Story of a WW II American Tank Gunner

A black Opel automobile raced through the streets of Cologne, Germany, on March 6, 1945. The driver, 40-year-old Michael Delling, was making a run for it. Rather than stay in the city as American and German troops fought, he and his clerk, 26-year-old Katharina Esser, chose to run for the last remaining bridge to the east. Making his way through the rubble-strewn streets, Delling dashed into an intersection near the city's famous cathedral. The split-second decision was fatal. Machine-gun fire tore into the car. Tracer bullets ripped through its thin metal shell and into the bodies of the two civilians. The car came to a stop; Deller was dead, slumped over the steering wheel, and Esser managed to open the passenger door before tumbling to the pavement.