During WWII, the term 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder' had not yet been coined and the symptoms were chalked up to a catch-all term, 'Battle Fatigue'. But little was really known about the disorder...particularly the various ways it was manifested and the long-term effects. So, it's nice to see an episode that focuses on the problem...a problem VERY common to WWII pilots (as well as others).
An old friend of Colonel Gallagher is flying a mission with him when Gallagher is injured. As a result, his friend Colonel Wexler (James Daly) is temporarily placed in charge of the unit while Gallagher is recuperating. During that time, Wexler is given command of the unit.
During this time in charge, things seem okay with Wexler most of the time. But there are two problems. Wexler is overwhelmed with guilt about the death of the men and he really is having trouble coping with it. But the bigger problem is a common one to PTSD. When he's under stress and flying in combat, when the plane is attacked, he pops into another time and place and cannot distinguish this from the present. In one case, the flight engineer is shocked when Wexler orders everyone to bail out...while the plane is NOT about to crash at all! But Wexler soon recovers and denies he made the order...and the co-pilot backs him up. But the engineer is scared to fly with him and requests a transfer to another plane...though no one seems to believe him. Will Wexler's problem be revealed before he ends up killing others or himself?
I really appreciated this one, as PTSD was so common and is often NOT talked about during wars before the Vietnam War. It was a serious problem and many fighter pilots and their crew were horribly damaged emotionally by the stress and gore associated with their jobs.
By the way, a common complaint I have with the show (even though I like it) is the sloppy use of stock footage. In one scene, a B-17 is making a very low level bombing run (something it RARELY did) and the plane changes from a B-17 to a C-47 in mid-flight due to the bad use of this footage. This is akin to a Porsche sports car turning into a minivan in a cop show!