Thirty-eight war time letters written by Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams are heading to auction. One of the letters Williams describes crash landing a plane that was so damaged it was full of holes.

“They’re his innermost thoughts during the Korean conflict,” said Troy Thibodeau, of Saco River Auction, which is putting the letters up for auction.

The letters were written to Evelyn Turner, a flight attendant, from 1952 to 1954, a period in which Williams trained in the U.S. and served in Korea as a Marine combat pilot. During the time, Williams served as wing man for future NASA astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn.

He wrote to Turner the day after he crash-landed his burning F9F Panther after a mission. He only sprained an ankle, but it could’ve been far worse.

“I had holes all over the plane and I was riding on all the prayers people say for me ’cause I was awfully lucky. My plane was burning like hell when I crash landed. Everybody around here now is calling me lucky. Anyway, I’m missing you,” he wrote. – AP

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