepard was named the starting pitcher in an exhibition game for the War Relief Effort against the Brooklyn Dodgers in July 1945. Before the game General Omar Bradley pinned the Airman's Medal on Shepard's baseball uniform. Later that summer on August 31, Shepard was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross between games of a doubleheader. When the season ended, the Senators finished second in the AL 1.5 games behind Detroit. Bert Shepard was cut the next day. Though his MLB career was over, he would stay in professional baseball until 1955. He would persevere, never losing focus of his dream, despite his setbacks. He spent those 10 years bouncing around the country from league to league living his dream. His reputation was so sterling among his teammates and players that when the Waterbury Timers, a Connecticut team of the Colonial League, said they could no longer pay his manager's salary of $4000 the players threatened to quit. Local merchants, upon hearing of the squabble, ponied up his salary for the season. Now married and having enough of traveling the country and rehabbing from multiple surgeries and re-amputations, Bert Shepard retired from baseball in 1955. He was 34 years old and the jersey he hung up also had a 34 on it. When asked why he chose that number, he said it represented the 34 missions he flew in the war. He and his wife Betty had four kids and settled in Modesto California, the last team Bert managed. He became an aircraft safety engineer for Hughes Aircraft. Future leg amputees would benefit from an ankle joint he invented to improve mobility. He would play in many charity golf events and often partnered with friend and fellow major leaguer Billy Martin. Shepard won the U.S. Amputee Golf Championship in 1968 and 1971. Bert had a full life only Hollywood could invent. He died in 2008 at the age of 88. Shepard never knew how he got out of his plane that day in 1944. He always wondered, "who saved my life." In 1992, Bert received a phone call from a man in England named Jamie Brundell. Brundell had been on a hunting trip with an Austrian doctor named Ladislaus Loidl, the man who saved Bert's life a half century before. Bert was stunned. A meeting was arranged and six months later Shepard and Loidl met in Austria. They embraced and didn't let go. Loidl told Bert how his wife made a beautiful dress out of his parachute. Bert told Loidl about his family and baseball career. "I wanted him to know that it was appreciated, that I was successful," Shepard said. "When he hugged me," Shepard went on to say, "These are the arms that pulled me out of that plane."