Pincus P. Taback
Diary
The following DIARY has been contributed from an original 'Flying Sergeant' of the 82nd Fighter Group / 97th Fighter Squadron, Pincus P. Taback. He retired from the USAF with the rank of Lt. Col. The DIARY covers the time frame when the 82nd Fighter Group left Long Beach, until he returned to the States after completing his 50 missions.
Diary
The following DIARY has been contributed from an original 'Flying Sergeant' of the 82nd Fighter Group / 97th Fighter Squadron, Pincus P. Taback. He retired from the USAF with the rank of Lt. Col. The DIARY covers the time frame when the 82nd Fighter Group left Long Beach, until he returned to the States after completing his 50 missions.
September 1942
Wed. 9/16/42....Left Long Beach, Ca.
Thurs. 9/17/42....Enroute to East Coast by train. Tiresome trip.
Fri. 9/18/42....Still on the train.
Sat. 9/19/42....Still on the train.
Sun. 9/20/42....Trip very tiresome. We're still on the train.
Mon. 9/21/42....Reached New Jersey, finally.
Tues. 9/22/42....At Camp Kilmer. Finally got home.
Wed. 9/23/42....Still at Kilmer.
Thur. 9/24/42....Confined to Post, before leaving States.
Fri. 9/25/42....Still confined to Kilmer.
Sat. 9/26/42....Left Kilmer. Got on the Queen Mary in the evening. The Queen Mary put out to sea this a.m.
Sun. 9/27/42....First day out on the Queen Mary.
Mon. 9/28/42....Everything going along fine. Still not sea sick.
Tues. 9/29/42....Queen Mary still purring along fine.
Wed. 9/30/42....Still on the Mary.
Thurs. 9/17/42....Enroute to East Coast by train. Tiresome trip.
Fri. 9/18/42....Still on the train.
Sat. 9/19/42....Still on the train.
Sun. 9/20/42....Trip very tiresome. We're still on the train.
Mon. 9/21/42....Reached New Jersey, finally.
Tues. 9/22/42....At Camp Kilmer. Finally got home.
Wed. 9/23/42....Still at Kilmer.
Thur. 9/24/42....Confined to Post, before leaving States.
Fri. 9/25/42....Still confined to Kilmer.
Sat. 9/26/42....Left Kilmer. Got on the Queen Mary in the evening. The Queen Mary put out to sea this a.m.
Sun. 9/27/42....First day out on the Queen Mary.
Mon. 9/28/42....Everything going along fine. Still not sea sick.
Tues. 9/29/42....Queen Mary still purring along fine.
Wed. 9/30/42....Still on the Mary.
October/November/December 1942
Thur. 10/1/42....Food on the Queen Mary pretty good. Still not sea sick.
Fri. 10/2/42....Trip uneventful until we ran into one of the British destroyers, we picked up for escort. Split the ship in two. It sank in about five minutes.
Sat. 10/3/42....Finally pulled into a harbor off Glasgow, Scotland. The Queen Mary had a big hole in her bow. Our speed had been cut from 45 knots to 12 knots.
Sun. 10/4/42....Switched to a small boat, which took us all to Belfast the next morning.
Mon. 10/5/42....Arrived by train at Maydown, No. Ireland. Five miles from Londonberry.
Tues. 10/6/42 to 12/15/42.....At Maydown.
Fri. 10/2/42....Trip uneventful until we ran into one of the British destroyers, we picked up for escort. Split the ship in two. It sank in about five minutes.
Sat. 10/3/42....Finally pulled into a harbor off Glasgow, Scotland. The Queen Mary had a big hole in her bow. Our speed had been cut from 45 knots to 12 knots.
Sun. 10/4/42....Switched to a small boat, which took us all to Belfast the next morning.
Mon. 10/5/42....Arrived by train at Maydown, No. Ireland. Five miles from Londonberry.
Tues. 10/6/42 to 12/15/42.....At Maydown.
December 1942
Wed. 12/16/42....Left Maydown in formation. Ran into bad weather. Landed at Llandbedi, No. Wales. Almost out of gas.
Thur. 12/17/42....Llandbedi, No. Wales. Weather bad. No take-off.
Fri. 12/18/42....Left Llandbedi. Landed at St. Eval, So. England.
Sat. 12/19/42....Attempted trip to Oran, No. Africa. Weather bad. Trip postponed. Still at St. Eval getting monotonous waiting.
Sun. 12/20/42....Still waiting. Bunch of the 97th came in from Maydown.
Mon. 12/21/42....Still waiting. Nothing to do.
Tues. 12/22/42....No soap. Still waiting for good weather.
Wed. 12/23/42....Took off in mass flight for Oran, No. Africa. I lost the formation. Made the trip alone. Landed at Gibraltar. Getting late. Lt. Green shot down by JU 88 Broadhead?
Thur. 12/24/42....Took off from Gibraltar and landed at Tafaroui (Oran) after two hours flying. Field muddy as hell!!
Fri. 12/25/42...."CHRISTMAS". Took off to ferry our ships (25) to 1st Ftr. Grp. Major Vaughn lost. We returned to Oran after being separated.
Sat. 12/26/42....Took off again for Biskra and turned over (25) ships to the 1st Fighter Group. Kinda pissed off because I had to give away "2073", a darn good ship.
Sun. 12/27/42....No transport to take us back, so we remained at Biskra.
Mon. 12/28/42....Still at Biskra. Took off at 04:15 in a transport ship. Ran into bad weather. Pilot and navigator lost. It began to get dark. Crash landed, wheels up. No one hurt. Town "M'sila".
Tue. 12/29/42....Still at M'sila. Arabs & French treated us wonderfully. Plenty of food and wine.
Wed. 12/30/42....Left M'sila in a G.I. truck. Arrived at Blida after a full day in the back of the truck.
Thur. 12/31/42....Still at Blida. Spent a dull New Years Eve. Just had a little wine with some of the boys.
Thur. 12/17/42....Llandbedi, No. Wales. Weather bad. No take-off.
Fri. 12/18/42....Left Llandbedi. Landed at St. Eval, So. England.
Sat. 12/19/42....Attempted trip to Oran, No. Africa. Weather bad. Trip postponed. Still at St. Eval getting monotonous waiting.
Sun. 12/20/42....Still waiting. Bunch of the 97th came in from Maydown.
Mon. 12/21/42....Still waiting. Nothing to do.
Tues. 12/22/42....No soap. Still waiting for good weather.
Wed. 12/23/42....Took off in mass flight for Oran, No. Africa. I lost the formation. Made the trip alone. Landed at Gibraltar. Getting late. Lt. Green shot down by JU 88 Broadhead?
Thur. 12/24/42....Took off from Gibraltar and landed at Tafaroui (Oran) after two hours flying. Field muddy as hell!!
Fri. 12/25/42...."CHRISTMAS". Took off to ferry our ships (25) to 1st Ftr. Grp. Major Vaughn lost. We returned to Oran after being separated.
Sat. 12/26/42....Took off again for Biskra and turned over (25) ships to the 1st Fighter Group. Kinda pissed off because I had to give away "2073", a darn good ship.
Sun. 12/27/42....No transport to take us back, so we remained at Biskra.
Mon. 12/28/42....Still at Biskra. Took off at 04:15 in a transport ship. Ran into bad weather. Pilot and navigator lost. It began to get dark. Crash landed, wheels up. No one hurt. Town "M'sila".
Tue. 12/29/42....Still at M'sila. Arabs & French treated us wonderfully. Plenty of food and wine.
Wed. 12/30/42....Left M'sila in a G.I. truck. Arrived at Blida after a full day in the back of the truck.
Thur. 12/31/42....Still at Blida. Spent a dull New Years Eve. Just had a little wine with some of the boys.
January 1943
Fri. 1/1/43....Took off from Blida. Landed at Tafaroui. Was glad to see all the boys got in from Gibraltar and Casablanca.
Sat. 1/2/43....Some of the boys took the new ships to our new base to be "Telergma". We were sweating out transports to take us without P-38's.
Sun. 1/3/43.....'11' transports took us to Bilda where we were suppose to pickup 'escort'. No soap, so we stayed over night.
Mon. 1/4/43.....Took off from Blida and landed at Telergma. Spent the rest of the getting settled.
Tues. 1/5/43.....Still getting things fit to live in. Everything all set now. 95th went on their first mission.
Wed. 1/6/43.....Went on my first mission today. Escorted B-25's to Target Kairouen. All ships returned. Mission a success.
Thur. 1/7/43.....97th off. 96th escorted B-26's. Harril Helton did not come back. Believed shot down.
Fri. 1/8/43.....95th mission. Lt. Murphy did not come back. 97th took off. I was on Col. Loe's wing. Escorted B-26's. My right engine shot up. Returned on one engine. Crashed on landing. Ship burned. Col. Loe missing. One Fw190, one victory for the 97th. Pete, A.White, Lund, and Rounds shot down the Fw190. A.White won the toss for the victory.
Sat. 1/9/43.....Nothing much doing today. Spent most of the day resting after yesterdays exciting episode.
Sun. 1/10/43.....96th escorted B-26's. Lt. Veal of the 96th shot down. One B-26 shot down by flak. Five of the crew bailed out.
Mon. 1/11/43.....95th's day. But all missions were called off. Maj. Young brought in a case of Scotch this evening and everybody got somewhat tight. A long needed celebration.
Tues. 1/12/43.....Maj. Young, Rounds, McDaniel and myself took off to escort one B-26 on a reconnaissance flight near Gabes. Jumped by P-40's but they finally left. Ran into bad weather. Landed at CanRoberte. McDainel returned after takeoff from base.
Wed. 1/13/43.....Treated swell by Britishers. Good meals. Took off for Telergma and landed without B-26. It wasn't gassed as yet. Received a pkg. of food, etc. from the'Y' . Had a feast. Witt made C. O.
Thur. 1/14/43.....Maj. Young now Group Executive in place of Col. Loe. We escorted 6 B-26's on an anti-shipping mission. Didn't see any ships. Came back right on the deck. Some of the boys did some strafing. All ships returned. Had lost of fun. Prefer B-25's.
Fri. 1/15/43.....My day of rest today. Received a sweater from Lee and Leo. Wrote some letters. 96th escorted B-26's today. They lost Black and Randall. They had a forced landing in our territory. Lt. Hawes claimed two victories and one probable.
Sat. 1/16/43.....Was awakened with a 'BANG' this morning. Lt. Kinsey (95th) ran into a B-26 on takeoff. Blowing up the two bombs in it. Both ships burned up. Kinsey got away with a few burns and scratches. No mission for me today. Everything was quiet all day. Received some old mail.
Sun. 1/17/43.....97th day. I stayed home. Too many missions. Witt got a Ju88, Pete a Ju52, Visscher a Ju52. Lund dipped a wing in the water, climbed up but hasn't been seen since. A quiet day for me. Wrote some letters. Received three.
Mon. 1/18/43.....96th was scheduled for an important mission. Took off but returned in a half an hour. B-26's came back. Reason unknown to us. Still resting with not much to do. A quiet day. No Mail. No word about Lund. Elliott from the 96th shot himself in the ankle accidently.
Tue. 1/19/43.....A quiet day for me and the rest of the Group. 95th was scheduled but not a thing turned up. No mail today. Had a little feast tonight. Eggs and ham and cigars to top it off.
Wed. 1/20/43.....War is sure hell. This is the 6th day I've been on the ground just resting. 95th went out today. Target overcast. No bombing. No planes sighted. Received 3 V letters from Harriett.
Thur. 1/21/43.....A rough day today. Lost Lewis and Luddington. A.White, Morgan, and Pratt each got a Me109. J.White and Atteberry each got an Italian bomber. Boys felt quite low so most of them got drunk. I didn't but I don't blame them. I stayed on the ground again.
Fri. 1/22/43.....95th day. Mission completed. No loss of men. I stood on the ground and glad of it, because Martha Raye, Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair and Carol Landis were here and put on a swell show. Sure surprised me, to see them here at the front.
Sat. 1/23/43.....We went on an anti-shipping mission today. Swell day. Sunk two ships and probably damaged two. Thompson got one Italian bomber after a toss of the coin. Larson got back on one engine at another field. Our flight escorted the one crippled bomber until she belly landed on the water. Entire crew safe.
Sun. 1/24/43.....96th day. Capt. Lynn while on the deck got too low and his props hit the ground. He belly landed and got out OK. Don't know when he will get back. A quiet day for me. I wrote a few letters. Got none.
Mon. 1/25/43.....Nothing much doing today. No missions because of weather. A very quiet day with no mail coming in. I wrote a couple of letters before going to bed.
Tue. 1/26/43.....Still no missions today. Also no mail. Received word that Capt. Lynn of the 96th was safe and sound with some French Forces. Wrote a few letters. Air raid went off but no action. Thank God!! This happens quite often.
Wed. 1/27/43.....95th finally went out today. They had no trouble at all. The all returned after finding overcast over the target. A quiet day for me. I received an old letter from Harriett.
Thur. 1/28/43.....We went out today escorting B-26's. Were jumped by a couple of Me109's. No victories, No losses. The bombers had no targets. No mail today. Capt. Reyerson came in today alone. The rest of the boys still at Oran.
Fri. 1/29/43.....Our day off. 95th and 96th went out. Bombers had a wonderful anti-shipping day. Both 95th and 96th had one victory each. A quiet day for me. Received a swell letter from Harriett.
Sat. 1/30/43.....We went out today anti-shipping. No victories, No losses. 96th ran into a mess. Lost Capt. Smally, Lt. Winston, Lt. Delahunt. Zubarik was thought lost but showed up in the late afternoon. He was shot up (his ship) and crash landed in a dry lake about 30 minutes from here. Sure was glad to see Zubarik back. We ran into a helva lot of flak all of a sudden. McDaniel was gone. I thought he was gone for good but he returned home. Just got seven pilots from the 14th Fighter Group. All new boys. The Group got all new boys.
Sun. 1/31/43.....We went out, escorted B-26's (Gabes). Bombers did a good job. One flight got jumped by Me109's. Ace White got another victory. Pratt and Knell are missing. Bomber gunner said he saw one P-38 belly land in flames and pilot got out. I hope he's right. 95th went out and after a bad scare they all got back. Three landed at Bone for gas.
Sat. 1/2/43....Some of the boys took the new ships to our new base to be "Telergma". We were sweating out transports to take us without P-38's.
Sun. 1/3/43.....'11' transports took us to Bilda where we were suppose to pickup 'escort'. No soap, so we stayed over night.
Mon. 1/4/43.....Took off from Blida and landed at Telergma. Spent the rest of the getting settled.
Tues. 1/5/43.....Still getting things fit to live in. Everything all set now. 95th went on their first mission.
Wed. 1/6/43.....Went on my first mission today. Escorted B-25's to Target Kairouen. All ships returned. Mission a success.
Thur. 1/7/43.....97th off. 96th escorted B-26's. Harril Helton did not come back. Believed shot down.
Fri. 1/8/43.....95th mission. Lt. Murphy did not come back. 97th took off. I was on Col. Loe's wing. Escorted B-26's. My right engine shot up. Returned on one engine. Crashed on landing. Ship burned. Col. Loe missing. One Fw190, one victory for the 97th. Pete, A.White, Lund, and Rounds shot down the Fw190. A.White won the toss for the victory.
Sat. 1/9/43.....Nothing much doing today. Spent most of the day resting after yesterdays exciting episode.
Sun. 1/10/43.....96th escorted B-26's. Lt. Veal of the 96th shot down. One B-26 shot down by flak. Five of the crew bailed out.
Mon. 1/11/43.....95th's day. But all missions were called off. Maj. Young brought in a case of Scotch this evening and everybody got somewhat tight. A long needed celebration.
Tues. 1/12/43.....Maj. Young, Rounds, McDaniel and myself took off to escort one B-26 on a reconnaissance flight near Gabes. Jumped by P-40's but they finally left. Ran into bad weather. Landed at CanRoberte. McDainel returned after takeoff from base.
Wed. 1/13/43.....Treated swell by Britishers. Good meals. Took off for Telergma and landed without B-26. It wasn't gassed as yet. Received a pkg. of food, etc. from the'Y' . Had a feast. Witt made C. O.
Thur. 1/14/43.....Maj. Young now Group Executive in place of Col. Loe. We escorted 6 B-26's on an anti-shipping mission. Didn't see any ships. Came back right on the deck. Some of the boys did some strafing. All ships returned. Had lost of fun. Prefer B-25's.
Fri. 1/15/43.....My day of rest today. Received a sweater from Lee and Leo. Wrote some letters. 96th escorted B-26's today. They lost Black and Randall. They had a forced landing in our territory. Lt. Hawes claimed two victories and one probable.
Sat. 1/16/43.....Was awakened with a 'BANG' this morning. Lt. Kinsey (95th) ran into a B-26 on takeoff. Blowing up the two bombs in it. Both ships burned up. Kinsey got away with a few burns and scratches. No mission for me today. Everything was quiet all day. Received some old mail.
Sun. 1/17/43.....97th day. I stayed home. Too many missions. Witt got a Ju88, Pete a Ju52, Visscher a Ju52. Lund dipped a wing in the water, climbed up but hasn't been seen since. A quiet day for me. Wrote some letters. Received three.
Mon. 1/18/43.....96th was scheduled for an important mission. Took off but returned in a half an hour. B-26's came back. Reason unknown to us. Still resting with not much to do. A quiet day. No Mail. No word about Lund. Elliott from the 96th shot himself in the ankle accidently.
Tue. 1/19/43.....A quiet day for me and the rest of the Group. 95th was scheduled but not a thing turned up. No mail today. Had a little feast tonight. Eggs and ham and cigars to top it off.
Wed. 1/20/43.....War is sure hell. This is the 6th day I've been on the ground just resting. 95th went out today. Target overcast. No bombing. No planes sighted. Received 3 V letters from Harriett.
Thur. 1/21/43.....A rough day today. Lost Lewis and Luddington. A.White, Morgan, and Pratt each got a Me109. J.White and Atteberry each got an Italian bomber. Boys felt quite low so most of them got drunk. I didn't but I don't blame them. I stayed on the ground again.
Fri. 1/22/43.....95th day. Mission completed. No loss of men. I stood on the ground and glad of it, because Martha Raye, Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair and Carol Landis were here and put on a swell show. Sure surprised me, to see them here at the front.
Sat. 1/23/43.....We went on an anti-shipping mission today. Swell day. Sunk two ships and probably damaged two. Thompson got one Italian bomber after a toss of the coin. Larson got back on one engine at another field. Our flight escorted the one crippled bomber until she belly landed on the water. Entire crew safe.
Sun. 1/24/43.....96th day. Capt. Lynn while on the deck got too low and his props hit the ground. He belly landed and got out OK. Don't know when he will get back. A quiet day for me. I wrote a few letters. Got none.
Mon. 1/25/43.....Nothing much doing today. No missions because of weather. A very quiet day with no mail coming in. I wrote a couple of letters before going to bed.
Tue. 1/26/43.....Still no missions today. Also no mail. Received word that Capt. Lynn of the 96th was safe and sound with some French Forces. Wrote a few letters. Air raid went off but no action. Thank God!! This happens quite often.
Wed. 1/27/43.....95th finally went out today. They had no trouble at all. The all returned after finding overcast over the target. A quiet day for me. I received an old letter from Harriett.
Thur. 1/28/43.....We went out today escorting B-26's. Were jumped by a couple of Me109's. No victories, No losses. The bombers had no targets. No mail today. Capt. Reyerson came in today alone. The rest of the boys still at Oran.
Fri. 1/29/43.....Our day off. 95th and 96th went out. Bombers had a wonderful anti-shipping day. Both 95th and 96th had one victory each. A quiet day for me. Received a swell letter from Harriett.
Sat. 1/30/43.....We went out today anti-shipping. No victories, No losses. 96th ran into a mess. Lost Capt. Smally, Lt. Winston, Lt. Delahunt. Zubarik was thought lost but showed up in the late afternoon. He was shot up (his ship) and crash landed in a dry lake about 30 minutes from here. Sure was glad to see Zubarik back. We ran into a helva lot of flak all of a sudden. McDaniel was gone. I thought he was gone for good but he returned home. Just got seven pilots from the 14th Fighter Group. All new boys. The Group got all new boys.
Sun. 1/31/43.....We went out, escorted B-26's (Gabes). Bombers did a good job. One flight got jumped by Me109's. Ace White got another victory. Pratt and Knell are missing. Bomber gunner said he saw one P-38 belly land in flames and pilot got out. I hope he's right. 95th went out and after a bad scare they all got back. Three landed at Bone for gas.
February 1943
Mon. 2/1/43.....Eight of our boys escorted B-17's high altitude over Tunis. Bombers did a swell job and all ships returned. Ace White gave us a scare but he came in later after being lost. Just heard Decker is missing. No one over at the 1st Fighter Group knows what happened. I rested today.
Tue. 2/2/43.....A quiet day for me. Our Sqd. was off. 96th had a fairly good day. They got 7 victories. Also lost one of our new boys from the 14th. 95th went out and all came back, nothing sighted by them or the bombers. Received a letter from Ess and Paul and also from Milt Brietman.
Wed. 2/3/43.....Our day today. Rough day for the morning flight. We lost two new boys, Johnson and Wilson. McAuliffe and Visscher's flights had running fights all the way. My mission this afternoon was OK. Target bombed. No fighters sighted. All ships return safe. No mail today.
Thur. 2/4/43.....My day off. Pete's and McD's flights went with the 95th. No bombing. Overcast. No one knew what happened to the two missing boys. (Grady & Doddridge). No one saw the attacked. No mail today. Hope they show up.
Fri. 2/5/43.....Our day off. Weather bad. No missions. Received a package of figs and dates and nuts from the Lewis Family. I rested all day and wrote a few letters.
Sat. 2/6/43.....Went into Constantine today. Took a bath and shower,etc. Slept in a bed for a change. Saw an American Show, "Breakfast for Two". It's a damn nice town. Had a few drinks (wine) at the casino. Also had some swell meals. Surprised at seeing so many French women. No kidding. Weather bad, no missions for the 95th or 96th.
Sun. 2/7/43.....Got back home from Constanine 1 o'clock. 95th and 96th went out today. believe they got 3 victories. Thought we lost Maj. Vaughn but he came in 7 o'clock on one engine. A night landing. Got two letters from Harriett. Answered them.
Mon. 2/8/43.....Went out today escorting B-26's and B-25's. ?4 of us at the target 6 returns. We lost Dunn but we got 8-Me109's and 2 damaged. Boy we had some Dog Fights!!! Never saw so many planes going different directions in all my life. Didn't see the bombing. Was too busy!!
Tue. 2/9/43.....96th went out but back in a short while. Not enough fighter escort. Laid around and did nothing all day. A much needed rest after yesterdays workout. No mail at all for me.
Wed. 2/10/43.....96th went out today. Our day off The rest of the outfit came in. Was sure glad to see them all for the first time since Ireland. Began to snow today. Received a letter from Milt. Answered it.
Thur. 2/11/43.....Bad weather. It rained all day. No missions. Sat in most of the day reading, writing a couple of letters and eating. we had quite a little feast this evening.
Fri. 2/12/43.....No missions today. Field was too muddy (non-operational). Everything is muddy as hell.No mail today.
Sat. 2/13/43.....95th went out today. All returned without seeing any enemy fighters. Report says they lost two B-26's. A bunch new replacement pilots came in with new planes for us. No mail today.
Sun. 2/14/43.....'12' of our boys went out on anti-shipping with the 1st FG. Saw nothing. All returned. I sat around all day. No mail.
Mon. 2/15/43.....Four of us went out with the 96th escorting B-26's. Got jumped but all returned safely. Ace White and Sloan claimed one victory each. No mail today. Jackson came back on one engine. Got hit between the right boom and the gondola. A hole as big as a football.
Tue. 2/16/43.....95th went out on anti-shipping. Ran into bad weather and returned. I was supposed to escort - Gen. Marshall but bad weather stopped us. Nothing much doing today. Met an old buddy I played baseball with at Mitchel Field, Dick Farr also met 'Spic' Cordover.
Wed. 2/17/43.....95th and 96th went out to Sardinia. Kinsey got an Italian bomber. B-25's and B-26's did the bombing. Osher's whole flight missing. No mail today. Had dinner at the French Commandant's house. Very nice people.
Thur. 2/18/43.....Bad weather prevented us from going out today. Not much doing all day. I did a little reading, etc. Received 'V' mail from Evy Lewis Rosenthal and Sylvia Schwartz. Osher's flight all accounted for.
Fri. 2/19/43.....Bad weather again stopped us from going out. Laid around all day. We did a little cooking in our room. Visited the French family across the way again. No mail.
Sat. 2/20/43.....Bad weather again. No missions today. Received some rations today. Chocolate, Life Savers, etc. No mail.
Sun. 2/21/43.....Left for Casablanca today on C-47. Landed at Algiers. Spent the night there. Heard that Towson and Washburn went into the 'drink' after getting an He177. Alert sirens went on in the middle of the night here, but no bombing. Alert siren again about 0500 in the morning,but still no bombing.
Mon. 2/22/43.....Left Algiers for Casablanca on a C-47. Got in there in the afternoon after stopping at LeSenia. Saw Capt. Norris at LeSenia also Cox, Walker, Miller, and Gerry Rounds. Saw Seltz and Liebers at Casablanca.
Tue. 2/23/43.....Casablanca is great!! They've got everything compared to us at the front. Had swell meals, etc.
Wed. 2/24/43.....Still here at Casablanca. Ate some meals at the Hotel Souisse. Met Col. Cochran my old C.O. Boy was I happy to see him.
Thur. 2/25/43.....Still here. Had a long bull session with Col. Cochran. Gosh what a memory he has. He remembered everything about me. Saw a show at the Souisse Hotel.
Fri. 2/26/43.....Still here. Oh yes, I visited town quite a bit. Quite a place. Ate ice cream for the first time in months. Purchased a bunch of shoulder holsters for the boys.
Sat. 2/27/43.....Leading '16' ships. Landed in Algiers and spent the night there. Heard that Leon Bass was killed.
Sun. 2/28/43.....Took off leading them all to Telergma. All O.K. Boys came back from a mission. J. White shot up quite a bit but returned. Ace White showed up later. Heffington missing.
Tue. 2/2/43.....A quiet day for me. Our Sqd. was off. 96th had a fairly good day. They got 7 victories. Also lost one of our new boys from the 14th. 95th went out and all came back, nothing sighted by them or the bombers. Received a letter from Ess and Paul and also from Milt Brietman.
Wed. 2/3/43.....Our day today. Rough day for the morning flight. We lost two new boys, Johnson and Wilson. McAuliffe and Visscher's flights had running fights all the way. My mission this afternoon was OK. Target bombed. No fighters sighted. All ships return safe. No mail today.
Thur. 2/4/43.....My day off. Pete's and McD's flights went with the 95th. No bombing. Overcast. No one knew what happened to the two missing boys. (Grady & Doddridge). No one saw the attacked. No mail today. Hope they show up.
Fri. 2/5/43.....Our day off. Weather bad. No missions. Received a package of figs and dates and nuts from the Lewis Family. I rested all day and wrote a few letters.
Sat. 2/6/43.....Went into Constantine today. Took a bath and shower,etc. Slept in a bed for a change. Saw an American Show, "Breakfast for Two". It's a damn nice town. Had a few drinks (wine) at the casino. Also had some swell meals. Surprised at seeing so many French women. No kidding. Weather bad, no missions for the 95th or 96th.
Sun. 2/7/43.....Got back home from Constanine 1 o'clock. 95th and 96th went out today. believe they got 3 victories. Thought we lost Maj. Vaughn but he came in 7 o'clock on one engine. A night landing. Got two letters from Harriett. Answered them.
Mon. 2/8/43.....Went out today escorting B-26's and B-25's. ?4 of us at the target 6 returns. We lost Dunn but we got 8-Me109's and 2 damaged. Boy we had some Dog Fights!!! Never saw so many planes going different directions in all my life. Didn't see the bombing. Was too busy!!
Tue. 2/9/43.....96th went out but back in a short while. Not enough fighter escort. Laid around and did nothing all day. A much needed rest after yesterdays workout. No mail at all for me.
Wed. 2/10/43.....96th went out today. Our day off The rest of the outfit came in. Was sure glad to see them all for the first time since Ireland. Began to snow today. Received a letter from Milt. Answered it.
Thur. 2/11/43.....Bad weather. It rained all day. No missions. Sat in most of the day reading, writing a couple of letters and eating. we had quite a little feast this evening.
Fri. 2/12/43.....No missions today. Field was too muddy (non-operational). Everything is muddy as hell.No mail today.
Sat. 2/13/43.....95th went out today. All returned without seeing any enemy fighters. Report says they lost two B-26's. A bunch new replacement pilots came in with new planes for us. No mail today.
Sun. 2/14/43.....'12' of our boys went out on anti-shipping with the 1st FG. Saw nothing. All returned. I sat around all day. No mail.
Mon. 2/15/43.....Four of us went out with the 96th escorting B-26's. Got jumped but all returned safely. Ace White and Sloan claimed one victory each. No mail today. Jackson came back on one engine. Got hit between the right boom and the gondola. A hole as big as a football.
Tue. 2/16/43.....95th went out on anti-shipping. Ran into bad weather and returned. I was supposed to escort - Gen. Marshall but bad weather stopped us. Nothing much doing today. Met an old buddy I played baseball with at Mitchel Field, Dick Farr also met 'Spic' Cordover.
Wed. 2/17/43.....95th and 96th went out to Sardinia. Kinsey got an Italian bomber. B-25's and B-26's did the bombing. Osher's whole flight missing. No mail today. Had dinner at the French Commandant's house. Very nice people.
Thur. 2/18/43.....Bad weather prevented us from going out today. Not much doing all day. I did a little reading, etc. Received 'V' mail from Evy Lewis Rosenthal and Sylvia Schwartz. Osher's flight all accounted for.
Fri. 2/19/43.....Bad weather again stopped us from going out. Laid around all day. We did a little cooking in our room. Visited the French family across the way again. No mail.
Sat. 2/20/43.....Bad weather again. No missions today. Received some rations today. Chocolate, Life Savers, etc. No mail.
Sun. 2/21/43.....Left for Casablanca today on C-47. Landed at Algiers. Spent the night there. Heard that Towson and Washburn went into the 'drink' after getting an He177. Alert sirens went on in the middle of the night here, but no bombing. Alert siren again about 0500 in the morning,but still no bombing.
Mon. 2/22/43.....Left Algiers for Casablanca on a C-47. Got in there in the afternoon after stopping at LeSenia. Saw Capt. Norris at LeSenia also Cox, Walker, Miller, and Gerry Rounds. Saw Seltz and Liebers at Casablanca.
Tue. 2/23/43.....Casablanca is great!! They've got everything compared to us at the front. Had swell meals, etc.
Wed. 2/24/43.....Still here at Casablanca. Ate some meals at the Hotel Souisse. Met Col. Cochran my old C.O. Boy was I happy to see him.
Thur. 2/25/43.....Still here. Had a long bull session with Col. Cochran. Gosh what a memory he has. He remembered everything about me. Saw a show at the Souisse Hotel.
Fri. 2/26/43.....Still here. Oh yes, I visited town quite a bit. Quite a place. Ate ice cream for the first time in months. Purchased a bunch of shoulder holsters for the boys.
Sat. 2/27/43.....Leading '16' ships. Landed in Algiers and spent the night there. Heard that Leon Bass was killed.
Sun. 2/28/43.....Took off leading them all to Telergma. All O.K. Boys came back from a mission. J. White shot up quite a bit but returned. Ace White showed up later. Heffington missing.
March 1943
Mon. 3/1/43.....Eight of us were supposed to go out with the 96th. Six of us didn't go. Ships not gassed, radios, etc. Ceawford got two Me109s and G. Rounds got one. I didn't do much today except answering the mail I received from Harriett, Leo, Paul, and the Folks. Found out Heffington bailed out in enemy territory.
Tue. 3/2/43.....Nothing doing all day today. No missions at all but don't know why? The weather's good. Spent most of the day writing letters and listening to the radio.
Wed. 3/3/43.....Escorted B-25s today. Pryor hit by flak but got back on one engine. All ships returned. 96th escorted B-26s. Scott hit by flak. Boys saw him go down. 8 of the 95th went with us. All O.K. Ace White had to land at another field. Short on gas.
Thur. 3/4/43.....Went on anti-shipping today off Tunis and Bizerti. Gasaway got hit by Witt's belly tank. Went into the drink. Caputo and Morgan returned on one engine. Morgan landed at Bone. 96th also out on anti-shipping. Didn't see anything. Our bombers (B-26s) missed their target by at least 300 yards. Piss Poor !!
Fri. 3/5/43.....Nothing doing today. Did some letter writing and reading. No missions at all by any of the Squadrons. No mail from home today.
Sat. 3/6/43.....95th went out but saw nothing. We did nothing all day. No mail from home today. No lights so I couldn't write any letters.
Sun. 3/7/43.....We went out on anti-shipping with the B-25s. Ran into a big convoy escorted by Ju88s, Me109s, and Italian fighters etc, etc. Wittliff got a Ju88 and an Italian fighter. Pete a Ju88, Walker got the seaplane Cant 506. I shot at a Ju88, a Me109, and also a Cant. 506. "No confirmation"!!
Mon. 3/8/43.....Nothing doing all day. Bad weather. A dreary day with nothing to do. No mail from home.
Tue. 3/9/43.....No missions today. Weather good. I had a flight of four ships on an oxygen hop up to 26000 ft. My birthday today "24" years old. No celebration at all. No mail today.
Wed. 3/10/43.....Nothing doing today. Weather's bad. No mail from home. Wrote 3 letters home. Left for Constantine. Slept at a RAF Hotel. Saw a show at the Casino Theater.
Thur. 3/11/43.....Left Constantine after lunch today. Came back to find eight of our boys went on a mission. Atteberry and Ace White each got a Me110. No mail today.
Fri. 3/12/43.....We went on a mission today. '32' ships. 16 of ours and 16 from the 96th. 96th got two Italian ships. Bombers got some hits on a convoy of barges. No mail today.
Sat. 3/13/43.....95th went out today. They saw nothing at all. We sat around. Oh yes, we moved to different quarters. About 150 yards from our old place. No mail today. Just heard officially that K.K. Lund was a prisoner of war. Everybody happy. We thought he was gone for good.
Sun. 3/14/43.....Nothing doing today. Six of us took a bath at the Hot Springs. Got two letters, one from Leo and one from Harriett. I answered Leo's letter.
Mon. 3/15/43.....We went out with the 96th on a ground target, Airdrome near Merzouva. We got jumped by 6 Me109s. Jackson of the 96th got hit. He crashed landed in safe territory. McNaulty got one Me109.
Tue. 3/16/43.....We went out with the 95th escorting a new outfit of B-25s. The sky was completely overcast and the bombers milled around over enemy territory until we told them to return home. All ships returned o.k. Recieved a letter from Harry Lewis. Jackson got back ! (note I omitted Wed. 3/17/43- I don't know why?)
Thur. 3/18/43.....Our day off. No missions. It's been raining all day. The men got flooded out of their pup tents. Everything is muddy as hell !! Received a letter from Leo and also from the 'Y'. Answered Leo's letter and also Harry Lewis'.
Fri. 3/19/43.....Field was unoperational. No missions today. Wrote a bunch of letters. Laid around all day. We now have to carry our gas masks and helmets. All pilots confined. Big push is suppose to begin.
Sat. 3/20/43.....Eight of us went out with the 96th on an anti-shipping mission escorting B-25s. 96th got 8-Me109s, 2-Ju88s, 1-seaplane. We got separated chasing a plane. All planes returned safely to base. No mail today.
Sun. 3/21/43.....We sat ready for a mission all day but nothing developed. 95th started out but returned. No mail today. Weather was beautiful today.
Mon. 3/22/43.....Went out with the 95th today escorting B-26s. Met convoy in Bay of Tunis. Also ran into a piss pot full of pighters. 95th got victories and I got my first one (Me109). One B-26 was shot down. Bombers claim 3 fighters and hits on 3 ships in convoy. Atteberry & McDaniel missing. Hays of the 95th bailed out. McAnulty crash landed at another field.
Tue. 3/23/43.....8 of us escorted 1 F5 on a photo mission over Tunis and Bizerte. Saw 2-Me109s. Witt got a shot at them but no hits. Ran into lots of Spits and B-17s. All of us back safe. McAullife and White returned early.
Wed. 3/24/43.....No missions for anybody. Took a hot bath. Wrote to Harriett and the whole family tonight. No mail today.
Thur. 3/25/43.....Went out with the 95th escorting B-25s. 95th strafed the one barge we saw. No bombing. 95th shot down 1-seaplane. Lt. Shearer caught fire and went into the sea. No fighters sighted. Bombers got lost on the way back so we left and went home. They wouldn't follow us. Ace White still lost. Low on gas.
Fri. 3/26/43.....Went out with the 96th escorting B-25s. Nothing sighted on the sea. Capt McAuliffe got one Ju88. All ships safe. My ship all painted up. Ace White injuried somewhere. Now in a British hospital.
Sat. 3/27/43.....No missions. Moved out to the field in tents. Worked hard all day getting things set. No mail. Capt. Wittliff made Major. Major Young made Colonel. I became a Flight Commander tonight.
Sun. 3/28/43.....Our whole Group moved today. Now at Berteaux. 5 miles from Telergma. Am quite tired of tearing down and putting up tents. Big talk about giving us a rest.
Mon. 3/29/43.....A bunch of us are going for a rest. Off operations as of today. McAulliffe, Crawford, Pryor, Caputo, and McAnulty are the ones staying. Moved our tents again about 300 yards.
Tue. 3/30/43.....Doing nothing all day. Waiting for our orders to go on our rest. We got a couple of pilots and six planes for replacement. Ace White got back today. Larson came back from his rest.
Wed. 3/31/43.....Payday today. Took a hot bath at the springs. Still waiting for orders to go to the rest camp at Agadir. No mail. Our promotions are starting to come in.
Tue. 3/2/43.....Nothing doing all day today. No missions at all but don't know why? The weather's good. Spent most of the day writing letters and listening to the radio.
Wed. 3/3/43.....Escorted B-25s today. Pryor hit by flak but got back on one engine. All ships returned. 96th escorted B-26s. Scott hit by flak. Boys saw him go down. 8 of the 95th went with us. All O.K. Ace White had to land at another field. Short on gas.
Thur. 3/4/43.....Went on anti-shipping today off Tunis and Bizerti. Gasaway got hit by Witt's belly tank. Went into the drink. Caputo and Morgan returned on one engine. Morgan landed at Bone. 96th also out on anti-shipping. Didn't see anything. Our bombers (B-26s) missed their target by at least 300 yards. Piss Poor !!
Fri. 3/5/43.....Nothing doing today. Did some letter writing and reading. No missions at all by any of the Squadrons. No mail from home today.
Sat. 3/6/43.....95th went out but saw nothing. We did nothing all day. No mail from home today. No lights so I couldn't write any letters.
Sun. 3/7/43.....We went out on anti-shipping with the B-25s. Ran into a big convoy escorted by Ju88s, Me109s, and Italian fighters etc, etc. Wittliff got a Ju88 and an Italian fighter. Pete a Ju88, Walker got the seaplane Cant 506. I shot at a Ju88, a Me109, and also a Cant. 506. "No confirmation"!!
Mon. 3/8/43.....Nothing doing all day. Bad weather. A dreary day with nothing to do. No mail from home.
Tue. 3/9/43.....No missions today. Weather good. I had a flight of four ships on an oxygen hop up to 26000 ft. My birthday today "24" years old. No celebration at all. No mail today.
Wed. 3/10/43.....Nothing doing today. Weather's bad. No mail from home. Wrote 3 letters home. Left for Constantine. Slept at a RAF Hotel. Saw a show at the Casino Theater.
Thur. 3/11/43.....Left Constantine after lunch today. Came back to find eight of our boys went on a mission. Atteberry and Ace White each got a Me110. No mail today.
Fri. 3/12/43.....We went on a mission today. '32' ships. 16 of ours and 16 from the 96th. 96th got two Italian ships. Bombers got some hits on a convoy of barges. No mail today.
Sat. 3/13/43.....95th went out today. They saw nothing at all. We sat around. Oh yes, we moved to different quarters. About 150 yards from our old place. No mail today. Just heard officially that K.K. Lund was a prisoner of war. Everybody happy. We thought he was gone for good.
Sun. 3/14/43.....Nothing doing today. Six of us took a bath at the Hot Springs. Got two letters, one from Leo and one from Harriett. I answered Leo's letter.
Mon. 3/15/43.....We went out with the 96th on a ground target, Airdrome near Merzouva. We got jumped by 6 Me109s. Jackson of the 96th got hit. He crashed landed in safe territory. McNaulty got one Me109.
Tue. 3/16/43.....We went out with the 95th escorting a new outfit of B-25s. The sky was completely overcast and the bombers milled around over enemy territory until we told them to return home. All ships returned o.k. Recieved a letter from Harry Lewis. Jackson got back ! (note I omitted Wed. 3/17/43- I don't know why?)
Thur. 3/18/43.....Our day off. No missions. It's been raining all day. The men got flooded out of their pup tents. Everything is muddy as hell !! Received a letter from Leo and also from the 'Y'. Answered Leo's letter and also Harry Lewis'.
Fri. 3/19/43.....Field was unoperational. No missions today. Wrote a bunch of letters. Laid around all day. We now have to carry our gas masks and helmets. All pilots confined. Big push is suppose to begin.
Sat. 3/20/43.....Eight of us went out with the 96th on an anti-shipping mission escorting B-25s. 96th got 8-Me109s, 2-Ju88s, 1-seaplane. We got separated chasing a plane. All planes returned safely to base. No mail today.
Sun. 3/21/43.....We sat ready for a mission all day but nothing developed. 95th started out but returned. No mail today. Weather was beautiful today.
Mon. 3/22/43.....Went out with the 95th today escorting B-26s. Met convoy in Bay of Tunis. Also ran into a piss pot full of pighters. 95th got victories and I got my first one (Me109). One B-26 was shot down. Bombers claim 3 fighters and hits on 3 ships in convoy. Atteberry & McDaniel missing. Hays of the 95th bailed out. McAnulty crash landed at another field.
Tue. 3/23/43.....8 of us escorted 1 F5 on a photo mission over Tunis and Bizerte. Saw 2-Me109s. Witt got a shot at them but no hits. Ran into lots of Spits and B-17s. All of us back safe. McAullife and White returned early.
Wed. 3/24/43.....No missions for anybody. Took a hot bath. Wrote to Harriett and the whole family tonight. No mail today.
Thur. 3/25/43.....Went out with the 95th escorting B-25s. 95th strafed the one barge we saw. No bombing. 95th shot down 1-seaplane. Lt. Shearer caught fire and went into the sea. No fighters sighted. Bombers got lost on the way back so we left and went home. They wouldn't follow us. Ace White still lost. Low on gas.
Fri. 3/26/43.....Went out with the 96th escorting B-25s. Nothing sighted on the sea. Capt McAuliffe got one Ju88. All ships safe. My ship all painted up. Ace White injuried somewhere. Now in a British hospital.
Sat. 3/27/43.....No missions. Moved out to the field in tents. Worked hard all day getting things set. No mail. Capt. Wittliff made Major. Major Young made Colonel. I became a Flight Commander tonight.
Sun. 3/28/43.....Our whole Group moved today. Now at Berteaux. 5 miles from Telergma. Am quite tired of tearing down and putting up tents. Big talk about giving us a rest.
Mon. 3/29/43.....A bunch of us are going for a rest. Off operations as of today. McAulliffe, Crawford, Pryor, Caputo, and McAnulty are the ones staying. Moved our tents again about 300 yards.
Tue. 3/30/43.....Doing nothing all day. Waiting for our orders to go on our rest. We got a couple of pilots and six planes for replacement. Ace White got back today. Larson came back from his rest.
Wed. 3/31/43.....Payday today. Took a hot bath at the springs. Still waiting for orders to go to the rest camp at Agadir. No mail. Our promotions are starting to come in.
April 1943
Thur. 4/1/43.....Surprise!! We were ordered to go on a mission. We started out but the weather was too bad so we came back. Left for rest camp at 1 o'clock in B-26s. Arrived at Marakech. Stayed over night.
Fri. 4/2/43.....Arrived here in Agadir. Weather swell ! 1 hotel is beautiful. Scenery is beautiful. Food is excellent. Everything for our convenience. Received mail through Major Wittliff from Harriett, Leo, Milt, Sylvia, and Paul.
Sat. 4/3/43.....Fooled around all day looking the place all over. Wrote a bunch of letters.
Sun. 4/4/43.....Went deep sea fishing on a beauty of a yacht. Had a swell time but didn't catch any fish. Wrote some letters.
Mon. 4/5/43.....Laid around all day. Did some cycling. Went in the ocean for a dip. Water's fine. Went to bed late after a long bull session.
Tue. 4/6/43.....Went deep sea fishing again on the same yacht. Caught three big fish. Tied for the prize of catching the most fish. Won $8.00. Had a swell steak supper tonight.
Wed. 4/7/43.....Went fishing off the pier most of the day. Caught 13 fish. Rode the bicycles around a bit. Wrote a bunch of letters to the family and Harriett.
Thur. 4/8/43.....Went floundering with spears this morning. Also went horseback riding. Swam a bit while floundering. Wrote a couple of letters and laid around quite a bit.
Fri. 4/9/43.....Went swimming a little bit today. No fishing for a change. Took a picture at the studio in full uniform. Shaved off my mustache. Played softball against the bomber pilots. We won!
Sat. 4/10/43.....Got up 5 o'clock this A.M. to go deep sea fishing. Yacht broke down so we didn't go. I fished from the pier and rowboat. Caught 2 nice sized fish. Wrote a few letters today. Not much else doing.
Sun. 4/11/43.....Didn't do much today except lay around and read and listen to the radio. News is good. We took Sfax. We had a tea dance from 5 to 7 PM. I enjoyed myself very much.
Mon. 4/12/43.....Took all G. Rounds negatives to the photo shop for prints. Traveled on horseback. Spent the rest of the day reading, playing ping pong and shooting the bull. Today we took Sousse and Kairouen. Swell !!!
Tue. 4/13/43.....Visscher came back from Telergma. Boys have been getting a lot of victories. But, lost Hieronymus, Kinsey, McAnulty, Lawrence, Riddle, Rawson, V.White, and Hamric. And a couiple of new boys. Nothing much doing all day. Got my photo.
Wed. 4/14/43.....Schildt came here today. I got the pictures today. All swell snap shots. Wrote letters and sent home my pictures to the family. Played a lot of ping pong. Nothing else exciting.
Thur. 4/15/43.....Played Bridge and read most of the day. Not much news over the radio. Still surrounding Tunis and Bizerte. Got the rest of the snap shots back today.
Fri. 4/16/43.....Played ball this morning. We beat the bombers 6 to 5. Played Bridge most of the day. No changes in our campaign today.
Sat. 4/17/43.....I flew up to Casablanca today. Got some rations but couldn't get any pins or campaign ribbons got back 06:30. Had a good meal, listened to the radio and fooled around and then went to bed.
Sun. 4/18/43.....Went deep sea fishing today. Caught three big fish. Had a swell time. We put the boat in full sail. Don Gerber brought us a bunch of mail from Berteaux.
Mon. 4/19/43.....Sat around all day. Played Bridge in our little tournament Cannon at once in Casablanca. OTU No. African Training Command.
Tue. 4/20/43.....Went up to Casablanca today with Major Kirtley. Found out we have to pack up and leave Agadir. Still don't know all the dope about what's going on. Going up tomorrow.
Wed. 4/21/43.....Got to Casablanca by transport. Saw Gen. Cannon and found out we would be Instructors at a Fighter training School. Stayed at the Souisse Hotel.
Thur. 4/22/43.....Got here at Berrchid Field today. Found out all the details. We are now back to living in tents again, etc. Planning to fly up to Berteaux to pick up my belongs. Saw a show tonight, "Andy Hardy" an old one.
Fri. 4/23/43.....They stopped us from going up to the front today. Going tomorrow. Leading nine new boiys there. Nothing doing all evening. Played Gin Rummy with Major Kirtley. Just the two of us here.
Sat. 4/24/43.....Test hopped a school ship. Took off for Telergma leading 2nd flight. Major Kirtley lead the 1st flight. Weather got bad so we stayed overnight in Algiers/ (Maison Blanche)
Sun. 4/25/43.....Took off from Maison Blanche and got all the boys in O.K. at Telergma. 82 got all the new bous. Stayed in Berteaux in my own bed for a change. Saw L.B. Thompson. Also saw a show.
Mon. 4/26/43.....Took off from Berteaux 09:30 and landed at Berreched 01:30. Ran into a little bad weather. Witt., J.G. White, Walker, Yahne, R.L. Hattendorf and Jones are going to be instructors at the F.T.C. Clearing my trouble up.
Tue. 4/27/43.....Just laid around all day. No flying. Discussed the setup for teaching. I'm waiting for orders to go back up to Berteaux.
Wed. 4/28/43.....Nothing doing all day. Took twenty pilots to Casablanca to go by transport to LaSenia and ferry back new ships.
Thur. 4/29/43.....Weather bad. Spent most of the day at the airport. Saw a picture this evening.
Fri. 4/30/43.....Weather still bad. Went into Casablanca. Saw a show. Had some good food. Also saw a show at the field.
Fri. 4/2/43.....Arrived here in Agadir. Weather swell ! 1 hotel is beautiful. Scenery is beautiful. Food is excellent. Everything for our convenience. Received mail through Major Wittliff from Harriett, Leo, Milt, Sylvia, and Paul.
Sat. 4/3/43.....Fooled around all day looking the place all over. Wrote a bunch of letters.
Sun. 4/4/43.....Went deep sea fishing on a beauty of a yacht. Had a swell time but didn't catch any fish. Wrote some letters.
Mon. 4/5/43.....Laid around all day. Did some cycling. Went in the ocean for a dip. Water's fine. Went to bed late after a long bull session.
Tue. 4/6/43.....Went deep sea fishing again on the same yacht. Caught three big fish. Tied for the prize of catching the most fish. Won $8.00. Had a swell steak supper tonight.
Wed. 4/7/43.....Went fishing off the pier most of the day. Caught 13 fish. Rode the bicycles around a bit. Wrote a bunch of letters to the family and Harriett.
Thur. 4/8/43.....Went floundering with spears this morning. Also went horseback riding. Swam a bit while floundering. Wrote a couple of letters and laid around quite a bit.
Fri. 4/9/43.....Went swimming a little bit today. No fishing for a change. Took a picture at the studio in full uniform. Shaved off my mustache. Played softball against the bomber pilots. We won!
Sat. 4/10/43.....Got up 5 o'clock this A.M. to go deep sea fishing. Yacht broke down so we didn't go. I fished from the pier and rowboat. Caught 2 nice sized fish. Wrote a few letters today. Not much else doing.
Sun. 4/11/43.....Didn't do much today except lay around and read and listen to the radio. News is good. We took Sfax. We had a tea dance from 5 to 7 PM. I enjoyed myself very much.
Mon. 4/12/43.....Took all G. Rounds negatives to the photo shop for prints. Traveled on horseback. Spent the rest of the day reading, playing ping pong and shooting the bull. Today we took Sousse and Kairouen. Swell !!!
Tue. 4/13/43.....Visscher came back from Telergma. Boys have been getting a lot of victories. But, lost Hieronymus, Kinsey, McAnulty, Lawrence, Riddle, Rawson, V.White, and Hamric. And a couiple of new boys. Nothing much doing all day. Got my photo.
Wed. 4/14/43.....Schildt came here today. I got the pictures today. All swell snap shots. Wrote letters and sent home my pictures to the family. Played a lot of ping pong. Nothing else exciting.
Thur. 4/15/43.....Played Bridge and read most of the day. Not much news over the radio. Still surrounding Tunis and Bizerte. Got the rest of the snap shots back today.
Fri. 4/16/43.....Played ball this morning. We beat the bombers 6 to 5. Played Bridge most of the day. No changes in our campaign today.
Sat. 4/17/43.....I flew up to Casablanca today. Got some rations but couldn't get any pins or campaign ribbons got back 06:30. Had a good meal, listened to the radio and fooled around and then went to bed.
Sun. 4/18/43.....Went deep sea fishing today. Caught three big fish. Had a swell time. We put the boat in full sail. Don Gerber brought us a bunch of mail from Berteaux.
Mon. 4/19/43.....Sat around all day. Played Bridge in our little tournament Cannon at once in Casablanca. OTU No. African Training Command.
Tue. 4/20/43.....Went up to Casablanca today with Major Kirtley. Found out we have to pack up and leave Agadir. Still don't know all the dope about what's going on. Going up tomorrow.
Wed. 4/21/43.....Got to Casablanca by transport. Saw Gen. Cannon and found out we would be Instructors at a Fighter training School. Stayed at the Souisse Hotel.
Thur. 4/22/43.....Got here at Berrchid Field today. Found out all the details. We are now back to living in tents again, etc. Planning to fly up to Berteaux to pick up my belongs. Saw a show tonight, "Andy Hardy" an old one.
Fri. 4/23/43.....They stopped us from going up to the front today. Going tomorrow. Leading nine new boiys there. Nothing doing all evening. Played Gin Rummy with Major Kirtley. Just the two of us here.
Sat. 4/24/43.....Test hopped a school ship. Took off for Telergma leading 2nd flight. Major Kirtley lead the 1st flight. Weather got bad so we stayed overnight in Algiers/ (Maison Blanche)
Sun. 4/25/43.....Took off from Maison Blanche and got all the boys in O.K. at Telergma. 82 got all the new bous. Stayed in Berteaux in my own bed for a change. Saw L.B. Thompson. Also saw a show.
Mon. 4/26/43.....Took off from Berteaux 09:30 and landed at Berreched 01:30. Ran into a little bad weather. Witt., J.G. White, Walker, Yahne, R.L. Hattendorf and Jones are going to be instructors at the F.T.C. Clearing my trouble up.
Tue. 4/27/43.....Just laid around all day. No flying. Discussed the setup for teaching. I'm waiting for orders to go back up to Berteaux.
Wed. 4/28/43.....Nothing doing all day. Took twenty pilots to Casablanca to go by transport to LaSenia and ferry back new ships.
Thur. 4/29/43.....Weather bad. Spent most of the day at the airport. Saw a picture this evening.
Fri. 4/30/43.....Weather still bad. Went into Casablanca. Saw a show. Had some good food. Also saw a show at the field.
May 1943
Sat. 5/1/43.....Still here doing the same thing as usual. Seeing the town and also the shows.
Sun. 5/2/43.....Still here at Cazes Airport. Visiting town and seeing shows.
Mon. 5/3/43.....Weather still no good. Am still passing my time the same way.
Tue. 5/4/43.....At last !! The transport took us to LaSenia. Met L.B. Thompson there also Zubarik and Sloan. Got our ships and took off. I lead 11 ships back. Saw a show at Berrechid this evening.
Wed. 5/5/43.....Got my orders to return to the 82nd. Rode in to Casablanca in the evening. Saw a show at the Red Cross. Mr. "V" an excellent show.
Thur. 5/6/43.....Spent the day here waiting for them to fix the ships I was going to take up to the front. Saw a show in the evening. Met Seltz again. He just got down from England again.
Fri. 5/7/43.....Flew Back to Berteaux leading Morgan, Schildt and Creighton. Was glad to see everybody. Heard about Powell and McArthur running into a hill in bad weather. Also three new boys.
Sat. 5/8/43.....Went out today escorting 6 B-26s. Saw one little boat. They bombed it but no direct hits. No enemy aircraft sighted. All ships return safe and sound. Heard that L.D. McDaniel is a prisoner of war.
Sun. 5/9/43.....Went on the biggest raid today. Palermo in Sicily was the target. And 'boy' it sure was hit. Flight lasted 6 hours. Was I tired. All fighters return safe. Some bombers were hit by flak.
Mon. 5/10/43.....Went out today on anti-shipping escorting B-25s. Nothing sighted. Played ball this evening against the 95th. We won! C.F. Woods is here to visit us. I got two hits for four.
Tue. 5/11/43.....Our day off today. The 96th and 95th went on a mass raid. I didn't do much all day except write about four letters. Some of the boys went into Constantine. Played ball against the Artillery. We won. I got 2 for 4.
Wed. 5/12/43.....Nothing doing today for anybody. I wrote letters all day. We had a little entertainment in the evening. A swell band.
Thur. 5/13/43.....Big show today. B-17s, B-25s, B-26s. Did a swell job on Cagliari in Sardinia. Visscher and Zubarik each got an Me109. All back safe.
Fri. 5/14/43.....No missions for our outfit. 95th and 96th lost a total of three men. I did a little practice Dive Bombing. Easier than I thought but no flak coming up.
Sat. 5/15/43.....We were told we had three days off. Everybody got in their planes and went visiting in Tunis, Bizerti, etc.
Sun. 5/16/43.....Went up to Kairouan. Met Jim Boyhan, Dethlifs (1st Lts.) and Dyer, a Major and all the rest of the gang. Had a swell time. Bought a German Luger. Saw all sorts of German equipment.
Mon. 5/17/43.....Stayed here all day. Wrote some letters and laid around and rested most of the day. Took Sgt. LeBoi up in the 'Piggy Back' this evening. Received a few letters today.
Tue. 5/18/43.....96th and us escorting B-25s and B-26s to Pantellaria Island. Nice job of bombing. All ships back safe.
Wed. 5/19/43.....We escorted 24, B-25s. Target, airport at Milas, Sardinia. All ships back safe. Bombers did a pretty good job. Visscher got one Me109.
Thur. 5/20/43.....Our day off. Pete, Gerry, and Williams went out on a bombing mission. I took Lt. McHugh up to Algiers in the 'Piggy Back'. All ships back safe today.
Fri. 5/21/43.....Escorted B-25s today. Target, Villacidro Airdrome, Sardinia. Got jumped by a mess of fighters. I got one Me109, and a probable. Caram and Shoemaker each got a victory. 96th got some. Fair bombing. I got six letters this evening. All fighters back safe.
Sat. 5/22/43.....Prepared to gout on a mission but was called off. Rained pretty hard here for about an hour. Wrote some letters this evening. Received one.
Sun. 5/23/43.....Twelve of us went out on a sweep carrying 1000 lb. bombs. A couple hit the docks. Some landed amongst the fishing boats. Three near misses at the big boat. My bomb wouldn't come off. If fell off on the way home. Where ???
Mon. 5/24/43.....Escorted B-26s today. Target Aalgagro Airdrome, Sardinia. Some good hits by our dive bombers. B-26s didn't do too bad. G. Rounds and Reager each got one Me109. No mail today. Wrote some letters. Chas Zubarik missing.
Tue. 5/25/43.....Escorted B-25s. We had 12 dive bombers. Target Licata Harbor, Sicily. Dive bombers got some nice hits. B-25s didn't do too good. All ships back safe. Kinsey is a P.O.W.
Wed. 5/26/43.....Our day off. Went to Constantine. Ate a couple meals and saw a couple of pictures at the Red cross. Received a letter from Leo for the first time in a long time.
Thur. 5/27/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Villacidro Airdrome, Sardinia. Lots of flak but no enemy aircraft. All ships back safe. Got a letter from Leo today. Answered it.
Fri. 5/28/43.....C.F. Wood left for home today. All Squadrons out today. We escorted B-26s to Costel Vetrano. Lots of flak and fighters. All ships return safe. Good bombing all around. Received 3 "V" letters.
Sat. 5/29/43.....Off all day. Nothing doing all day. Three missions of dive bombing went out. All ships back safe.
Sun. 5/30/43.....Off today went to Constantine. Saw a picture at the Red Cross. No mail today. Had a couple of fair meals in town.
Mon. 5/31/43.....Dive bombing, 1000 pounders and also escorted 18 B-25s. Lots of good hits. All ships return safe. Mission was Pantellaria. No mail today.
Sun. 5/2/43.....Still here at Cazes Airport. Visiting town and seeing shows.
Mon. 5/3/43.....Weather still no good. Am still passing my time the same way.
Tue. 5/4/43.....At last !! The transport took us to LaSenia. Met L.B. Thompson there also Zubarik and Sloan. Got our ships and took off. I lead 11 ships back. Saw a show at Berrechid this evening.
Wed. 5/5/43.....Got my orders to return to the 82nd. Rode in to Casablanca in the evening. Saw a show at the Red Cross. Mr. "V" an excellent show.
Thur. 5/6/43.....Spent the day here waiting for them to fix the ships I was going to take up to the front. Saw a show in the evening. Met Seltz again. He just got down from England again.
Fri. 5/7/43.....Flew Back to Berteaux leading Morgan, Schildt and Creighton. Was glad to see everybody. Heard about Powell and McArthur running into a hill in bad weather. Also three new boys.
Sat. 5/8/43.....Went out today escorting 6 B-26s. Saw one little boat. They bombed it but no direct hits. No enemy aircraft sighted. All ships return safe and sound. Heard that L.D. McDaniel is a prisoner of war.
Sun. 5/9/43.....Went on the biggest raid today. Palermo in Sicily was the target. And 'boy' it sure was hit. Flight lasted 6 hours. Was I tired. All fighters return safe. Some bombers were hit by flak.
Mon. 5/10/43.....Went out today on anti-shipping escorting B-25s. Nothing sighted. Played ball this evening against the 95th. We won! C.F. Woods is here to visit us. I got two hits for four.
Tue. 5/11/43.....Our day off today. The 96th and 95th went on a mass raid. I didn't do much all day except write about four letters. Some of the boys went into Constantine. Played ball against the Artillery. We won. I got 2 for 4.
Wed. 5/12/43.....Nothing doing today for anybody. I wrote letters all day. We had a little entertainment in the evening. A swell band.
Thur. 5/13/43.....Big show today. B-17s, B-25s, B-26s. Did a swell job on Cagliari in Sardinia. Visscher and Zubarik each got an Me109. All back safe.
Fri. 5/14/43.....No missions for our outfit. 95th and 96th lost a total of three men. I did a little practice Dive Bombing. Easier than I thought but no flak coming up.
Sat. 5/15/43.....We were told we had three days off. Everybody got in their planes and went visiting in Tunis, Bizerti, etc.
Sun. 5/16/43.....Went up to Kairouan. Met Jim Boyhan, Dethlifs (1st Lts.) and Dyer, a Major and all the rest of the gang. Had a swell time. Bought a German Luger. Saw all sorts of German equipment.
Mon. 5/17/43.....Stayed here all day. Wrote some letters and laid around and rested most of the day. Took Sgt. LeBoi up in the 'Piggy Back' this evening. Received a few letters today.
Tue. 5/18/43.....96th and us escorting B-25s and B-26s to Pantellaria Island. Nice job of bombing. All ships back safe.
Wed. 5/19/43.....We escorted 24, B-25s. Target, airport at Milas, Sardinia. All ships back safe. Bombers did a pretty good job. Visscher got one Me109.
Thur. 5/20/43.....Our day off. Pete, Gerry, and Williams went out on a bombing mission. I took Lt. McHugh up to Algiers in the 'Piggy Back'. All ships back safe today.
Fri. 5/21/43.....Escorted B-25s today. Target, Villacidro Airdrome, Sardinia. Got jumped by a mess of fighters. I got one Me109, and a probable. Caram and Shoemaker each got a victory. 96th got some. Fair bombing. I got six letters this evening. All fighters back safe.
Sat. 5/22/43.....Prepared to gout on a mission but was called off. Rained pretty hard here for about an hour. Wrote some letters this evening. Received one.
Sun. 5/23/43.....Twelve of us went out on a sweep carrying 1000 lb. bombs. A couple hit the docks. Some landed amongst the fishing boats. Three near misses at the big boat. My bomb wouldn't come off. If fell off on the way home. Where ???
Mon. 5/24/43.....Escorted B-26s today. Target Aalgagro Airdrome, Sardinia. Some good hits by our dive bombers. B-26s didn't do too bad. G. Rounds and Reager each got one Me109. No mail today. Wrote some letters. Chas Zubarik missing.
Tue. 5/25/43.....Escorted B-25s. We had 12 dive bombers. Target Licata Harbor, Sicily. Dive bombers got some nice hits. B-25s didn't do too good. All ships back safe. Kinsey is a P.O.W.
Wed. 5/26/43.....Our day off. Went to Constantine. Ate a couple meals and saw a couple of pictures at the Red cross. Received a letter from Leo for the first time in a long time.
Thur. 5/27/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Villacidro Airdrome, Sardinia. Lots of flak but no enemy aircraft. All ships back safe. Got a letter from Leo today. Answered it.
Fri. 5/28/43.....C.F. Wood left for home today. All Squadrons out today. We escorted B-26s to Costel Vetrano. Lots of flak and fighters. All ships return safe. Good bombing all around. Received 3 "V" letters.
Sat. 5/29/43.....Off all day. Nothing doing all day. Three missions of dive bombing went out. All ships back safe.
Sun. 5/30/43.....Off today went to Constantine. Saw a picture at the Red Cross. No mail today. Had a couple of fair meals in town.
Mon. 5/31/43.....Dive bombing, 1000 pounders and also escorted 18 B-25s. Lots of good hits. All ships return safe. Mission was Pantellaria. No mail today.
June 1943
Tue. 6/1/43.....Just 12 went off dive bombing Pantellaria. That's all we seem to be doing lately. I sat around all day, played poker for the first time in years. Won $25.00. No mail but I wrote some letters today.
Wed. 6/2/43.....Off today. Layed around all day. Played a little ball. Went to Constantine in the afternoon. Saw a picture, drank some beer and had a fair meal. No mail today.
Thur. 6/3/43.....Went out dive bombing and escorting 18 B-25s. Some good hits on the gun positions of Pantellaria. No mail today. All ships back safe from the mission.
Fri. 6/4/43.....Nothing doing today. Went to Constantine and saw some pictures, drank some beer, etc. Saw a picture here in the evening.
Sat. 6/5/43.....No missions for our Squadron today. I stood out at the field all day. Some of the boys have been laid up with Dysentry. Bunch of the enlisted men too.
Sun. 6/6/43.....Escorted B-26s to Pantellaria. Also dive bombed. Bombers did swell and so did the P-38s. I got a direct hit. No mail today. Rumor has it that there is no mail in North Africa.
Mon. 6/7/43.....Two missions today. I went out first, dive bombing and escorting B-26s. I got a direct hit. Bombers did well. All back safe. The second mission took off just before we got back. No mail. Visscher is going home.
Tue. 6/8/43.....Escorted three B-25s dropping pamphlets over Pantellaria. All ships back safe. No mail.
Wed. 6/9/43.....Nothing doing for me today. Layed around all day. Wrote a letter to Milt. No mail.
Thur. 6/10/43.....Went out on the early mission as a spare. No one dropped out so I had to return. Went dive bombing to Pantellaria. All did a good job. I went after the barracks near the airport and got a very near miss.
Fri. 6/11/43.....Big day today !! Went to Pantellaria with 1000 lb. bombs as part of the Air Force aid to the invasion. At 11:45today the Allies invaded the Island of Pantellaria. Missions were running all day. Got three letters.
Sat. 6/12/43.....Nothing to do today. Went to Constanine, saw a show, ate and drank at the Casino. No mail today. Moving tomorrow.
Sun. 6/13/43.....Moved today from Berteaux to Marleybone. Some went by truck. Crew Chiefs flew in B-25s, the pilots flew their planes. Chutes and equipment came late so we had to sleep in the open.
Mon. 6/14/43.....Getting settled today. After getting all set up we drove to Tarbarka and went swimming in the Mediterranian, Had a nice time. Water was swell!! No mail.
Tue. 6/15/43.....Went out early today escorting B-25s to Sciacca, Sicily. Ran into about 15 fighters. We got three probables. All 97th ships back safe. 95th lost Kenny, forced landed on Sicily. 96th lost Halverson.
Wed. 6/16/43.....No missions today. Hung around camp all day. No mail. Wrote a couple of letters. Can't understand why we're lying idle ?
Thur. 6/17/43.....No missions today. Some of the boys went to Tunis. Played volleyball and fooled around all day. No mail today. Wrote a few letters.
Fri. 6/18/43.....96th went to Sardinia. No missions for us. 96th lost Wehman and got 16 victories. I went to Kairaoun to visit the 57th. They moved to Boukara south of Gabes so I flew down. Had a nice time. Had a chicken dinner with a French family near our field.
Sat. 6/19/43.....Nothing doing again today. Sat around all day. Weather still fine as ever. Recieved a letter from Al Newman.
Sun. 6/20/43.....Nothing much doing today. Weather quite good but warm. No mail today. Read quite a bit all day.
Mon. 6/21/43.....Went out today escorting B-25s to railroad yards South of Salerno and Naples in Italy. First time for us and the medium bombers. All ships back safe. 95th also went out to Salerno. We consolidated on the return. No mail. Capt. Pete got in his 50th mission.
Tue. 6/22/43.....No missions today. Read all day. Wrote to Harriett. it started to shower a bit toward evening.
Wed. 6/23/43.....Four of us escorted two Baltimores in a search for survivors in a Dingy off the Southeast coast of Sardinia. No luck after 05:45 minutes of flying. Received one letter today.
Thur. 6/24/43.....Escorted B-25s to Gulf of Oranciqui, Sardinia. Saw a few fighters but had no trouble. All ships back safe.
Fri. 6/25/43.....Nothing doing today. Received the most wonderful letter from Leo. Maj. Vaughn left for home today.
Sat. 6/26/43.....No missions today. Wrote a few letters and received about six letters. Everybody at home mentions the paper clippings.
Sun. 6/27/43.....Nothing doing today. Wrote letters. Played vollyball. Saw a show in the evening. No mail today.
Mon. 6/28/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Obia-Velafiorita Airdrome in Sardinia. Enemy fighters sighted. A couple of attacks but no harm. All ships back safe. McAuliffe and Larson got in their 50th missions.
Tue. 6/29/43.....No missions today. Pretty hot today. Layed around all day. No mail today. Wrote a couple of letters. On the alert for parachutists. No trouble as yet.
Wed. 6/30/43.....Escorted B-25s to Sciacca Airdrome in Sicily. Saw a couple of fighters, no trouble. 96th went to the same target (45 mins.) earlier. L. D. Jones is missing from the 96th. All of us back safe. Larson and McAuliffe lefet.
Wed. 6/2/43.....Off today. Layed around all day. Played a little ball. Went to Constantine in the afternoon. Saw a picture, drank some beer and had a fair meal. No mail today.
Thur. 6/3/43.....Went out dive bombing and escorting 18 B-25s. Some good hits on the gun positions of Pantellaria. No mail today. All ships back safe from the mission.
Fri. 6/4/43.....Nothing doing today. Went to Constantine and saw some pictures, drank some beer, etc. Saw a picture here in the evening.
Sat. 6/5/43.....No missions for our Squadron today. I stood out at the field all day. Some of the boys have been laid up with Dysentry. Bunch of the enlisted men too.
Sun. 6/6/43.....Escorted B-26s to Pantellaria. Also dive bombed. Bombers did swell and so did the P-38s. I got a direct hit. No mail today. Rumor has it that there is no mail in North Africa.
Mon. 6/7/43.....Two missions today. I went out first, dive bombing and escorting B-26s. I got a direct hit. Bombers did well. All back safe. The second mission took off just before we got back. No mail. Visscher is going home.
Tue. 6/8/43.....Escorted three B-25s dropping pamphlets over Pantellaria. All ships back safe. No mail.
Wed. 6/9/43.....Nothing doing for me today. Layed around all day. Wrote a letter to Milt. No mail.
Thur. 6/10/43.....Went out on the early mission as a spare. No one dropped out so I had to return. Went dive bombing to Pantellaria. All did a good job. I went after the barracks near the airport and got a very near miss.
Fri. 6/11/43.....Big day today !! Went to Pantellaria with 1000 lb. bombs as part of the Air Force aid to the invasion. At 11:45today the Allies invaded the Island of Pantellaria. Missions were running all day. Got three letters.
Sat. 6/12/43.....Nothing to do today. Went to Constanine, saw a show, ate and drank at the Casino. No mail today. Moving tomorrow.
Sun. 6/13/43.....Moved today from Berteaux to Marleybone. Some went by truck. Crew Chiefs flew in B-25s, the pilots flew their planes. Chutes and equipment came late so we had to sleep in the open.
Mon. 6/14/43.....Getting settled today. After getting all set up we drove to Tarbarka and went swimming in the Mediterranian, Had a nice time. Water was swell!! No mail.
Tue. 6/15/43.....Went out early today escorting B-25s to Sciacca, Sicily. Ran into about 15 fighters. We got three probables. All 97th ships back safe. 95th lost Kenny, forced landed on Sicily. 96th lost Halverson.
Wed. 6/16/43.....No missions today. Hung around camp all day. No mail. Wrote a couple of letters. Can't understand why we're lying idle ?
Thur. 6/17/43.....No missions today. Some of the boys went to Tunis. Played volleyball and fooled around all day. No mail today. Wrote a few letters.
Fri. 6/18/43.....96th went to Sardinia. No missions for us. 96th lost Wehman and got 16 victories. I went to Kairaoun to visit the 57th. They moved to Boukara south of Gabes so I flew down. Had a nice time. Had a chicken dinner with a French family near our field.
Sat. 6/19/43.....Nothing doing again today. Sat around all day. Weather still fine as ever. Recieved a letter from Al Newman.
Sun. 6/20/43.....Nothing much doing today. Weather quite good but warm. No mail today. Read quite a bit all day.
Mon. 6/21/43.....Went out today escorting B-25s to railroad yards South of Salerno and Naples in Italy. First time for us and the medium bombers. All ships back safe. 95th also went out to Salerno. We consolidated on the return. No mail. Capt. Pete got in his 50th mission.
Tue. 6/22/43.....No missions today. Read all day. Wrote to Harriett. it started to shower a bit toward evening.
Wed. 6/23/43.....Four of us escorted two Baltimores in a search for survivors in a Dingy off the Southeast coast of Sardinia. No luck after 05:45 minutes of flying. Received one letter today.
Thur. 6/24/43.....Escorted B-25s to Gulf of Oranciqui, Sardinia. Saw a few fighters but had no trouble. All ships back safe.
Fri. 6/25/43.....Nothing doing today. Received the most wonderful letter from Leo. Maj. Vaughn left for home today.
Sat. 6/26/43.....No missions today. Wrote a few letters and received about six letters. Everybody at home mentions the paper clippings.
Sun. 6/27/43.....Nothing doing today. Wrote letters. Played vollyball. Saw a show in the evening. No mail today.
Mon. 6/28/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Obia-Velafiorita Airdrome in Sardinia. Enemy fighters sighted. A couple of attacks but no harm. All ships back safe. McAuliffe and Larson got in their 50th missions.
Tue. 6/29/43.....No missions today. Pretty hot today. Layed around all day. No mail today. Wrote a couple of letters. On the alert for parachutists. No trouble as yet.
Wed. 6/30/43.....Escorted B-25s to Sciacca Airdrome in Sicily. Saw a couple of fighters, no trouble. 96th went to the same target (45 mins.) earlier. L. D. Jones is missing from the 96th. All of us back safe. Larson and McAuliffe lefet.
July 1943
Thur. 7/1/43.....No missions today. Very hot. Went swimming up to the stream. No mail today for me. Saw a picture in the evening. Jorda from the 96th left for home.
Fri. 7/2/43.....No missions today. Heat still quite intense. Layed around all day. Received a letter from Paul and the "HC".
Sat. 7/3/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Alghero Airdrome in Sardinia. Not much trouble. Good bombing. All ships back safe. The 96th lost Doug Chrichton. He ran into Wolfe and went into the drink. Wolfe came back with only one rudder. No mail today.
Sun. 7/4/43.....Escorted B-25s to Gerbini Airdrome in Sicily. Ran into lots of fighters and loads of flak. Really finished up with a bang !! My "50th" mission. No mail today. Lost Stover. I saw him spinning.
Mon.7/5/43.....Boys went out but I sat home. Am awaiting orders. Presented '8' clusters tonight. Just got the orders. Heard my 'DFC' came through. No mail today.
Tue. 7/6/43.....Still waiting for orders. No mail today. Was hot and dusty today. Went up to the stream and layed in it all afternoon. Didn't do much all day because of the weather.
Wed. 7/7/43.....Received my orders this evening. Did nothing all day. The boys went to Sicily. All came back safe. Received letters from Harriett and Sid Goodman.
Thur. 7/8/43.....All the boys left for Trpoli and Sousse. I left for Constantine. Got my 'DFC'. Boy am I happy. Spent the night here. Saw a show and ate a good meal.
Fri. 7/9/43.....Took off for Casablanca today. Stopped at Algiers then Oran and then into Casablanca. Met Vissscher, Oliver, and Langdon. They're going back to combat. Saw a show that evening.
Sat. 7/10/43.....Today is the big day !! The invasion of Sicily started at 03:00 A.M. Spent all day in Casablanca. Shows, drinks, etc. Boy what a break. We're ordered back to Algiers. Maybe I'll get my orders for home. I hope so !!
Sun. 7/11/43.....Took off for Algiers this morning. Arrived in Algiers and reported to NAAF. Have to wait for orders. Expect to get them tomorrow. Got rooms at the hotel. Went to the 'O' Red Cross club. Saw a show, read, ate, etc.
Mon. 7/12/43.....Got our orders to go home ! Spent the night here again after seeing a show at the Red Cross and having a few good meals. Met Ray Sylvester the Red Cross girl that I knew from Agadir. Heard about Grechen Jones getting killed.
Tue. 7/13/43.....Left Algiers and after stops in Oran and Fez we finally got to Casablanca. Picked up our baggage and in thirty minutes we were on our way to Marrakech. Signed up for passage home. Ate a good meal at the Hotel Mamouria.
Wed. 7/14/43.....No C-54s going out today. Stayed at the hotel most of the day. Ate some good meals and drank beer. Sweating out tomorrow.
Thur. 7/15/43.....Didn't get scheduled on the one C-54. Jumped a ride on a B-17 piloted by Col. Rogers. Got to Dakar after 7 hours of flying.(1310 to 2010). Saw a show and ate at the PX.
Fri. 7/16/43.....Took off this morning at 06:40. Arrived at Belem, Brazil, South America after 10 hours and 50 minutes of flight. Went to town, ate a wonderful meal and had a few drinks. Got to bed 10:30. Awoke 01:30. Took off 03:00 in the A.M.
Sat. 7/17/43.....Arrived in Tinidad 08:15. Took off for Florida 09:40 Florida time. Am getting some swell co-pilot time. Arrived at Morrison Field after 7 hours and 50 minutes of flight. Boy am I happy !! Got to the hotel. Took a good bath and shower got all dressed. Ate all the good food I could. Boy, I even had a malted milk and a Coca Cola !
Sun. 7/18/43.....Took off from Morrison Field 08:50. Landed at Orlando and then took off again after picking up some passengers. Landed at Patterson Field 02:20. Got a transport all the way into Newark via Middleton. Got in 12:00 still a co-pilot.
Fri. 7/2/43.....No missions today. Heat still quite intense. Layed around all day. Received a letter from Paul and the "HC".
Sat. 7/3/43.....Escorted B-25s today to Alghero Airdrome in Sardinia. Not much trouble. Good bombing. All ships back safe. The 96th lost Doug Chrichton. He ran into Wolfe and went into the drink. Wolfe came back with only one rudder. No mail today.
Sun. 7/4/43.....Escorted B-25s to Gerbini Airdrome in Sicily. Ran into lots of fighters and loads of flak. Really finished up with a bang !! My "50th" mission. No mail today. Lost Stover. I saw him spinning.
Mon.7/5/43.....Boys went out but I sat home. Am awaiting orders. Presented '8' clusters tonight. Just got the orders. Heard my 'DFC' came through. No mail today.
Tue. 7/6/43.....Still waiting for orders. No mail today. Was hot and dusty today. Went up to the stream and layed in it all afternoon. Didn't do much all day because of the weather.
Wed. 7/7/43.....Received my orders this evening. Did nothing all day. The boys went to Sicily. All came back safe. Received letters from Harriett and Sid Goodman.
Thur. 7/8/43.....All the boys left for Trpoli and Sousse. I left for Constantine. Got my 'DFC'. Boy am I happy. Spent the night here. Saw a show and ate a good meal.
Fri. 7/9/43.....Took off for Casablanca today. Stopped at Algiers then Oran and then into Casablanca. Met Vissscher, Oliver, and Langdon. They're going back to combat. Saw a show that evening.
Sat. 7/10/43.....Today is the big day !! The invasion of Sicily started at 03:00 A.M. Spent all day in Casablanca. Shows, drinks, etc. Boy what a break. We're ordered back to Algiers. Maybe I'll get my orders for home. I hope so !!
Sun. 7/11/43.....Took off for Algiers this morning. Arrived in Algiers and reported to NAAF. Have to wait for orders. Expect to get them tomorrow. Got rooms at the hotel. Went to the 'O' Red Cross club. Saw a show, read, ate, etc.
Mon. 7/12/43.....Got our orders to go home ! Spent the night here again after seeing a show at the Red Cross and having a few good meals. Met Ray Sylvester the Red Cross girl that I knew from Agadir. Heard about Grechen Jones getting killed.
Tue. 7/13/43.....Left Algiers and after stops in Oran and Fez we finally got to Casablanca. Picked up our baggage and in thirty minutes we were on our way to Marrakech. Signed up for passage home. Ate a good meal at the Hotel Mamouria.
Wed. 7/14/43.....No C-54s going out today. Stayed at the hotel most of the day. Ate some good meals and drank beer. Sweating out tomorrow.
Thur. 7/15/43.....Didn't get scheduled on the one C-54. Jumped a ride on a B-17 piloted by Col. Rogers. Got to Dakar after 7 hours of flying.(1310 to 2010). Saw a show and ate at the PX.
Fri. 7/16/43.....Took off this morning at 06:40. Arrived at Belem, Brazil, South America after 10 hours and 50 minutes of flight. Went to town, ate a wonderful meal and had a few drinks. Got to bed 10:30. Awoke 01:30. Took off 03:00 in the A.M.
Sat. 7/17/43.....Arrived in Tinidad 08:15. Took off for Florida 09:40 Florida time. Am getting some swell co-pilot time. Arrived at Morrison Field after 7 hours and 50 minutes of flight. Boy am I happy !! Got to the hotel. Took a good bath and shower got all dressed. Ate all the good food I could. Boy, I even had a malted milk and a Coca Cola !
Sun. 7/18/43.....Took off from Morrison Field 08:50. Landed at Orlando and then took off again after picking up some passengers. Landed at Patterson Field 02:20. Got a transport all the way into Newark via Middleton. Got in 12:00 still a co-pilot.
For those individuals that don't know my personal life. I give you these names.
Harriet (Harriett), who I married and loved for 55 years.
Leo, my middle aged brother.
Lee, Leo's wife.
Milt, my oldest brother.
Paul Feig, a very close friend.
Sid Goodman, a close friend.
Milt Brietman, a close school friend.
Al Newman, a friend.
The Lewis Family, I stayed at their home weekends when I was stationed at Long Beach and San Diego. Friends !!
'SIGNED', Pincus Philip Taback, 82ndFG/97thFS. Lt. Col. U.S.A.F. (Retired).
Harriet (Harriett), who I married and loved for 55 years.
Leo, my middle aged brother.
Lee, Leo's wife.
Milt, my oldest brother.
Paul Feig, a very close friend.
Sid Goodman, a close friend.
Milt Brietman, a close school friend.
Al Newman, a friend.
The Lewis Family, I stayed at their home weekends when I was stationed at Long Beach and San Diego. Friends !!
'SIGNED', Pincus Philip Taback, 82ndFG/97thFS. Lt. Col. U.S.A.F. (Retired).