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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHenry, Walter K. - Biography NEW OFFICER Chapter 8 On October 1942 was commissioning. Mom and Dad and Frances came for the event. I was now a rd Lt. We went to see UI and Notre Dame play. Notre Dame won. They went home on Sunday but I had to stay for a while longer. Most of us were assigned to Salt Lake MB was a general assignment Depot. Jo and I left by train and were to go through Camdenton, MO to see my folks. We came through Jefferson city, MO in great shape dressed in our green shirts and pink trousers. We had to wait for the bus to go to Camdenton. We were walking down the main street when I met a fellow I used to work with at the Missouri State Highway Department. He looked at me and said " Who are you, a sergeant or something" We stayed a couple days in Camdenton, MO and left for Salt Lake City, UT. This was a nice trip on a Pullman. We reported in at Salt Lake MB and waited. About the third several of us were sent to pay the troops. Gee, I will never know that that everyone did no speak English. We had quite a time trying to pay the troops. We did come out even. A couple of days later I had orders to Wall Walla, WA MB. Another fellow another fellow was going there also. He had a car. So I rode with him. The weather was good and the scenery was beautiful. I had never seen mountains before. I was assigned to the 347th Bomb Sq (b) of the 9gth Bomb Group (b). lfound the orderly room and reported to Capt. Seamana, the Squadron Commander. He welcomed me, told to go to the Maintenance Office. Pvt. Moline the clerk greeted me. He was from New York and a quiet type. I was talking to him when the door was kicked in and in stomped in Sergeant A//ine. He was wild eyed and scared me half to death, In Italy he became a very important to me. Lt. Davis was the Maintenance Officer and I was the assistant. He never was too hard on me. I did not know much but I kept my mouth shut and watched Sergeant Redd was the line chief He had been in the Army seven years. And he knew his way around '" \1.4 ., ~~-:--- ".."... ....... ;~,f I . . . ~. . . '~~',~ I I I nn__J ---~-----_._-,---_._-----.._-----,------_._--- /........, Barracks at Chanute AAB, ILL Cadet Walter K. Henry 1942 Keith and Frances Shock St. Louis, MO 1942 --~- Cadet Walter Keith Henry 1942 An important general was supposed to make an inspection of the aircraft and maintenance section. I had almost no idea what would happen. I was on the line with Sergeant Redd. The word came down that the general was tearing up the squadron. Well he arrived. He knew Sergeant Redd from somewhere else. Sergeant had been his line chief before. He did not recognize my salute. The general went straight to Sergeant Redd They talked about "old times" Then he said any outfit who has Sergeant Redd on line is a good shape. Then the general moved on to the next squadron where he raised hell again. It is not what you know, but whom you know. I did not like Walla Walla AAB. I never was established with any of the squadron officers and spent time in the dark cold rain. We had orders to move to Sioux City AAB to complete our training. The trip to Sioux City was great. We handled the squadron in Pullman cars and our own food service. The unit was a low priority so we were sidetracked at almost every little town. When sidetracked and stopped you could see a wall of OD moving through the town. At the whistle to freeboard the train it returned. The weather was clear, not really cold It was a wonderful sight seeing trip. There were better facilities at Sioux City MB than at Walla Walla. They provided an office, and additional space for maintenance. It did not rain as much but it did get cold in December. All the ground officers in the squadron were in the same BOQ. I did become better acquainted and things were much improved There was a basketball team and we played a few games. The maintenance went well. All the squadrons were considered ready by 08 January 43. The funniest event at wonk -the depot called that they had three B 17 load adjusters for our squadron. This was at night and Sergeant Cellione was the Flight Chief He thought for a couple of minutes-load adjusters move loads, He called the motor for a 6 x 6 truck. When it arrived he looked around and loaded about ten men in the back and went to the depot. He went and went up to the counter with his ten men trailing behind him. He flexed his muscles for the lady clerk. He announced he was there with his crew to get the load adjusters. She said sign here. He did 'and she reached under the counter and pulled out three slide rules. She handed them to him, he took them. He and his men filed out. It was some time before he lived that down. In the course of attending to business I met a young lady by the name of Betty Darden. We had lunch a couple of times at the P X lunch bar. It was loud and noisey, especially when Spike Jones played "The Fuerers Face ". So I asked her for a date for Saturday night. I forgot to get her address or phone number until about 1700. I rushed over to her desk and found that she was gone. There was an older senior secretary in the back office who found her address for me. I had told Betty that I was engaged to Frances. She was going for fun. Saturday, I went into town to buy Frances a Christmas present. I was in the glassware department. I purchased 24 stem of her pattern. I told the sales lady who was to receive the glassware and all about Frances. I asked her to ship the purchase to Frances. I also told her what a wonderful girl I had I knocked on Betty's door and the sales lady opened the door. She was Betty's mother. Mrs. Darden was nice. Betty and I had a very nice evening. Between Xmas and the New Year it was moving time. All gear had to be packed for overseas shipping. New Years Day was very cold. The train was boarded to take us to Watertown, SD. The officers nearly wrecked the public school system We found the teachers and kept them out late. South Dakota was colder and it was dark when we detrained. The barracks assignment was a one story building that had been divided into suites. A large room with a heating stove in the large room and two bedrooms on the side. Each bedroom had two beds. Louis Ahalt and I took residence. Louis and I were the only ones that knew how to keep a fire going in the stove. Almost everyone took residence in our suite so they could keep warm. The latrine was in another building. Icicles always hung from the shower. Food was good Entertainment was hard to come by as there wasn't much to do, especially on base. The other two went to Mitchell AB. We did take the car to St. Louis. Frances had come to St. Louis. We had a very , good time. I called Anita Ufinger a very pretty girl for Jo and she brought a friend We all enjoyed Sunday evening. Afterward we returned to Chanute AAB. I did well enough in my enough in my school work. 42-5 kept winning the reviews. Fall came and the first two football games were laughs, but then Minnesota came along and they came to play. Minnesota was the winner of 28 consecutive games. They were ready to play. They were loaded with all American players. It was the strangest game I ever saw. The Golden Gophers took the kickoff and used power- running plays to make a first down on every play until they were past the 10-yard line. Then they went to a fancy play. The quarterback had the ball faking to halfback who faked the ball to ends and others. Finally a guard Alex Agency broke through the line and ran past the quarter-back who faked to the ball to him. But he grabbed the ball and ran for a touchdown. By the end of the game Illinois had a minus 50 yards to UM had over 400. UI won the game with the score 21-20. Aggacy had intercepted a pass for a touchdown and had a block for a punt for a touchdown. The town people were nice. They had a city auditorium that had the best basketball court. The city of Watertown let us practice and play. Most afternoons our group made use of the court. Louis fell head over heals for Millie Thorgelson. She lived on the second floor of a house. Two more teachers lived with her. One was engaged to a soldier. I dated her some. James Sanborn found a girl somewhere and the other one was married to a soldier. Her husband was away. The big event is about to happen. Frances came to town. It was not easy. The trains were snowbound She finally arrived in the caboose of a freight train. After a couple of days trying to get a marriage license we succeeded. We were married on 13 February 1943 at Millie's apartment. We stayed at the hotel for a few days, Then orders to Tinker AAB, OK arrived. I took a few days leave. Several of us tried to leave Watertown. The train was still not coming to Watertown. We took a taxi to Arlington, SD which was located on the mainline. The morning train had left ten minutes earlier. A small town cafe was where the eight of us waited. I am certain the cafl owner was pleased when we boarded the evening train. There was a jukebox. One of its records was "I'm Going Back to where I Come From." We played that record over and over. The train was out of the Wild West. The heating stove was in the center of the car. The seats made you sit up strait. The cars were lighted with gaslights. Several hours later about midnight we changed trains. This train was some what modernized The heating unit was at one end of the car and the seats were more comfortable. On arrival in Omaha, we nearly missed the train. This was the new train, THE EAGLE on its way to St. Louis. The temperature in South Dakota was -40 degrees. Temperature at Jefferson City was 70 degrees. A bus carried us to Columbia, MO where Frances parents lived Frances sister Jane had married that very day. The bride and groom had left to go to St. Louis. We never saw them at that time. We journeyed to Camdenton, MO to see my folks. After a short visit we caught a train in Lebanon, MO to Oklahoma City, OK and Tinker AAB. I reported at the base and Frances found us an apartment in an apartment hotel. 1 ..~ . r~- I I I L I -/':0. ..1 , ,:'" ,'., , -l~:: ,'~ ~~, ,_,] .~:.... " ~ri-" ,.,.~ i;,'" ~~~~~__~_.~-':"A~'~~.1 ~-~~ . ........,,:.~'\-::-. Watertown, SD February 1943 Temperature - 40 degrees \ ':' ) When I got there she had supper ready. She had taken to the housekeeping stuff very seriously. It was wonderful. After a couple of weeks at Tinker AAB we were on the move again. This time the orders were to the port of disembarkation. I do not know how Frances got back to Missouri, but I know how we got to Camp Kilmer. We boarded a train, made of old cars. Our cars did not have a door on the rear end. About dark we stopped at Seda/ia, MO, near a brickyard Lt. Trentwas one of the people on the car along with a lot of fellows in our group. We sent some to get bricks. The backs of the seats were removed The bricks were used to support the backs across the chairs. This allowed people to have a place to lay down. We were doing great in our car. On arrival to the yard in St. Louis our car was moved and placed as the first car behind the engine. The engine and its smoke and live coals began coming into our door without a door. We stretched some shelter halves over the open door and did fairly well for the next three days. Then we arrived at Camp Kilmer. 1& .---" \ ; ! 1 I i ! I i t 1 I I l , , ~ f \ --'~'<'---'----"_,_"-_,, ..,.....) Wedding Party: ..... ., Bride & Groom Martha Frances Shock Walter K. Henry 13 Feb, 1943 TO CAMP KILMER AND NORTH AFRICA Chapter 9 Camp Kilmer was cold, muddy and lacking in facilities. We had close order drill almost every day. I was given the duty to take the men to Ft. Dix to qualify with their rifles. Four thirty in the morning we got up, ate a poor brealifast. A truck carried us to transport us to qualify in more rifles. Those who did not qualify well enough had to fire again. It was time to return to Camp Kilmer. In about a week I had everyone qualified, when I returned to Camp Kilmer and went to the orderly room. I turned in the paper work and was very pleased to have completed that job. No such luck, now we had to clean our weapons and turn them in.. We were to be issued 30 caliber carbines. The whole fIring squad had to be redone. The next activity was an obstacle course. Lt. Sanders and I had the best times for this course. The outstanding event was the touch football game between the officers and the enlisted troops. The game was a hard fought battle which ended in a 0 tie. It was suppertime and we had to stop the game. I did get to New York on time. I saw the 'Rocket's.. A bus tour of New York City was very enjoyable. After six weeks at miserable Camp Kilmer we were glad to be on the way. Maybe, Camp Kilmer was made bad so that the troops would be happy to go anywhere to our dismay and disappointment a West Point LTC and his riding crop were still our commander. About 0830 we loaded on a train for ride to Newark harbor. We were in winter dress complete with overcoats, full pack, along with necessary equipment. The weather in April that day was hot. When we detrained we had a mile to walk. There we entered a warehouse. The line was past some tables where the dear ladies of the Red Cross had a writing kit, an apple and three doughnuts for each man. We were fully packed. Don't doubt the creativity ofa GI. The solution was to trash the writing kit, eat the apple and store the doughnuts on the rifle barrel. By 1500 all were aboard. About 1800 supper was served in the great grand room. The food was ok. The ship was an old German passenger liner, The Alexander, which we took from the Germans after WW I as reparation. It was airy and bright with portholes on both sides and stem. It was equipped with three layer bunks. Sanborn, Ahalt and I grabbed one fairly close to the door so we could get out fast if required. The ballroom had been converted to serve as a mess hall, It had two winding staircase and the chandeliers, which were reminders of how elegant the ship had been in former years. The ship was double loaded. This meant that the men had a bed from noon to midnight. Then another man had the bed from midnight to noon. The large rooms below were dark most of the time as some was asleep at all times. The air vents were not sufficient, so the place was hot. During the time the men did not have a bunk, someone else spent their time on the deck. Most preferred the deck most of the time. About 8000 troops were on the ship including two hospital units with a full compliment of nurses. I met some of them about two years later when I was in the hospital. Yes, they did remember the voyage and they were still furious about the way they were treated. The ship sailed after dark. The next morning we could see part of the ships in the convey. We could not see either the lead ship or the tail end. Close to us was an aircraft carrier with fighters it was transporting. Other ships were freighters, tankers, passenger ships and a variety of Navy Escorts. We moved eastward at ten knots. There was not much to do. The officers were allowed to go to the top deck. Nothing was there except anti-aircraft guns and canvas covered cork life rafts. If one looked carefully, the shutlleboard courts could be located. The deck chairs were missing. We would sit on the rafts and watch the rest of the convey float along. Kind of like "watching grass grow." Even this paradise soon disappeared. Good for us of the 99th but to everyone's sorrow the West Point LTC had been made troop commander. Accompanied with his swagger stick he continually made inspections. On the third morning out of port he made an early morning inspection of the top deck. As a consequence the top deck was placed off limits after dark The nurses were restricted to quarters. They could not even come to the mess hall. More condoms appeared the next morning. Where did they come from? The sailors took care of the ship, guns etc. They had twenty millimeter guns were used for the antiaircraft protection. Condoms were placed over the end of the barrel. New ones were placed on the gun barrels each morning. MP's were stationed at the doors of the nurse's companionway. Food was taken in to them.. Sailors manned the guns, using condoms to protect the barrels of the guns, Every morning the guns were cleaned. Every morning the condom was removed and a new one replaced it. The sailors were lax in the clean up. However in spite of the explanation the nurses were still confined to quarters for the rest of the trip. The sixth night an engine blew. Undoubtedly I was the only person that was not awakened. When I awoke the next morning I sensed immediately that we were not making headway. Two sub-chasers were with us, one on each side. At dusk we made headway at four knots. Every so often one of the sub-chasers would rush out a short distance and drop a depth charge. Soon after sunrise a Navy PBY would appear from the East, probably from Casa Blanca. It would circle some, but mostly it was in front flying crossing patterns. We could sit on the life rafts and watch it. Now and then something dark would drop from the PBY and it would explode in the water. We were not sure if the depth charges were being dropped because of German subs or just to see if they would explode. Before dark the PBY would turn toward land leaving us to wonder what might happen. Drills were a way of life (maybe keeping it) on the ship. When the alarm sounded, companionways were closed and everyone awakened. Our West Point LTC was clearing the deck with his stick striking those that he thought were too slow. The sailors who were running their gun placements came along. The first hit the LTC with a good shoulder block, knocking him flat. The second paused to take a couple of extra steps on his back. The swagger stick flew over the rail and was not seen again. The West Point LTC was not seen for several days. No alcoholic drinks were to be allowed aboard. Prouty and Seacord had a fifth of bourbon. Now the situation called for a drink. Prouty took the bottle from his pack and handed it to Seacord. They fumbled the handoff. The bottle dropped onto the floor and shattered. Seacord cried tears. We all quietly slipped from the room. One morning after awaking I rolled over to look through the porthole and saw the Rock of Gibraltar, just like the pictures. I figured I could swim to it if necessary. By noon we were weaving through a minefield. During the afternoon motorboats came and went. They probably were carrying parts. That evening we left, still making four knots. Two British escort ships had been added, so we were in the middle with two US destroyers on either side, in front had two British escorts in the rear. With no additional excitement we made Oran harbor. As we entered the harbor everyone prepared to disembark. One of our men could not fmd his carbine. Our adjutant, Lt. Scarbrough was one of the first down the gangplank. He reported the missing weapon along with the serial number. The MP's were checking each carbine as the men came down the gangplank. They found it. The West Point LTC had it. We all enjoyed watching the MP's lead him away. Never more did he bother us. We heard by rumor that he was given ten years. ARRIVAL IN NORTH AFRICA Chapter 10 Darkness had arrived by the time we disembarked. Our reception was noisy and spectacular-an air raid. From all surrounding hills the antiaircraft barrage lit up the night sky better than any frreworks we had ever seen. The pieces of flack fell on us as we struggled along in the dark. No one was seriously hurt. Of course the blackout was enforced. The accommodations were not what we expected. The beds have flexible steel bars running lengthwise. We stayed several days in an old French Army base. The first night was bad. By the second night we had our mattress covers full of straw. Much better. The latrine had holes in the floor instead of commodes. In four or five days we left Oran on the train, 40 or 8. I did get a little visit into the town. Gennan POW's were in the camp. They did labor jobs and did them well. They were to be taken to the US. When they heard this they started a riot. They "knew" that all our ships had been sunk. Well, they could see these, but that must be all the Americans left. Surely these would be sunk on the way back. The Gennan POW's were loaded aboard and they left. We climbed on the train, which consisted of small boxcars. The 40 or 8 meant the cars would hold 40 men or 8 horses that were our transportation from Oran to Navaren. There were 15 or 16 cars because we had 600 men. In addition there were several cars with drums of fuel and stacks of bombs. At top speed the train maybe did 30 mph, but if there was a grade a person could walk along beside the car. After leaving Oran we soon were in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. This was a poor area. The people are Muslim. We never saw any women who were not covered completely, except one eye. The Children were without clothes. They would walk along the tracks begging for "bon-bon" the hard sugar candies we had in the C- rations. I do not know what age a girl put on clothes, but some of the older girls were kept walking for a long ways and were rewarded with lots of "bon-bons". After three days we were all sweaty and dirty. We rolled in a small marshaling yard and stopped. A water tank was dripping water, so I grabbed a towel and soap and headed for the water. I had almost completed my bath when the mob arrived. I was setting in the shade of our train when a train came from the other direction. It was a hospital train with wounded troops, mostly Arabs, but it did have female "nurses" and the bathers tried to hide. Our train started to move. A big scramble occurred trying to grab clothing, shoes, etc. and get onto our train. The nurses nearly fell out of the windows from laughing so hard. Two days later we arrived in Naveren. I observed why the Arabs did not like the French. The last day of our trip three French Officers boarded our train. They rode a few hours on our train and got off at Serif. They walked down the street hitting children with their swagger sticks. Some attitude - a display of French audacity. SAHARA DESSERT Chapter 11 We arrived at Naveran late in the afternoon. A tour was not necessary. Turn around once and all could be seen. There were three railroad tracks, and one main line. The remaining two was siding. A small two-story brick building was the station. To the north was a cluster of adobe buildings that were the town. Maybe 2000 people lived there. The most remarkable sight is the four large straw stacks. Straw stacks were common, but three were at least twice the size of most. They must have been fifty yards long, 20 yards wide and 20 yards high at the ridgeline. The stacks had stork's nests along the ridgeline. Storks flew well but were ungainly awkward birds. These stacks were between the railroad and the houses. The British had built a prison camp to the east side of the stacks and not far from the tracks. It was a barbed wire enclosure with a few shed-like structures. The ground was packed here with no grass. It looked like an awful place to be. It was for British troops, not POW's. All around town were wheat fields with the grain almost ready for harvest. Our airfield was about two to three miles to the south. It was not much. A large flat valley had the wheat scraped to make the runways, taxi strips and revetments. The east and west runway was down the middle and circular taxi strip with revetments. Our airplanes were on the northeast comer. Our squadron area was further to the east of the airplanes. The aircrews had arrived a few days before we made it. Also the stuff we packed so carefully at Sioux City was there, much to our surprise. All the vehicles were in place. Trucks to take us to the squadron area met us. There was a row of 16" pyramidal tents that the flight crew had. Also the operations office was in a tent. We put up our pup tents to make ready for the night. Then it came to our attention that each man had an allotment of five gallons of water per day. This was for everything, drinking bathing and all the other things we wanted to use water. Also it was treated with an overdose of chlorine. It did not take long to eat through a canteen. The mess hall was a large fly over a frame to keep the sunshine from us as we ate. The food was C-rations. Fortunately we did have a good supply of ketchup. We did buy French bread from a bakery in Setif. It was good. We did have "tropical butter, which was adjusted not to melt until a temperature of 120 degrees F was reached. Fortunately we did not reach that high a temperature every day. The butter was dipped from a large can. Two or three large spoonfuls were placed on each plate. No one used the butter because it stuck to the roof of the mouth. The butter was soon covered with a layer of brown sandy dust. We could have replacements ever so often. One of the men would take a piece of bread; look down the table and say, "Please pass the peanut butter." The tropical butter with its layer of dust was promptly passed and we would all carefully watch. His smile would change to horror when he saw the yellow stuff on his knife. On the tables were dishes of at brine, a pill we were supposed to take three times per day to prevent malaria. Later we were able to buy some eggs and melons. Back to the arrival- the next morning I went to the line and found our tech- supply. This was my baby. The engineering office was in a pyramidal tent and close to the tech-supply. I had a large tarp, which was stretched onto a wood frame. We also had a large tent at the back where the more important stuff was kept. The tent was hot, but under the tarp was not bad. We had a lot of boxes, which were stacked under the tarp. They defined the area and made lots of storage space. SSGT Goose, a stickler for detail and an excellent supply man, a wonderful man, headed tech-supply. Sgt Boheo was next. He was good at getting supplies from the depot or any other place. When we wanted something (like maybe a coal oil stove) I would give him a desireable item that we had in large supply. Example a leather-flying jacket. He might be two or three days, but he would return with the desired. Item. Cpl Brodie and Cpl English completed the crew. They were good workers. The supply had most of the parts and tools we needed. Tires for the main landing wheels were always a problem. The weather while we were there was hot and dry. It was over 110 degrees every day. The rainy season, such as it is, is over in March. The wheat was still green when we arrived. There were very few clouds in the sky. We were on the edge of the Sahara Desert. There was weather to contend with, the dessert storm. The Sirocco was a hot south wind direct from the desert The Sirocco would blow for three days. At night the wind would stop. That was great. The visibility was less that one half mile with dust and sand. Everything was covered with dust. All bedding would have to be shaken before going to bed. If a tent was closed, a lot of dust came in and a closed tent was too hot for a person to survive. Sides of the tents were left open to let the wind and dust blow through. The anny issued dust masks. They were made of rubber. One covered the mouth and nose. They had a flap filter. The mask was uncomfortable as the rubber created more sweat than dust. You would wear one for a while, remove it and a pool of mud would have collected in the bottom around the chin. It was said that murder was excused on the fourth day of a Sirocco. Sirocco's only lasted three days. The air was calm on the days that the wind did not blow. Then super heated surface air would start a whirlwind. Four or five large whirlwinds could be seen almost every afternoon. They were interesting to watch. The long column of dust would serpentine to heights of two or three miles. At the surface the whirlwind would be 100 feet in diameter and the wind at maybe 50 mph. When driving a jeep and a small whirlwind was on the road, I would usually drive into it. One day a middle-sized whirlwind was in the road and I drove into it. The sand chewed at my face and anns. The sand choked me. I thought I would never get out it and to the other side. One afternoon Lt. James Seacord and I were sitting in the shade of his squadron supply tent when a large whirlwind approached. We watched the whirlwind with care. It just missed the supply tent. There was a marked edge to the whirlwind. It could stand beside it and stick my hand into the wind and dust. It moved on and hit the administration tent. After it passed Lt. Scarbrough and his clerks stumbled out. We laughed and laughed. They tried to gather up the scraped of paper. After they returned to the tent the whirlwind made a big loop and hit the administration tent again. We laughed until payday only to fmd that all the pay records had blown away and there was no pay. The dust was hard on all engines. An aircraft engine was supposed to run for 2000 flying hours. We had to change engines about every 250 to 300 hours. The record was on one plane that an engine accumulated 633 hours. The maintenance crews had a tough life. They lived close to their airplanes. The bombing mission left about 0600 and was back about 1400 or 1500. Then the aircraft was repaired, fueled, loaded with bombs and ready for the next day, no telling what maintenance would be needed, maybe an engine change, or extensive sheet metal work or a gas tank replaced. All these took at least most ago the next day. Refueling was done from 50 gal. Drums with hand pumps. Most of the time an aircraft would need 1500 gal. We tried to keep a supply of 100 drums at each revetment. In addition they were to guard the planes at night. As I said before, don't ever sell an American GI short. I know well that many of the guards dozed part of the time. I, along with all the junior ground officers, pulled officer of the Day duty. We were to check to see that all guards were alert and doing their duty. It was dark and some who did not know the area well could get lost. I did a couple of times, and I knew my way. When the jeep had headlights into a revetment the guard would be seen in the headlights. Leaning against a tire and asleep. Most of us would just wake them and go on. However, Lt. "Whizzer" White turned them in for court-marshal. I could usually get the Commander, Capt Seamana to give them a light sentence and not keep the records. The guards started checking the O. D. list. The nights that "Whizzer'was scheduled came they would challenge him. "Advance and be recognized." They would not recognize him. "Down on your back," "Roll over," "Throw you I. D. over here "and other things that they could think of. If an oil spill ws available they would roll him into it. Oh, yes, they took his weapon. After a while he would be recognized and allowed to depart to the next guard who put him through the same routine. In November I saw my first rain in Africa and we were packing to move to Italy. However, there were a few events that need to be told. As I mentioned we were in pup tents. That soon got old. The trains were going past had various supplies included 16-foot pyramidal tents. We would drive down the tracks to a cut where two could observe Arab guards. If all were ok, we would be slowed to a walking speed. We would board, throw off a few tents and any others good items, load them on to the truck and go home. In a short time I was sleeping in a tent on a cot. Our gasoline and bombs came in on the train. The Germans had developed some fuses, about the size of a silver dollar that could be rammed into the fuse hole. These fuses would detonate when the temperature wanned to about 110 degrees F. Operators would place the fuses in the bombs somewhere along the route. We found about the fuses when a rack of bombs exploded about noon killing several of our ordinance workers. After this event no one in the bomb dump between 1000 and 1800. Several bombs would explode each day. The bombs were scattered about so that only one went off at a time. One day a strong wind was blowing from the south. The flight crews were gone on a maximum effort. Fortunately, all the planes that could be were airborne. A bomb detonated and set some incendiaries on fire. The dry wheat fields burst into a blaze. I could not see any way out of the fire. We could see that the frre was rapidly moving toward the railroad at Naveran. We took trucks and started rolling the railroad cars from the siding down the track and out of the way of the flames. This was a real hurry job. We moved cars both ways and sent people to stop any trains. The British put their prisoners on an empty car, which we moved with the others. All but two cars had been moved by the time the fire arrived. The Arabs showed no interest in the fire, or helping in any way. One of the cars had some bombs; the others had supplies for the prison. The bombs went "boom", and the tracks were exchanged for a "big" hole in the ground. Something from the explosion set one of the straw stacks on frre. The Arabs became excited. There seemed to be no way to stop the fIfe and put it out. The fire moved across the tracks and suddenly there was a huge explosio~ resulting in all of the stacks bursting in flame. More explosions followed, fifty-gallon drums of 100-octane gasoline were blow high into the air. The debris fell into the housing area. Flames were everywhere. The Arabs had been fighting the French for years. The Arabs saw a chance to take supplies to continue their battle. There fight continued after the Americans moved to Italy. After the fire abated we drove into the village. Little damage was done. Houses were made of stone and adobe. However, the causality list was long. It was estimated that a thousand women and children died. They were burned by suffocation. Because as the burning gasoline sucked out all of the oxygen out of the air. Some of the bodies were in the street, but most were found in the houses. The railroad station was destroyed. A few days later the tracks were repaired. We enjoyed some British tea that was found in the area. By July 1943, the Germans were all supposed to be gone. This opened the roads for a little sight seeing. One Sunday Lts. Ahalt, Prouty, Sandburg, and I took a trip to Bougie. Bougie was a vacation spot on the North coast of Algeria. It sat on the hillside with the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea at its feet. We must have left early because we arrived in Bougie by 0900. It was very cool and nice. No one was moving in 'J the street. We were at the top looking for a way to get done to the waterfront. We spotted a very wide street going directly to the beach. It had a sign in French "sans interdet" and "una via" we started down. About half way down a British MP came running out of a building calling to us to stop. I was driving and stopped. He told us that we were going the wrong direction. Prouty started an argument about what "sans interdet" and ''una via" meant. My brake leg was getting tired. I just wanted to move. Three options existed. 1. Go down the hill, 2. U turn and go back up (I am not sure that our jeep could climb the hill) 3. Turn off on a side road. I did not see a side road. Finally I broke into the argument and asked the MP which option I could take. We went down the hill. Off shore were three battleships and two destroyers that the French had scuttled to keep the Germans from getting them. They were sitting straight with the waves crossing their decks. There was a large white beach. The houses all had flowers, were painted and charming. The only suitable place I had seen in Africa. We ate in a cafe. I d not remember what I had, but after C-rations it was good. We went to a lonely part of the beach because we did not have suits. We went swimming returned to our tents. The Roman City of Cucle was a delight. Sanborn, Ahalt, Lajoie and I drove to the Roman City. It was built about 50 A. D., and the Romans withdrew in an orderly fashion, at the time of the invasion. The city was not fought over and thus not much of it was destroyed, The city was covered with sand and not 'discovered' until 1930. An estimate about 50% of the city had been excavated. On the way there we saw a large number of people gathered in an olive grove. We drove to the grove and inside it two bulls were being cooked on open fire. We had taken Lajoie along because he could speak French. But no one seemed to understand him. We guessed that the event was a wedding. We left. , ,- We stopped to watch wheat being thrashed by two oxen tied to a pole, which rotated around the middle of the stone floor. A boy led the oxen and three women swept the floor to get the grain and throw out the chafe. On arrival an Arab boy came forward to "guard" our jeep. We took the rotor with us even after agreeing to employ him. An old Arab man arrived to be our guide. He knew about 15 or 20 English words. Roman being one, followed by nouns such as bath, market, road, temple, house, etc. He turned out to be an excellent guide. First we went to the amphitheater. It had great acoustics. A person on the stage could be heard at any spot with no echo. It was supposed to seat 7000 people. Then we went to a bath. This was small, about 10 by 25 feet. It was dry; The location of the city had to be selected by an engineer. The site was excellent. About halfway up a large hill a large spring gushed from the rocks. The water had been channeled to run all through the town in aqueducts. Just next to the bath there was water running through the latrine. The latrine was a stone slab with three holes. It appeared to us that a hole was stopped by sand that was to let the water into the bath. I went back to the jeep and found a wire clothes hanger, which we straightened and poked, into the hole. Sure enough the water bubbled in. The bath was about four feet deep. We jumped in and cooled oft: There was just one channel of water flow. What was one mans sewage was drinking water on a lower level. Since no one was above us we figured the water was useable. On to the Forum: the palace was excavated. It was interesting. The market place was more so. On each stall was carved what specials were sold there. The bull's head for meat, a loaf of bread for bread, grapes for wine. The wine and oil measure was there. A stone block with four conical holes each a different size, a small at the bottom was a fmger and the wine poured in. When full, the buyer put his vessel under the hole and the wine merchant removed his finger. There were fifty stalls. The main road out of the market place had deep ruts worn into the cobblestone. There was a large carved wall plate, which we tried to read the Latin words with some success. On each side of the road were houses. We could see over the rooftops. To go into one, one had to descend a few steps. I ducked down and into one of the houses. The guide immediately pulled me out. I do not know why. Some guesses: 1. Snakes, or handy-dandy military guidebook said there were no snakes in this part of Africa and I never saw one. 2. The roof might fall in, it would take make ten more minutes. 3 We might find some artifact.. Alas, I will never know, but my guess it was the guides fear of ghosts. We went through most of the city and came upon a Christian Temple. It was round, marble, 50 feet in diameter with a domed roof supported by a marble columns with fish carved on the outside of each column. The floor was highly polished marble. There were no walls except the columns. This was the only building we were allowed to enter. In the shade it was very comfortable. There was a French lady in charge of the site, but she had gone. We could not see the museum. By now it was the middle of the afternoon and we were hungry. There was a French Inn across from where we had parked the jeep. We went inside to see if we could eat. Yes we could eat. We were seated around a table. There was a lot of French conversation in the other room. Finally the owner came out to see if we wanted any "via rose. " We looked at Lajoie and he told us that this was red wine. We chose "via Blanco." Egg omelet was the only menu for the day. It came with French bread and potatoes. We returned to camp. I would like to visit there again. There was an Arab Sheik who rode past our camp going to Naveran. He rode a Fine white horse. follower by the retainer carrying a long rifile. He was riding a black horse. (On one occasion I saw the Sheik riding in a buggy with a surrey on top and his wives inside.) The retainer was riding behind. One day the Sheik dismounted and went into the headquarters tent. Probably talking about the fire and bombs at Naveran. Sanburn and I took some sugar cubes from our C-rations and went over to see the white horse. The retainer came up to see what we were doing. That was his job. We showed him the sugar cubes, ate one ourselves and he allowed us to give them to the horse. He took one to his horse. The Sheik returned and said "hello." We admired his horse and he invited us to come to see his finca and the rest of his horses. He told us the way and said to come tomorrow at 1600. Sanburn, Ahalt, Trent and I took a jeep and drove to his place. It was a walled compound. As we drove up to the gate about ten rifles were trained on us. We had a Tommy gun under each seat and our side anns. We did not want to engage in a shoot- out. We sat still and there was a lot of loud talk in the yard. Soon the gate opened and the Sheik came out to greet us with a thousand pardons. He had failed to tell the guard. We entered the compound. The house was one comer and the other three corners were the barns. Horses were saddled and we rode out to see the sheep and goats. When we returned to the compound a meal was ready for us. Sanders claimed that the meat was dog but, I think it was goat. The Sheik had attended Harvard and knew English. He also, was familiar with Boston. He owned a large area of land and was sitting out the war to get started again. We never asked about the Arab-French conflict. The servants were all males. However, he would show us his house. The harem was the second door to the right, If when we went by the door and it was open and we happened to see any of the wives, that was just one of those things that can happen. Well, the door was open and I saw two females. They were not dressed like the harem ladies in the movies. They had on plain dresses with no color. We left soon after with an invitation to come back. We transferred out before another opportunity arrived. TUNIS AND ON TO ITALY Chapter 12 By July Tunis area was clear of Germans and water supplies were stable. We received orders to move up to a dirt strip close to Tunis. This was a tough move, because we had so little time. French Transportation Company was sent to provide support. They had new 6 x 6' s. We loaded all our stuff. Every thing had to come down. Every hole had to be filled. Nothing was to be left behind. I drove my jeep and was pleased to be a part of the convey. The French drivers were crazy, considering the poor roads and their driving. We decided that having only three wrecks was remarkable. Two days later we arrived at the new airfield. Finding the equipment was a real problem. Everything was shoved off of the trucks. The drivers left immediately afterward. The trucks that were loaded together did not arrive together. This resulted in our equipment being scattered all around the area. A week later we were operational. Louis, Jim and I moved our staff up on the hillside in the middle of a young olive orchard. This was a good location. We could see the airstrip and most of the squadron area we were out of the local dust, but still at the mercy of dust storms. The group headquarters was in a large French Villa. At one time the villa must have been very nice. It had high ceilings, thick rock walls and windows that closed. There was a large grape arbor around the villa. By this time I had become Aircraft Maintenance Officer as well as being in charge of the Tech-supply. One morning we were to have a formal review. The group was to receive awards. I decided I did not want to go. I went down to the line. I think I was the only person around the aircraft. I noticed a small single engine aircraft landing. It taxied over to the side of the runway. I decided I had better see who was there. I took a weapon wagon (small truck) and drove over to the small plane. There was the pilot and General Spatz, General Doolittle and General Eisenhower. They asked where the formation was and I said that I would take them there. I advised the pilot where he could park his plane. The Generals climbed aboard and General Eisenhower sat by me. The other generals climbed the back. We bounced up the hill and past the villa and to the flat area where a small stand had been built in front of the formation. I came up from behind and stopped. Our group commander Col Upthigrove jumped off the stand and came running over explaining that he did not know how his people had missed the Generals. They climbed down from the weapon carrier and I decided to disappear because I did not really want any questions on the why I was not in dress uniform and in the formation. Late one afternoon I was sitting in my office (tent) and the phone rang. We had "field" phones and several phones were on one line, which was on the ground. I picked it up but Sergeants Goose beat me to it. So I listened to find out if this call was for me. The caller was our Intelligent Officer. He wanted some thumbtacks. Sergeant Goose asked in great detail about the specification of the tacks he desired. The length of shaft, gauge of the shaft, the diameter of the head, the shape of the head, flat or curved, color required and number of each color. Then he said, "We do not have any like that." If you knew Maj. Teddy Duddly you would appreciate the story more. I laughed for 30 minutes. Across the valley was a Roman aquaduct. It was still in use, carrying water from Zagwan to Tunis. So far as I could determine it was the only water supple for the city. The Engineer Corp had tapped the aquaduct. So, this was the source for our water. We had to truck our water rather than have it piped to where we needed it. Water was not always available. I said that a group of men should be able to build a shower. The next day one was built. It consisted of an elevated tank of water and a pipe with a showerhead. To make it private a canvas was draped around it. It worked fme, but quantity of water per person was limited. To keep our feet out of the mud, boards were placed on the ground. One day one of the boards was moved and I saw a large lizard. It must have been at least 18 inches long. We never saw another lizard, but we kept a watchful eye after the first one. Between Tunis, and us there was an aquaduct and an old fort named Mihamidis. The story about it was that if an army came along the Bay of Tunis took their army to the fort and all the fighting was done there, whoever won got the city. Outside walls were 200 yards long. Each forming a square. The walls were 40 feet high and 20 feet thick. There were several small openings on the north wall. I do not know about the other walls. Along the outside of the north wall the area had built lean to type houses where people lived. On our way to Tunis one day we decided to go into the fort. We stopped and entered one of the openings. There were buildings built on to the inside walls. There was a stone walk from the gate leading toward the center and the main fort. About this time some Arabs arrived making a big fuss about our going inside. We could stand at the gateway and look. I do not know why they objected. It was an old Roman house Across the road from the fort was a small Arab settlement and store. One afternoon we noticed some cantaloupes on the porch of the store. We decided to wait until we came home to buy some. It was dark when we returned. As our car lights lighted the porch there were no cantaloupes. Seeing a small light in the back of the store we entered the store. There were the cantaloupes. We selected six melons. The old man who was tending the store was smart. Instead of trying to tell us the cost, he wrote on a piece of paper. As I remember the price was 5 francs. That was about ten US cents. That was a good deal. I picked up three and Jim picked up the others and we started to go out the door. There must have been at least 25 men in the store. I did not hear them at all. Yes, I was scared. All I could think of was to start for the door and the fIrst one to try to stop me was to put a melon in his face. They parted and we walked outside. I turned to see if Jim made it, he did, The men probably wanted to be sure that we did not hurt the store keeper The melons were excellent. At this time Sicily and Italy had been bombed. We could not reach any place. Our pilots could not fly very much. We had some time to see more of the country. Carthage was on the other side of Tunis. Yes I went to Carthage. As reported, the Romans tore it down. It was difficult to determine which building might have been used for what purpose. However, I did purchase a real Roman "genuine" lamp. There were many piles of rock scattered over a large area. The lamp looked like it was real. I sent it to my Mother. She was a Latin teacher. She treasured the gift. I have the lamp now. We were having movies. On a hillside was a screen. A projector put the pictures on the screen. There was a loud speaker. Everyone had a bomb-fin crate. The fin for the bomb came in a metal crate. Each crate was about 12" x 12" 12" inches. One side was solid and the other sides were open with bracing. They made ideal stools. About everyone would gather with his or her bomb-fin crates to watch the movie. It was amazing what could happen to stop the movie. I must have seen the first reel of "Arsenic and Old Lace" ten times before I saw the third reel. That night it was shown first. I did see it as a play in New York City. When we left Kilmer we had to take all our bad boys who were in the guard with us. One of them shot the Armament Sergeant. He was caught and later court-marshaled. He later killed an MP and when he was caught again the MP's did not fool around about bringing him to Italy. Careful packing was needed. The things that were critical went on our own trucks. The rest was packaged for overseas by boat moment. The aircraft and crews went to another field nearby. The ground party all moved up close to Birsitti. We camped out in a large open field and had a good time. We had our own kitchen. We had some ball games. There were about 200 men the squadron executive officer was Capt Scarbrough. He was to march the men down to the dock to board. I was in charge of the vehicles. I was to load our convoy on a LST. My convoy pulled out on time and was soon were loaded. Our exe threw his pack into my jeep because he did not want to carry it. As soon as we were loaded the LST left the dock and moved out into the harbor There were some extra pilots. They were to ride with the convoy. By the time Lt. James Seacord and I were sure that the vehicles were in place and all the drivers had places to sleep; the officer were in the staterooms. The staterooms were all taken. Jim had the weapons carrier from the supply. We unloaded a few box into my jeep. We spread a heavy tarp in the back of the Weapons carrier and put our sleeping bags down. We had a wonderful place to sleep. The weapons carrier was on the top deck. The weather was fme except for a small shower one night. The staterooms were hot. We found an empty bottle to enclose a note to our exe, letting him know that we still had his gear in good condition. It was about a month before he arrived. We were sailing on Thanksgiving Day. The Navy did feed us well. ITALY CHAPTER 13 We landed late in the afternoon in Naples. I had studied the map and knew now to get off the wharf and out of the city. As soon as possible we collected our vehicles and started our convoy. All went well and before dark we were in open field setting up camp. Seacord and I decided that his weapon carrier was the best place to sleep. The next morning we ate C-rations and were on our way. We made fine time until we where crossing the mountains on a very narrow road. We came upon some British soldiers who had stopped They built a group of small fires and were having tea I drove my jeep up to see if three was enough room for our 6 x6's could get by. They could not. The British stopped for about one hour. About 1600 we were over the mountain and the roads were better, so we were making good time until a truck stalled. The truck was soon fixed and we were on the way. We were close to Foggia, our end point when another truck stalled. I told Ahalt to take my jeep and keep the convoy going while I checked on repairs. I had one command car and three trucks. Two of the trucks were the repair trucks with parts and mechanics. The truck was soon going again, but it was dark, and we were at least one hour behind the convoy. We were mixed in with another convoy When we entered Foggia the MP's . ) would not let us out of line. We went out of town the wrong way. 1 spotted an open field and stayed the rest of the night. The following morning 1 found that convoy had been scattered. By noon all were assembled. We made our way to our new airbase. The locator of our new headquarters must have been a government and civil administrative area. There were several buildings with office space. A flag pole was set in the middle of the square. We pitched a tent to spend this night because this was to be our headquarters area And this would also be the squadron area. We pitch a stake at each comer of the tent and let it go. A storm came up and Louis started yelling. "1 am in the rain. " We got bailed out of the bed to fIX the tent before it went down. Just one comer folded. We put in more stakes on the windward side. Louis took our Lt. Scarborough's gear and had a dry bed again. The next morning we moved to our squadron area. The airplanes arrived. Within a week, the equipment arrived, but it was two weeks before our contingent of men arrived. Then we had everything operating smoothly. The Australians had guard support on the other side of the base. The sorties would be about twenty minutes. We could hear the artillery fire from the front line. Artillery fIfe was fued about ten minutes at mealtime, midnight, about four in the moming, about nine at night, apparently designed to keep anyone from getting a good sleep. Axis Sal greeted is pm the radio. She told us that we did not have to worry about bombed tonight. They would wait until all the men and equipment were there for the welcome party. The welcome party never occurred. Soon we were at full speed and all was doing well. In our squadron area were two farmhouses. The barn was built as part of the house.. One house was used as the squadron headquarters and the other was used for the officer mess. We put up some other buildings for enlisted men, sick call and dayroom. Christmas arrived before the officer mess was completed. I well remember on Christmas Day we had "missions" and our airplanes received a lot of damage. We worked until after dark trying to get them repaired for the next day. I remember standing in line, in the rain at the end of the line waiting for my Christmas dinner.. I did not get very much food either. It was a bad day. We lived in tents. We made a stove of bomb-fin crates. It was about fourteen inches square on top. The firebox was about eight inches deep. The bottom of the firebox was about ten inches from the floor. Inside the firebox was a tin can that was half full of dirt and rocks. That was the burner. A copper tube came from a tank of 100 octanes, the fuel source. It kept the tent warm. The stove could be used to cook on when we had something to cook. It was cold and wet most days. We could see the snow on the surrounding mountains. There were a lot of aircraft stuck in the mud. We had to dig holes so that the turrets and props would not touch the ground. The ramps had to be dry to roll the planes back to ground level. The Corp of Engineers would come over with a D-8 Cat to do the pulling. We would lay cable (one inch in diameter) but sometimes they would break. Shields were always in place and no one stood close to the planes when they were being pulled-out of the mud. By summer it was hot and dry. Toward the end of the summer the Corp of the Engineering built us a building for my office and technical supply, There were parallel runways on the field. On this day Sergeant Redd, my line Chief and I went out to one of the planes that was not in use and set back from the line, toward from the runways. The mission was departing. One plane behind the other. The wind shifted and it was decided to take off going the other direction. So a line of planes were taxing on one runway and taking off on the other direction on the active runway. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and ran off of the runway and into one of the aircraft moving into position to take off. It was almost a nose-to-nose dead-center crash with all eight props turning. The front of both planes were crushed to pieces back into the wings. Both had full loads of gas and bombs. We were trying to get the men out of the planes. Some were already dead. We did not consider if they were in condition to be moved. The slightest spark and the leaking gasoline and bombs would go. Besides the gas fumes would soon overcome. We just drug them out and away from the plans. Soon some assistance did arrive. Gasoline was leaking from both planes. We had the men out and were standing there looking at the mess when the colonel ran up. He looked at the mess, grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and stuck it into his mouth. Then he pulled out a lighter. I slapped it out of his hand, picked it up and handed it back to him. By that time he realized what he had almost done and disappeared. As I looked at the wreckage the planes "Queen die proudly." Seemed to be fitting. On summer evenings there was usually a softball game on. One, evening I was playing second base when a runner tried to steal. The throw was high, so I was up in the air, the runner slid under me. I broke both anns. It is very hard to do anything with two broken anns. In our tent we played chess, penny poker and bridge. It depended on who was available. Sometimes trucks took people to the beach for a swim. The most interesting trip I took was when I went to San Anglo. The town is on a bluff above the Adriatic Sea. It had been started by shipwrecked Vikings (so the story goes). Most of the residents were blue-eyed and blond. They built a walled town with a castle inside the wall. The streets were very narrow. There were steps instead of ramps. We spent about three hours. We were unable to go into the castle. One afternoon one of the planes came back early because it had wounded. It stopped at the end of the runway. The wounded were removed to ambulances. The pilot moved the plane to its revetment All of my chiefs were working in the Maintenance Office when the pilot taxied into the revetment! I decided to go see the damage. There had to be some. About the time I got out of my jeep, a jeep drove up to the Maintenance Office. Two officers dismounted and went into the office. The story as 1 heard it later. One of the officers asked? "Well who is in charge here?" "Capt. Henry is Sir." "1 do not see him.!" "He is out checking the damage to the aircraft." Well, who is in charge when Capt Henry isn't here?" "Sergeant Redd.. sir" Which of you is Sergeant Redd?" "He is at the plane with Capt. Henry." Who is in charge when Capt. Henry and Sergeant Redd are not here.."Sergeant Cellino, Sir." "Where is he?" "He is with Capt. Henry, Sergeant Redd and Celinno." "I want to know who is in charge in this room, right now." "Cpl Milnar. Sir." Cpl Milnar was the clerk and the lowest ranking man in the room. "He can't be with all you Sergeants. When ever two army men are together, one is in charge! They left and drove away. I never heard any thing from this. I figured my chain of command was solid. Really 1 did not have many dull days. Two state side hotshot majors were transferred into the squadron. They were training command types and were very important. Operations called and told me that the two Majors were coming down to fly a new aircraft that had just arrived. I said that they were not as the planes had to be prepared for combat. I told Sgt AIm, the crew chief to get the entire cowling and everything else off. The Majors arrived and went to the aircraft and soon they were in my office. I told them could have another plane, an old one. I don't know what would have happened or why he came to my office, but Colonel Seamana the Group Operations Officer walked in and stood behind the two majors. 1 repeated why the plane would not fly. Co!. Semana spoke up and said, "The plane will fly when Capt. Henry says so." End. The Army had an inspection system for the one inspector they sent over Major Killdare who had been maintenance officer in another squadron. He had been replaced. He arrived and was raring to go. It was a cold rainy day. He "gigged" my outfit for having mud on the underneath of the tractor. When my commander got the report he called me in to find out why. I told him that we could have a clean underside of the tractor if we did not tow any airplanes or put any oxygen into the system on a rainy day. The inspector had another idea. We had our full quota of men and no promotions. He recommend that I "bust" one Master Sergeant thus giving me six promotions. Since at least half of my Sergeants heard the remark I proceeded to make a speech about what a great group of sergeants I had and I would not "bust" any. One day the alternate plane did not take off on the mission. While cleaning the guns a ball turret gun discharged. The slug came through the nose of another plane and between the pilot and co-pilot seats. Two mechanics were checking the engines at the time. A fire started back of the men. They stopped the engines and slid out of the side window and dropped to the ground. I decided to go into the plane to see what was burning. I went in the side door and worked my way to the cockpit. The slug had made a hole in the oxygen tank. Was under pressure; the flow was hitting some grease which was burning. I took a carbon-dioxide extinguisher and put out the fire. However, when I stopped the extinguisher the fire would start. Again, because the oxygen was still leaking. After awhile I ran out of carbon dioxide. There was not another extinguisher available I walked out of the plane and watched the plane bum. I was almost a hero, but no one knew it but me. Louis, Sandburn and I went to a rest camp for a week. It was near the south of Italy and up in the mountains. It was nice to get away from the hot summer for a few days. The food was good. We played a lot of ping-pong. Death was never far away. One morning a mission plane returned with a fire in the right wing. Seven parachutes came out of the bomb bay. As it flew over at about 500 feet above the runway the starboard engines were not working. The props were feathered. The plane flew two or more miles and rolled to the right. The nose went down and rolled to the right. The nose went down and into the ground. I am sure the autopilot was not on and nothing held the controls. Lt. Porter, my assistant and I jumped into the jeep and went to the crash site. The plane hit about sixty yards in front of a large farmhouse. There was a cone shaped hole in the ground, about twenty yards in diameter and ten yards deep. The spilled gasoline was still burning with a fluttering murmur. I could not find any metal that could be identified as a part of the airplane. Capt. Popermaster, the doctor arrived with an ambulance and a couple of Corp men. They tried to find body parts of the three men, but small pieces of skin were all that could be found. Twelve 500 lb bombs tend to make large piece small. The strange phenomena were the great amount of money that was blowing around. Each parachute had an escape kit. Each kit had maps, drugs, and money so that the crew could buy freedom. $20.00 bills were all over the area. Lt Pollard and I picked-up all we could find. The money was not burned. It was released from the escape kit. The money was genuine United State money. We did not want it. The reason it was marked money that was a no, no for us. The end number was 075. The British were on the other side of the airbase. They were flying Wellingtons which Had the name of "Wimpps". They were small night bombers, but did carry 4000 pound Bombs. One night on takeoff one of the: Wimpps" crashed. A 4000-pound bomb does make a lot of noise. One time I did put a wrench to an aircraft. Sergeant Willde and crew had to change out an engine. They made the change but the engine ran so rough they took it off. They exchanged it for another new engine. When they put it on, it also was striking, as it would falloff. A third engine was put on and it also striked as if it would falloff. All of them took about three days and there was a lot of talk about the problem. Changing engines are usually routine. I was going to have to do something. I picked up the instruction manual to read about engine change. Four bolts held the engine in place. Caution was given to not tighten the bolts too tightly. Sergeant Willde was a large man with fists as large as my head. He was a first class type of man and a hard worker. I asked him if he had tightened the bolts down good and snug. He told me he had. I told him to go loosen them and I would be over to the airplane in a short time. I went to supply and found a torque wrench and set it to the recommended torque. I went over to the plane. I tightened each nut and put on the safety. Then we started the engine. The engine ran as smooth as it could be. I took the wrench back to the supply. I did not say a word, but the use of torque wrenches went through the maintenance section. For security we now had a black police squadron. They seemed to be scared most of the time. The handled their weapons well. Unless I could find the sergeant of the guard I would not go out on the line at night. Some nights when we had to work and have lights moved into place and were working before the guards reported we would stay on the line. Four of the entrances to the base had to be had guarded. Each had a guard shack and very little traffic. One night I was O. D. arrival at the guard post I found that the guard had removed his pistol belt. He was fast asleep; I picked up the belt and took it with me. Two days later I had a call from the adjutant inquiring about the pistol. I let them sweat it out the rest of the week before I returned it. The Army operated a hotel in Rome as a rest camp. I was able to go to Rome twice. I spent my time visiting all the old ruins I could get to. This trip was lots of fun. I did get to all the standard places. There were tours to the catacombs, and other places. Mt. Vesuvius started to erupt we took a plane full of people who want to see the eruption. It was putting out a lot of smoke and some lava. We flew around watching how it was flowing down the mountain. Then we noticed a B25 flying at about the mountaintop, moving down into the smoke. We never saw it come out of the smoke. In January '45 I developed a case of Yellow Jaundice. I mean I really turned yellow. I was living on oranges and bread. Diet called for no fat. After several days Dr. Popermaster sent me to the hospital in Foggia. It was an old TB sanitarium. There were very high ceilings, cold and no heat. The only chann was the USA nurses. Lt. Secord was in the same room. He had Emphysema. The second, I was there I put on my clothes and went to see people. I came back with a kerosene heater. The nurse's office was across the hall from our room. When we had heat the nurses finished their rounds and ended up in our room. Most of the night we played bridge. Ten days later Jim and I were discharged. The kerosene heater was left with the nurses. The nurses were on the same ship we were on the trip to Africa. Any mention of the trip they would go into a rage and rightly so, WAR'S END CHAPTER 14 The war in Europe was about to end. I had lost some of my best men to the Pacific. Everyone was counting their points .to determine when they might get to go back to the states. I had a goodly supply, however Maintenance Officers were in great demand. A chance to go to Egypt for a week carne along. I took it. One morning ten of us loaded into an aircraft and was on our way. The flight took us over Greece. We took a low level pass over the Acropolis. Next we flew over Crete. As we arrived over the African coastline the turbulence was terrific. On arriyal we exchanged money and went to the hotel. There were a lot of interesting people. The hotel was small. A female dance group performed shows at a near by nightclub. The lady in charge did not like Americans. She forbid her dancers from talking with us. One girls contract was about over. She was not going to renew her contract. She talked to us all the time. She was an interesting person. She was a white Russian. As a small child she along with her family fled Russia and had been living in the Middle East ever since. She spoke eleven languages. Her English had a Scottish accent. She could shift from one language to another without any difficulty. Her performance of the Russian dances was excellent One day the hotel desk clerk said something to her in Italian that she did not like. She walked over to the desk, in one motion she grabbed him by the hair, pulled his head and planted an uppercut Oft his nose. She walked away with the comment "He won't say that to me again." Later a bellhop said something that she did not like. In one continuous motion she grabbed a large glass ashtray and threw it across the room. It hit him on the side of the head. We decided not so say anything to her that she would not like. The end of the war was declared and all aircraft were grounded. We stayed two days longer than we had planned. We went to a picture show one evening and we took her with us. I sat next to her. Every word she did not understand she wanted it explained and right now. We went to the nightclub one night. She was one of the dancers that evening. We had two guides called dragomen. One went ahead, purchased the tickets, made reservations etc. The second one walked along with us. The one who walked with us called himself' Moses.' That was a good name for a guide. We shopped in the Bazaar, visited the museums, and visited the pyramids. We rode camels to the Sphinxes. Camels are mean and very uncomfortable to ride. There was a cafe and nightclub. We decided to stay for the evening. Moses told us where to catch a streetcar back to the hotel. About midnight we got on the streetcar. We did not know where we were or where to get off. So at one stop we got off and stood looking around, having no idea of which way to go. We walked a block and luck would have it our hotel was about a block away. We left Egypt and flew to Palestine. We stayed in Tel Aviv. It was all new and very nice. There wasn't time to see or visit places. The next morning we left. It was a wonderful trip. When I returned to the base I found that some more of my men had departed. We did need to change a strut on one of the aircraft. I told Sgt. Ceilini that he and I would change it. This was the second time that I actually did any physical labor on an aircraft. We did the job in one day. I had about 100 men and 12 to 15 aircraft at anyone time. Being young and the first time being the boss or CEO, I did not realize what a fine group I really had. There were a couple of "goofs" but the rest were surprisingly excellent. Maybe I should say a few things about a few of them. MSGT Redd. One of the Line Chief. He was older that the rest of the men. He had about ten years of service when the war started. Because of his experience he had the respect of the men. He was steady and a hard worker. MSGT Ceilini. One of the Flight Chiefs. He had a wild look in his eye. He was wild at times, but he was a very important to me. He knew why an engine was not running right. He also knew how to fix it. I remember one morning I came down to the line when the mission was getting ready to go, Ceilini was sitting in the office. Ten aircraft were having their engines warmed. He said "Andy's #3 is cutting out." He went to "tech supply". Got a part and returned. MSGT Anderson came rushing in into the office, and said that #3 was cutting out. Ceilini had him the part, which was quickly installed. The aircraft made its mission. Ceilini had the job of getting the aircrafl:s on the way. He returned when the mission returned to see what repairs were needed. ,; MSGT Redd took care of the major and routine repairs. Joe was the frrst in his family to graduate from high school. But then he had to go to work in the coalmines of Pennsylvania. He did not like that at all. He was in a bar one night enjoying his beer. The fellow next to him was an Army Recruiter. He signed Joe up right on the spot. MSGT Ceilini had about five years of service when the war started. He had an allotment at a bank in the states. He drew about $15.00 on payday. He would head for the dayroom and gamble, and then loose his money. The next day he would see me to borrow $10,00 for the rest of the month. He soon had it worked out that he went to the pay line. He gave $10 to Sgt Molinar ten dollars to give me. I never bothered to put the money in my pocket, because I knew that the next day he would come in to get a loan again. I do not know how SGT Ceilini could be so good to listen to an engine. MSGT Averill was a Flight Chief: He worked mostly with MSGT Redd. He was a very nice, young and capable man. Sgt Molinar was a clerk. He had been in New York City and did not anything about the job of clerk. He was honest, dependable and kept the office in shipshape. MSGT Cree was Assistant Inspector: MSGT Pabvenisk was the Inspector. But I could not depend on him, especially on the paper work. David Cree had been a bank clerk prior to being drafted. MSGT Goose was head of the Technical Supply. He and five others kept parts, tech and assorted equipment ready for use. They were all dependable and they did a fine job. SGT Bobco must be mentioned, as he was able to scrounge almost anything we needed. Give him a jeep in the morning. In the afternoon he would return with the item. They were good crew Chiefs that each took care of an airplane. I will try to list the 'other MSGT's. AIm, Booth, Anderson, Carlock, Tieerney. Hurst, Wilde, Cochran. Honeycutt, Nelson. Seegar was in charge pfthe refueling crew. They did gasoline, oxygen, and oil. SGT Seegar could walk away with two tanks of oxygen - one on each shoulder. I received orders to transfer to a service squadron who was scheduled to return to the States. I was quartered on the second floor of an old manor. I was the only one living there. It was lonely. In about a week I was moved t~ a small building that been constructed by previous officers. That was much better. I was second in command in the squadron. The war being over there was not much to do. There were a few problems to handle. The food was good. There was a dentist who took care of about ten cavities. The Commander had been having about a third of his people in rest camps. This was a good idea. He, also had gone to camp a lot of the time. A week in Switzerland came up and I grabbed the opportunity. We left on a train to Switzerland and by noon arrived at a hotel that served us a meal. The trip cost $35.00. The cost was $35.00 and we could not take any more. The Swiss were afraid that we might flood the country with money and cause inflation. The Swiss people were congenial and helpful. The food and accommodations were good. The seven days were delightful. One evening I did not have much to do so to do, so I took a jeep and went back to the 99th to see how things were going. I found a couple of people I knew. Then it was about dark. I started toward a tent that I thought some of my newer mechanics might be. I came up to the door and could hear loud noises inside. I was just about ready to knock on the door when I heard one voice say "By God, if Capt. Henry was here we would not have to do it." I quickly disappeared in the darkness, found my jeep and that was the last I saw of the 99th. A few days later I went to the port of Naples. After several checks and inspections I finally boarded a Liberty Ship. The trip to Port Patrick Henry was uneventful. The next day I boarded a Troop train for Jefferson Barracks. It took three days leave to see Frances. It was wonderful. We had last seen each other in Oklahoma City as we left to go to Kilmer. I then returned to Jefferson barracks where I had surgery for a hernia. After the surgery, sick leave and terminal leave I was discharged in February 1946. I was recalled to active duty 0 1 Jan 1947. I was sent to the University of Chicago to study to become a Meteorologist. , _J