POSTSCRIPT: Marvin Schulze died of a heart attack in 1973. The balance of the crew are still alive at this time. Our thanks to Gwen Schulze, who attended the 1989 reunion of the 397th Bomb Group, for agreeing to share this personal account with those interested. Copies will be forwarded to the 397th Bomb Group Association and to the B-26 Historical Society.
The original diary was 2 1/2" by 4 1/2", which was exceedingly small. Marvin was an artist at writing in miniature. In order to read the diary it was first necessary to enlarge it on a xerox. We tried to get names of men as correct as possible, but did not check all the names of targets, for example.
It was a marvelous experience for me to relive this exciting period of history.
Italics indicated information that was added.
Note: Proper names have been made bold to facilitate locating and a proper name index is provided..
Ervin J. Cook
November, 1989
1st Printing: 1989
2nd Printing: 1991
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DIARY OF A B-26 PILOT
MARVIN SCHULZE
1944-1945
02-27-44 Hunter Field, GA. Got my new airplane today. Visited the city of Savannah and saw a show. Don't think much of the town.
02-28-44 Flew my plane for first time this morning and decided it was OK except for being a little slow, and that's only because it's new.
02-29-44 Our ship is all loaded, and we got Lt. W. H. Smith for our navigator. Landed at Homestead Field, Florida this p.m., about 20 miles from Miami.
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03-01-44 Went through the usual processing and were briefed on our next hop. Homestead is a nice field. Cook's teeth almost delayed us a few days.
03-02-44 Took off at dawn for Borenquen, Puerto Rico. Flew seven hours over water. Best field so far. Everything is well.
03-03-44 Took off at dawn again. Destination: Atkinson Field, British Guinea. Not much here. Mosquito and heat terrible. Food still good. Plane runs well.
03-04-44 Flew six hours today. Three of them on instruments. I have lots of faith in Smith, my navigator. He sleeps a lot, but we always get there.
03-05-44 Took off at dawn from Belem Field, Brazil for Natal. Nice flying weather, but over jungle. Crossed the equator and the Amazon River.
03-06-44 Stayed all day at Natal. Had 50-hour inspection on airplane. Went swimming in the ocean. Bought presents from the natives. Still very hot -- getting used to it.
03-07-44 Took off today as Flight Leader for Ascension Island. Just a little speck of land in the middle of the ocean. Two hours of gas left.
03-08-44 Destination today Roberts Field, Liberia. Lost one B-26 in the ocean. Haven't heard anymore about them. Heat is terrible. Nothing to do; can't go to town.
03-09-44 Takeoff for Dakar delayed until 10 a.m. because of mag trouble. Navigator lost for few minutes, but got there OK. Big field, bad food and hard beds. Ocean is like ice.
03-10-44 Briefed for next hop. Played cards and saw a show. No hot water since leaving the states. Shave only once a week now.
03-11-44 Weather supposed to be good. Atlas Mountain Pass found to be closed about halfway through hop. Landed at Agadir for gas. Desert all the way. Reached Marrakesh about 5 p.m.
03-12-44 Briefed today on hop to United Kingdom. Ship got a 25-hour inspection. Loaded our guns just for safety sake.
03-13-44 Weather at United Kingdom bad for B-26's. Back to the sack. Swell quarters, but food bad. C-47 cracked up on takeoff at Dakar, hitting a B-17 and B-24. Several hurt.
03-14-44 Stuck for another day. Went to town, but the Arabs and French soon became sickening. The Media (Old City) was off limits. Bought a knife for a few francs.
03-15-44 Slept until noon, saw a movie at Red Cross in town, filled our canteens and got our lunch. Weather briefed and ready to go two hours early. Saw Bower and crew crack up at end of runway.
03-16-44 Took off few minutes after crash. Everybody sweated takeoff. Night flying bad, very hard on eyes. Ran into ice shortly after daybreak. Hit hard rain all the way to St. Mawgan. (Smith west back to U.S.A.)
03-17-44 Staying another day at Hotel Great Western Newquay, England. Fog all day and very cold. Wondering what the next few days will bring.
03-18-44 Still at the same place. Weather bad. Played pinochle all day. Fisher and I took 11 out of 14 games from Cook and Connelly. Miss Gwen and Cheryl very much.
03-19-44 Left St. Mawgan this afternoon for Stanstead. Flew formation without a navigator. This is where we and our airplane part ways. Field bad, but food OK.
03-20-44 Thought we would leave today, but no soap. It's very cold and rainy, but we are still going into town. Bishop Stoford is its name, not so hot!
03-21-44 What a mess. We missed our train and had to take G.I. trucks to London. A train from there to Scotland and then a boat over to N. Ireland.
03-22-44 Arrived at Station #236 in Toome, N. Ireland this p.m. and found we were to be here for a period of weeks for school.
03-23-44 Got checked in today and unpacked for the first time in weeks. Nice place; food extra good, but too much walking. Ten to 12 pounds for a bike; 10 pounds = $40.00
03-24-44 Started our eight-hour a day school schedule today, and can't say I like it. Very tiresome and boring. Supposed to meet Vessels and Armijo here -- haven't yet.
03-25-44 Nothing new, still going to school. Weather is cold, damp and uncomfortable. "Ireland for the Irish" and they can keep it for my part.
03-26-44 Up bright and early and headed for the big city of Belfast. Everything closed -- Sunday. Couldn't even see a movie. Sure would like to be back in the States.
03-27-44 Back to the old grind. Dick Rigg and others pulled in Saturday afternoon; he's still got girl trouble in the States.
03-28-44 Received $87.50 per Diem. Nice day, but getting awful tired of going to school; benches are very hard to begin with, but after eight hours . . . . Well, we got some sore spots.
03-29-44 Day off. Cook and I rode our bikes to Toome and then a bus to Belfast. Spent the night there at Union Hotel. Roamed the streets during blackout. Got to bed very late and tired.
03-30-44 Ate a good breakfast at Red Cross and caught bus for Toombridge. Lots of snow on way back. Ate lunch in Toome. Picked up our bikes and got back in time for school.
03-31-44 Got out of school an hour early today. Went to town for dinner and got back in time to eat at the field. Saw a show and wrote letters.
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04-01-44 April Fool's Day, but nothing happened -- same routine. Sure wish I would get a letter from home.
04-02-44 Palm Sunday. Rained all day and very cold. Have only seen the sun twice since we've been here. Saw a movie at night and wrote letters.
04-03-44 Monthly pay $144.50. Still raining but not so cold. Regular day at school. Saw a British camp show tonight, and overlooking some of their dry humor, it was very good.
04-04-44 Vessels and Armijo got in last night, both well and looked good. Our day off starts at noon. Went to Port Rush, saw Giants Causeway. Had a swell time at the amusement park; rained most of the time.
04-05-44 Left Port Rush at 8 a.m. and got back in plenty of time for class. No more overnight passes after tonight. Looks as if something is in the wind, maybe the big push.
04-06-44 Just another day here; classes all day; shower at night, and then back to the sack.
04-07-44 Heard today that 68 men have been killed at Barksdale Field since we left. No names were mentioned. Sure glad we got out of there.
04-08-44 It seems we in the E.T.O. are fighting a gentlemen's war. All combat officers were restricted to the post as of tonight because they didn't wear blouses.
04-09-44 Easter. Still restricted, and it's getting worse. Some of the boys still aren't wearing their blouses after six, and they're making them drill a little while thinking it over.
04-10-44 Felling pretty bad with sore throat and cough; can't seem to keep warm around this place. Nothing unusual to report today. Received first letter from Gwen.
04-11-44 Day off. I feel lots better; slept till about noon. Restriction lifted. Visited Balleyrona. Nice town but not much doing.
04-12-44 This was our day off instead of yesterday. Made mistake by being several days behind in diary. Nothing else new that I can remember.
04-13-44 Picked up $2.50 more in per diem. Drill and P.T. this morning. Started flying this afternoon, only up for an hour. Flying the old short-winged jobs.
04-14-44 Terrible weather this morning. No flying. Drill and P.T., but we quit early; about 30 crews left here yesterday for their permanent station.
04-15-44 Spent today on the post, just loafing. Some of the boys flew, but we didn't have to. Still no mail, very disgusting.
04-16-44 Traded my bike for another one today. Even trade, and I got the best of the deal. Flew this afternoon.
04-17-44 Regular day. No flying. Drill and P.T. Took off early and rode our bikes to Magherafelt for a steak and fried eggs dinner.
04-18-44 Flew three hours of formation this morning. Pretty rough -- bad weather. Took afternoon off and rested. Still no mail.
04-19-44 Pretty dull day. Drill and P.T., but we didn't do much of either. No flying. Played cards and saw a show at night.
04-20-44 Flew formation both morning and afternoon. Hardest day I've put in. Weather terrible. Supposed to be our last day of flying here. Leave here 04-22-44 (Saturday).
04-21-44 Leaving tomorrow for England. Had swell dinner at Magherafelt. Got back at 12:00 and still have to pack.
04-22-44 Left Toome, Ireland at 1:30 on C-47. Arrived at Rivenhall, England at 4 p.m. Old men in our hut going home tomorrow. We are with the 397th B.G. and the 599th Bomb Squadron.
04-23-44 Slept till noon; went to Chelmsford last night and saw a movie. I don't know what the score is here yet. New group -- only four missions.
04-24-44 Still doing nothing but lay around. Play cards at the club during the day and see a show in town at night. This is the best part of England I've seen.
04-25-44 Supposed to have ground school today, but they canceled it. Took one hour link trainer. Jerry still comes over every night but hadn't disturbed my sleep yet.
04-26-44 Flew local formation today for a few hours. C.O. well impressed. Our crew will probably be busted up. Saw my old ship today.
04-27-44 Another day of leisure. Cook and three enlisted men on some Captain's crew. Vessels and I are with Jim Louden. I graduated with Jim back at Houston. Swell fellow.
04-28-44 Up at 4:30 a.m. for first raid. Went about 15 miles from Paris (Mantes Glassicourt). Didn't drop bombs because of solid undercast. No flak. Gunners saw several FW-190, but the SPITFIRES took care of them.
04-29-44 Another day off. Rather unexpected, but well appreciated. Cook and I are going to town for a haircut. Vessels on third raid today.
04-30-44 Second mission today (Lottinghem-Das de Calais). Really hot. Flak heavy and plenty accurate. Fourteen holes in our plane. Everybody got back and no one hurt. No enemy fighters.
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05-01-44 Number three for me; number five for Vessels; number two for Carr; and number two for the rest of the gang. Hit the marshalling yards near Paris (Mantes Glassicourt). No flak and no fighters.
05-02-44 Number four today (Busigny near Cambrai). Target was another roundhouse and railway yard in N. France. The flak was light, and we hit the target. No one hurt; no fighters. Rough weather; gunners sick.
05-03-44 Bad weather today. Alerted, but no mission. Flew a couple hours night local. One hour of link trainer and a meeting about military courtesy.
05-04-44 School today. Link again. Rest of group went on mission. Plenty of flak and poor bombing. Missed the target by miles. Col. plenty sore.
05-05-44 School again. Went to a show in town last night; no raid today; bad weather. Went through gas chamber. Sweating out some more mail.
05-06-44 Bad weather; no raid today. Flew a couple hours local formation this afternoon. Mail coming pretty good now.
05-07-44 Got up at 2 a.m. what we thought was the real thing. It turned out to be a practice; pre-dawn take-off and simulated bombing mission; sure was dark.
05-08-44 Number five and the hottest one yet. Our target was a couple of bridges near Rouen, France (Oissel, France). We got 28 flak holes, a busted hydraulic line, a hole in oil tank. One piece came pretty close to Piwetz in turret. All ships returned.
05-09-44 Number six; another hot one (Le Grismont-Pas de Calais). Target construction work near St. Omier, France. Thirty-six flak holes, oil tank and hydraulic system hit; hole in nose just missed Vessels and me! Piece of flak hit Vessels on head. One bombardier killed; all ships back.
05-10-44 Number seven; pretty soft today compared to the last one. Target was the marshalling yards at Creil, France. Only three flak holes. Gunners saw two men parachute and saw B-26 of another group crash in France. All our ships returned.
05-11-44 Number eight; about the easiest one yet. Target was an air field at Beaumont Le Rouge. Just a few puffs of flak all out of range. All ships returned. No one hurt. Escorted by P-38's.
05-12-44 Forty-eight hour pass starting at noon. Got to London about 1:00. Found a sack and walked for hours looking the place over. Saw stage show, "The Love Racket." Very good. Rode the underground.
05-13-44 Went on London tour today. Saw Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, etc. Saw another play, "Something for the Boys" -- not so good. A few beers, then to bed.
05-14-44 Up at 8:00 this morning and after a good breakfast started back. Took train to Chelmsford. Taxied to Whitmar. Rode with Colonel to next town, then caught a meat wagon to the field. (Plenty of mail waiting).
05-15-44 Number nine target was an airfield near Valenciennes, France (Denain/Prouvy). Complete undercast; dropped no bombs. Saw no flak or enemy planes. Just out for the ride. Got issued a bike today. Wish I was home.
05-16-44 Bad weather all day. Just laid around most of the time. All first pilots were issued a brand new G.I. jacket. Haven't heard from my old one.
05-17-44 Bad weather and another day of rest. Cook, Harlan, and Lutz went to look for our footlockers, but no luck. The three of us went into Braintree and saw a show. Heard evasion lecture.
05-18-44 Bad weather again and still another day of rest. We had a few hours of school, but just laid around the rest of the day. Sure do miss Gwen and Cheryl.
05-19-44 Cleared up a little bit today. Had a mission during late afternoon, but our squadron wasn't scheduled for it. Heard a lecture by some wing commander of British Air Ministry.
05-20-44 Number 10 and number 11; both targets were gun positions on channel coast (Varengeville Sur Mer). No flak, no fighters. Didn't drop any bombs on second trip after making three runs. Used 2,000 pound bombs today. Flew my old airplane today 42-196078.
05-21-44 No mission today; bad weather again. Went to town at night. Sang songs at the Red Cross Club.
05-22-44 Number 12. Another easy one; no flak; no fighters (St. Marie Au Bosc). Target was a three-gun battery right on French coast. Vessels painted some more on our ship tonight. It's beginning to look good. Reporters sent news of raid home.
05-23-44 Nothing much doing today. Bad weather. Slept until 10:00, wrote letters and read magazines. Painted more on our plane, but still haven't finished. Changed color of bathing suit to pink. Looks good.
05-24-44 Number 13 and number 14. Two coastal targets, first one easy (St. Marie Au Bosc and Dieppe Harber). Second plenty hot. Target right in center if Dieppe. Smashed up a couple ships. One co-pilot hurt. One plane no virgin anymore. Four flak holes.
05-25-44 Number 15. Longest one yet. Target, a bridge at Liege, Belgium. Plenty of flak, but no holes. All ships returned safely. Escorted by P-47's. No enemy planes second mission scrubbed bad weather.
05-26-44 Number 16. Another long one. Target an air field at Chartres, southwest of Paris. Plenty of flak, but no holes in our ship. Everyone returned. Our P-47's shot down one enemy fighter.
05-27-44 Number 17. Another long one. Target at St. Brauf, near Rouen. Railroad bridge across Seine River. Some flak, but no holes. Everyone returned safely. Didn't land until after 10 p.m. Vessels on another crew.
05-28-44 Number 18. Longer than yesterday. Hit another railroad bridge at Liege, Belgium. Flak was sufficient, but no hits. Escorted by P-47. Vessels permanently on another crew. No bombardier assigned to me yet.
05-29-44 Number 19 and number 20. Both long and plenty hot. First was a railroad bridge near Paris (Maisons Laffitte). Second, a no ball buzz bomb site at Beauvoir. One cameraman killed, two gunners wounded. Lt. Willemsen got his arm cut by flak. Several ships shot up, but ours not scratched. (Willemsen never did get his purple heart).
05-30-44 Wasn't schedule today for a change. Our 48-hour pass starts at 5:00. Had to take link before going. Left field about 5 p.m. Got to London after 6:00, found a room and went to see a show.
05-31-44 Slept until almost 10:00 in these nice soft beds. Ate breakfast and then went shopping for my battle jacket. Saw another show.
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06-01-44 Pass ends at 5:00 tonight. Slept late and went shopping. Bought Gwen a little bracelet. Arrived back to camp late after missing train. Nothing was said.
06-02-44 My whole crew except one flew with other crews on late raid today (Mission was to Camiers). Weather not so good. All passes and leaves were canceled until further notice. Maybe "D" day is coming soon.
06-03-44 Number 21. Target at Le Havre, France. Coastal gun batteries. Flak was thick, but we only got three holes. Late mission; didn't get back until almost 11:00. My ship out for 100-hour inspection. Heard Conneley and crew were in hospital (crash on T-off).
06-04-44 No mission today. Weather pretty bad. Wrote letters all day. Went to Braintree and saw a show at night. Had lunch at Red Cross Club and found another Detroit Times paper. Rained on way back.
06-05-44 Something's going on, but they haven't let us in on it yet. Everybody's wearing their sidearms and we're all restricted to the post. First mission is at 2 a.m. tomorrow.
06-06-44 "D-DAY." I didn't get to go on first raid. Number 22. Late this afternoon we attacked gun emplacements near Le Havre (Trouville). Our troops landed at 6:30 a.m. Everything going OK. No flak; no fighters so far.
06-07-44 Scheduled this a.m., but ship was out. Weather terrible, but group went out on two raids anyhow. I was operation officer most all day. Allied landings secure; everything looks good. Good show.
06-08-44 Scheduled for second mission today, (Rennes) but didn't leave until 8:00 tonight. Weather was worse than I've ever seen. Whole box turned back. All but one landed safely. Haven't heard what happened. (Bombed target of opportunity).
06-09-44 Not scheduled for anything today. Weather terrible again, and all planes stayed on the ground. News sounds very good. One ship crash landed last night -- co-pilot killed.
06-10-44 Another day off for Cook and me. Other fellows up at 4 a.m. Only one raid today. Everybody got back, but a few got shot up pretty bad.
06-11-44 Scheduled again, but bad weather held us up. Didn't do anything but write letters. Our footlockers finally arrived. Still sweating out our bikes from home.
06-12-44 Number 23. Got up at 3 a.m. After being briefed four times, we finally got off. Hit St. Lo near our lines. Flak plenty heavy, and four small holes in our ship. No one hurt.
06-13-44 Weather held the group to only one mission today. I was up for number two; we didn't do much. Just laid around taking life easy. Wrote several letters and thought a lot about home.
06-14-44 Number 24. Another early one. Target, railroad bridge southeast of Paris (St. Hilaire). A long haul, and I did all the flying. Flak heavy, but they only scratched us. No enemy fighters. All ships returned.
06-15-44 Number 24. Still getting us up before daylight. Target railroad bridge at Chartres. Moderate flak, but they missed us. No enemy fighters. Few ships had trouble. but they all got back OK.
06-16-44 Bad weather; no missions today. Cleaned up for tomorrow's inspection. Jerry was over tonight with his rocket planes. Did some damage, but nothing near us.
06-17-44 Passed inspection. Wasn't scheduled for a mission. Jerry over again today with pilotless plane. Boys went on raid late this evening. Results: three crash landings, "Slightly Dangerous," burned to the ground. Nobody hurt very bad. (Mission was to Chartes).
06-17-44 "SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS 078'S LAST FLIGHT": I wasn't scheduled for this mission, so Hixon, Lutz, and I went to a show in town. We got back about 11:30 a.m., and our ships were just beginning to land. The flak over the target was pretty bad, and our boys were badly shot up. 078 circled the field until the other landed because the hydraulic fluid was gone. She hit the runway with all wheels down, but the left main tire was flat and he didn't know it. It veered off the runway, and he couldn't seem to control it. Why Martinez didn't pull the airbottle, nobody knows. It was like a streak of light across the runway, and after plowing through a stone building, it came to rest on top of another one. It ripped apart and started to burn. The entire crew got out. Cook flew co-pilot with Gross and made out OK; so did Carr and Armijo flying with another crew. Vessels and Piwetz, riding with Captain Ambrister, ran out of gas on their base leg and crashed between two houses about two miles from the field. Again, a miracle happened and the whole crew got out with the Captain being the only one hurt. A third ship ditched in the Channel. The pilot is back, but haven't heard from the rest of the crew. I guess I won't get that picture of our ship that I wanted so bad.
06-18-44 Nothing doing for me today. Cook and the rest of my crew flew with other crews. Captain Ambruster pretty bad. Gus Williams ditched, and he is the only one to get out alive.
06-19-44 Another day off for everybody. The weather looked good, but there weren't any 26's flying. Cook, Lutz, and I went to a show in town. Robot planes quite a nuisance.
06-20-44 Still loafing. Devoted entire day to training. I was supposed to fly P.D.I. for Vessels, but he's still grounded; think little V.V. will be back on our crew again.
06-21-44 Just another day. Everybody slept late. I had link training at 10:00, but nothing else the rest of the day. B team flew a late raid tonight; all back OK. Had a big lunch tonight.
06-22-44 Number 26. They let us sleep until 10:00. Target unknown, but near our lines (Nouainville). Plenty of flak, but no hits. I flew an F model for first time. Some talk of our group moving next week, but don't know where.
06-23-44 Bad weather until late afternoon B team went out on easy milk run. Cook and I went to town and saw a show. It was an English picture and sure was terrible. Met Lt. Moser at the Red Cross Club.
06-24-44 Number 27 (Maisons Laffitte). Roughest one yet. Five ships lost; everybody shot up. Target, railroad bridge near Paris. We got 23 holes. Vessels and Armijo lucky to still be here. One co-pilot killed in ships coming back. Two lost over target. Number 27. This is the final report on the losses of this raid. Four ships failed to return, and we've had no word from their crews. Two were seen to go down over the target. One was on fire and exploded. No one was seen leaving the ships. The other going down over target seemed to be in control, and several crews reported they saw at least five chutes before it crashed. The other two ships are believed to gone down either over France or in the Channel. This was by far our toughest raid. They must of had a million guns down there. We were in intense accurate flak for 35 solid minutes. Our ship was full of holes, and the right engine leaked oil for two hours on our way home. We found pieces of flak as big as your fist after we had landed. Several ships made crash landings after getting back. Several were hurt, and one co-pilot, (flight officer Edward Eyges), was killed. A piece of flak hit him in the side and went right through, then another piece got him in the head. His worries are all over now, and may God have mercy on his soul.
06-25-44 Took off for London about 2:00 this afternoon and arrived at 7:00. Got a room and a meal and then listened to some radical speakers in Hyde Park.
06-26-44 The pilotless planes were pretty thick all day and night over London. All the shelters were crowded with fearful people. We went to bed, but didn't get to sleep for awhile because of a few close ones. They shook our hotel.
06-27-44 Saw a couple shows; did more sight seeing and a little shopping. Then back to the field again. My battle jacket was here, along with several letters waiting for me. It rained all day.
06-28-44 Bad weather today; no missions. Just loafed around. Went to show in town at night. Rumor has it that group will be moving soon. Don't know where.
06-29-44 Cleared up a little, but still no flying. Was stuck with operations job again, but Cook took over at noon. Some say we're going to south England, others say France, but we're all hoping it's home.
06-30-44 Up at 4 a.m., but didn't leave the field, as the bombs weren't fused. We took off about 11 a.m. and dropped them in the Channel; bad weather. Second mission just got back OK. Were up for the next two.
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07-01-44 Rain and solid overcast all day long. Slept late and did nothing all day. Went to Braintree at night and saw a show. Watched the dance at Red Cross Club; sure made me lonely.
07-02-44 Stood down today again because of the weather. Suppose to move soon. Sure are a lot of robot bombs flying around; some fairly close to us, too. London gets pounded every day regularly.
07-03-44 Still resting peacefully. Awful sick of this life; sure wish it were over. I miss you my darling.
07-04-44 Up at 4 a.m. Mission delayed for several hours, twice, then finally scrubbed. Expect the war to end within three to four months the way Russia is going. No celebrating over here; took lots of pictures.
07-05-44 Up early again, but the mission was scrubbed before we got off the ground. Went to a carnival in Whitham tonight.
07-06-44 Number 28 and number 29 (Dol to Rennes railroad and Foret De Conches). Both easy, but quite long. Very little flak and no enemy fighters. Targets were a bridge and an ammunition dump near Paris. One crash landing, but everyone safe.
07-07-44 Slept till noon. Nothing doing today. Laid around and wrote letters. Got another package from Gwen. Went to show at the officers club.
07-08-44 Number 30. By far the longest one yet. Target railroad bridge at Saumer. Weather terrible. Didn't drop our bombs. Got back with about a teaspoon of gas in each tank. Some landed in France.
07-09-44 Number 31 (Nogent Le Roi). Another duplication of yesterday. Bad weather; brought bombs back and almost out of gasoline. One ship still not accounted for. It's raining hard now. Glad I'm down.
07-10-44 One ship out of gas crashed yesterday. Lt. Bradfield of our hut was in it. He was hurt badly. Will never fly again. Tail gunner killed. We didn't fly today.
07-11-44 Group went on late mission tonight (Chateau De Tertu). Another milk run, no flak. Cloud cover; didn't drop bombs. We flew to a field near Liverpool to pick up the J-5 Cub. Got lost in weather, but made out OK.
07-12-44 Number 32. Target ammunition dump north of Alican (Foret D'Ecouves). Used pathfinder and bombed through the overcast. No flak; no fighters. A British landcaster crashed on our field tonight carrying delayed-action bombs.
07-13-44 By stroke of luck and a little bad weather, we were removed from the flying schedule and allowed to leave on our pass at noon instead of 5:00. Arrived in London about 4 p.m.
07-14-44 Went to a show yesterday evening and slept till noon the next day. Went to more shows today and did a little shopping. Bought a souvenir pillowcase. Took care of our pictures and called it a day.
07-15-44 Today while waiting for a train to leave, a doodlebug dropped only a few yards from us. The blast was terrific, but no one hurt.
07-16-44 Slept till noon, as we weren't scheduled to fly. Very nice day, and the group went on two missions. My promotion to 1st Lt. came through today. Dated back to July 10th.
07-17-44 Briefed three times for same mission, and after as many delays, it was finally scrubbed. Sure is disgusting. Made some small pancakes tonight. Wish I were home.
07-18-44 Number 33 and number 34 (Near Caen and Cherisy). Up at 3 a.m. First target was troops near our lines. We got four holes; there were two crash landings. Second target was railroad bridge near Paris. We flew window. Willemsen crash landed. All OK.
07-19-44 Not scheduled today. Slept late. Cleaned the plane up. The group went out tonight and had another milk run. We went out on our bikes and saw another show.
07-20-44 Rode our bikes over 20 miles today. Toured the English countryside. Saw a show in the evening. Swell day.
07-21-44 Another day off. Cook and I flew for awhile shooting landings until I hit a truck with one wing tip. Another bike ride this evening. Bought two jars of honey.
07-22-44 Started on mission, but it was canceled because of bad weather at last minute. Russians sure are going to town. Civil War in Germany. Tried to kill Hitler.
07-23-44 Nothing doing today. We were taken off schedule. Group flew a milk run late this afternoon, rode our bikes into town and saw a movie. Plenty of doodlebugs.
07-24-44 Number 35 (Livarot, France). Solid overcast. Used pathfinder for bombing. Target was an ammunition dump near our lines. Flak was light and no fighters. Doodlebug nearly creamed us tonight.
07-25-44 My first abortion; a bomb fell in the bomb bay and stuck. We returned and landed for fear it would explode.
07-26-44 Number 36. Another late one. Target, railroad bridge near Chartres (Epernon). Weather very bad over France. One flight attacked by two ME-109's. Our P-51 escort got one and scared the other away. Flak light.
07-27-44 Briefed for two missions. Started on one, but was recalled before we reached the Channel. Second one scrubbed before we got to ships; weather terrible. Were up at 3:30 a.m.
07-28-44 Number 37. Up at 3:30 again. It was after 12 noon before we took off. Pathfinder mission, target railroad bridge at Barney, France (Courcelles). Second box caught a little flak; no fighters, milk run.
07-29-44 Bad weather. Rained all day. I wasn't scheduled for first mission anyway. Haven't seen any doodlebugs for two nights. We are moving to south England next week.
07-30-44 Another P.F.F. target which was troop concentrations near our lines (Caumont). Flak was meager, inaccurate and everyone got back OK.
07-31-44 Number 39. Another bridge south of our lines. P.F.F. (Mayenne R.R. viaduct). No flak. No fighters. Didn't get back until 1 p.m. Got a late start on our pass. Arrived in London after 6 p.m. Got a room at same hotel. Heard only one doodlebug.
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08-01-44 Got up at nine, ate breakfast, then got a bus to Richmond. We went for a motorboat ride and later went canoeing on the Thames. Went to a show at night and saw Pin-Up Girl.
08-02-44 Slept late today. After eating dinner, we took a train back to camp. Our group went on a raid yesterday, and we lost two ships to enemy fighters. First time they have really bothered us.
08-03-44 Wasn't scheduled today. Was tower officer all afternoon. Group went out about 2 o'clock. One of our ships spun in over the target. Capt. Garretson and crew all lost. Lt. Blattner of our barracks was with him. We move Saturday.
08-04-44 Number 40. A long one but not too bad. Target, a railroad bridge near Chartres (Epernon). Several bursts of flak and one got a ship. It went down in flames, but they all got out.
08-05-44 Up at 5 a.m. Moved to new field in south England near South Hampton. I made two trips by air and finally finished about 6 p.m. Hurn is field's name, and it's a nice place. Cook and I have a room together.
08-06-44 Slept until 11:00. Unpacked all our stuff last night. Group alerted all day, but didn't go out. We kept busy all day looking the new place over and finding our way around.
08-07-44 Up for several-day leave starting today, but had to fly spare on mission first. Got off about 5 p.m. and spent first night at the Ambassador Hotel in Bournemouth.
08-08-44 Left at 10 a.m. for rest camp at Shaftsbury. Got here at noon, really swell. Civilian clothes, played tennis, went swimming, rode bikes, shot skeet and plenty of good eats. Really swell.
08-09-44 Up at 9:00. Tomato juice in bed served by butler. Went horseback riding all afternoon. We eat five meals a day. Transportation furnished for anything. Coombe House is the name of the rest camp.
08-10-44 Was going swimming this morning, but it looked like rain. We played golf all afternoon and went to town at night. Got a good sunburn today but feel fine.
08-11-44 Too cold again for swimming, so we spent a quiet morning here. Went on a tour of an old castle (Arundal) in the afternoon and saw a movie in the evening. Sure feel swell.
08-12-44 Got my watch fixed in town. Looked through the other shops for some kind of souvenirs but couldn't find any. Spent a quiet afternoon and evening. Eating too much.
08-13-44 A very nice day, but we spent it quietly and got lots of rest. I went to church this morning in town. We had chicken for dinner with homemade ice cream for dessert.
08-14-44 Left Coombe about 5:00 and rode a jeep all the way back to field. They have sure been working since we left. Everybody ahead of us on missions.
08-15-44 Number 41. Put us right to work. Easy raid. Target, two guns near our lines. No flak.. New landings made this morning in south France. Packing foot locker to send home.
08-16-44 Number 42 for me and 100 for the group. After one hour in France, we were recalled because of weather. Everybody fired flares over field on way back. (Flares started grass fires, which the British fireman didn't appreciate). Going to France soon.
08-17-44 Number 43 A.P.F.F. Mission this afternoon. No flak, no fighters. Pretty quiet over there. Target, another bridge at Bonnie, northeast of Germany. Big party tonight to celebrate group's 100th raid.
08-18-44 Briefed for target this morning, but it was scrubbed before we got to our ships. Spent the rest of the day sacking. Wrote letters and played cards in the evening. Be in France soon.
08-19-44 Rained all day, and we were released early. Went to town and saw a stage show play. Had fish and chips at best hotel in Bournemouth. Leaving soon.
08-20-44 Number 44. Target, troop concentration near Seine River and Rouen. Flak light, and we all got back OK. Moving to France on or about August 28. Going to be a bit rough, but will get into it.
08-21-44 Cold front moved in, and we were released early. Went to town about 4:00, rode in doc's ambulance. Dry cleaning wasn't finished. Ate supper and took a cab back. Worked on our bikes, and it's all fixed now.
08-22-44 Rained most all day long. Stayed on the field and saw a movie at night. Advanced Echelon left for France yesterday. War should be over by this time next month.
08-23-44 Nice day. Released early. Went swimming at beach near Bournemouth. Paris liberated, rumors surrenders. Getting plenty of rest. No more stars and stripes until we move.
08-24-44 Another day off. Censored mail all morning. Didn't do anything in afternoon. Saw a movie in Christchurch at night.
08-25-44 Not on first schedule. Boys briefed early, but haven't taken off yet, and it's already after 2 p.m. Weather pretty bad; went to a show in town. Everybody back from mission.
08-26-44 Number 45 and number 46. First one was a fuel dump at Campaigne. Second was troops at Rossen. Flak bad both trips. We had ten holes. Two crash landings and two ships still missing (Stephenson) OK.
08-27-44 No mission today. We went swimming at the beach all afternoon and spent the evening here in camp writing letters and eating. Weather good. Willie took pictures.
08-28-44 Number 47. Milk run, target was fuel dump northeast of Paris. Flew number four position. Getting to be big wheel now. Loaded baggage on plane until after 2 a.m. Leaving for France in morning.
08-29-44 Up at 5:00 this morning after only two hours sleep. Weather terrible all day. Sweated it out until almost 6:00 before released. Powers and crew back from France OK.
08-30-44 We moved to France today, but the weather closed in on us before we could take off for second trip, so we are spending another night in England. Cook stayed there after first trip. War looks good.
08-31-44 Last trip to new field in France this morning. Spent rest of day fixing up. We live in tents and it's pretty rough, but I rather like it. Vessels, Cook, Lutz, and I live together. Very good chow here.
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09-01-44 Drove to Carentan, St. Lo and Siagon today; sure is messed up. Nothing left of St. Lo at all. Everything OK. At camp chow is good and we get lots of rest.
09-02-44 Rained all day, and in between showers we moved our tent. Everybody's digging fox holes now, just in case. No mail today. (Moving soon).
09-03-44 Briefed twice for mission today, but scrubbed both times. Weather pretty bad. Frenchmen all over the field. Willemsen and Senart left on five-day leave.
09-04-44 Briefed four times today, but never got off the ground. Weather is terrible over here, so we just sweat it out day after day. Mail service bad.
09-05-44 Number 48. After being briefed four times, we finally got off and hit Brest this evening. No flak, no nothing. Weather looks a little better. Still no mail. Patton already in Germany.
09-06-44 Flew spare on another Bret raid today. Fourth time that our group has had the same target. Still no mail. Raining again tonight. Vessels flew P.D.I. with Co. Berkenkamp.
09-07-44 Rained all last night, all day today and still going strong tonight. The group is stuck down because the mud is so bad we can't even taxi our ships off the hard stands. Still no mail.
09-08-44 Stood down all day. Five of us drove a jeep to Cherburg and someone stole it. M.P. took us to 87th. They brought us back about 1 a.m. Almost froze to death.
09-09-44 Nice day, but nothing doing for us. Played horseshoes all afternoon. Had pancakes at night. Big bull session around the fire at night. We are moving near Paris in a week or so.
09-10-44 No flying here until we reach new field. Should leave here next Friday. Went to church today and played ball and horseshoes all afternoon. Probably be stuck for the army of occupation according to rumors.
09-11-44 Weather still very good, and we're having a big time enjoying our easy life. Eat and sleep is about all we do. Received 11 letters from home tonight.
09-12-44 I did a big washing today and several others followed my idea. Advanced party moving today. We may leave tomorrow, but I doubt it. Five more letters today.
09-13-44 Alerted twice for mission today, but didn't take off because of weather. Some of the crew's equipment left for next field today on C-47's.
09-14-44 Stood down today because of weather. Getting packed up ready to leave tomorrow. Plenty of explosions around here. Three French kids hurt by mine yesterday. (Vessels on Thompson's crew).
09-15-44 Moved after dinner today, making only one trip. Field about a mile from Dreux. Old German field that we bombed. Pretty well beaten up, but still usable. Awful tired after putting up tent.
09-16-44 Alerted, but didn't fly. Working in and around tent all day. Went to town for few hours, bought lamp and film. Dreux is a nice city; wasn't hardly touched by war. People very nice.
09-17-44 Took off to bomb our first target in Germany, but had to turn back because of weather. Worked more on tent. Cook took pictures while flying. Went to bed early.
09-18-44 Not scheduled. Went to town in afternoon and got more film. Loafed most of the afternoon. Saw a movie at night.
09-19-44 Not scheduled. Built a big clothes rack. Tent wired for light and works good. Group flew first mission to Germany. Some flak, but everyone returned OK.
09-20-44 Number 49. Target, a marshalling yard. Our first one in Germany. No flak, no fighters, bombs hit the target dead center. I took a few pictures while Cook flew. No mail yet. Can't get our radio to work.
09-21-44 Lost formation in clouds today and returned to base on Frenchmen's wing. We blew a tire on landing, but I held it straight on runway and everybody OK. (A little horrified).
09-22-44 Not scheduled, took shower, got pictures from town. Got haircut and were rumors of 20 new crews coming to group. Weather been pretty good, but not doing much flying. No mail.
09-23-44 Cook and I flew a little transitions today. I let him take off and shoot three landings from the left seat. He did a good job. Flew over Paris and took a couple pictures.
09-24-44 Went to church this morning. Group stood down again because of weather. Nothing much to do except lay around. Still no mail from anyone.
09-25-44 Left at 1 p.m. today on five-day leave. Thompson and Vessels flew us over. Landed at wrong field. Caught the tube to London and spent first night at Red Cross Club.
09-26-44 Moved to a three-room apartment at St. James' Courts. Really swell, plenty ritzy and plenty expensive. Saw several good shows, etc. One bomb tonight.
09-27-44 Saw more shows and did little shopping. Eating most of our meals at Governor's House -- good food cheap. Went to a dance tonight at the Paramount.
09-28-44 Slept late and soaked in the tub for several hours. More shows, more shopping and just lots of doing nothing.
09-29-44 Weather's been pretty good. Slept late again and spent lots of time at the club talking to some of our old Army friends. This is our last night. No lights in London.
09-30-44 Left London about noon and got to field at Heston at 3:00. Plane for return didn't land until after 5:00, so we couldn't make it back before dark and had to stay another night. Stayed at Red Cross.
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10-01-44 Up early and out to the ships at nine. Wouldn't clear us until 11:00. Trip OK. I had 12 men with me. We got three new crews while I was gone. We have a tour of duty now -- 65 missions. Sixteen to go.
10-02-44 Back to France and lots of mail and boxes waiting. It's pretty cold now and our stove feels good. Plenty of rumors about going home pretty soon.
10-03-44 Scheduled for mission, but didn't go. "Slightly Dangerous II" crashed today at Heston. Blew a tire on takeoff.
10-04-44 Bad weather again and nothing doing. Spent the day writing letters, chopping wood, and making pancakes. We are moving again this coming Saturday I think.
10-05-44 Flew four hours on mission today and turned back because we didn't meet our escort. We did get credit for it (later). Colonel Coiner lead the group, but as we didn't quite reach enemy territory, no soap.
10-06-44 Nothing much doing until afternoon. Told to pack up and move with one hour's notice. Took off after 4 p.m. and couldn't find new field, so we came back.
10-07-44 Left abut nine on first trip. Got to new field second time about 2:00. It's not bad. Spread out all over the place. Living in barracks near St. Quentin. Eight men in a room (field designater A-72).
10-08-44 Up early and hard at work building shelves, etc. No mission today. Can't write letters yet, as there isn't any place to mail them. Rained last night.
10-09-44 Alerted and briefed for mission today, but scrubbed it just before takeoff time because of weather. Nothing much doing. Cook went into town. I stayed here and built more shelves.
10-10-44 Rained all last night and today. Group stood down, and everyone is taking it easy. Pretty muddy outside. Cook and Wilbanks gone to St. Quentin again. We cleaned up our room.
10-11-44 Nicest day since we've been here. Briefed for mission, but scrubbed it before we got to our ships. Spent the rest of the day in the barracks writing letters and reading.
10-12-44 Number 50. Up at 5:30 this morning. Target was a railroad bridge in Germany near Aachen. It was a milk run with only meager inaccurate flak and no fighters. Am up for next 10 in a row.
10-13-44 Weather bad again, and although we were called for briefing, we never went. Friday, the 13th, and the boys were really sweating it out.
10-14-44 Stood down early, and they really went to town on the champagne. Big drunken brawl that lasted till early morning. Major Hamilton got two broken ribs out of the deal.
10-15-44 Up at 5:00 this morning, but missions were scrubbed finally after several delays. Rained hard the rest of the day. Our boys caught two more Germans today -- six since we've been here.
10-16-44 Still raining hard and getting colder. Group stood down early, nothing to do. Cook and several other boys volunteered for A-26's today. Night intruder work don't sound good to me. Don't know when they will leave.
10-17-44 Bad weather again, but we rode 12 miles into St. Quentin on our bikes anyhow. Bought a little perfume and powder and also a nice radio. Got soaking wet on way home, pretty tired, too.
10-18-44 Nothing doing again today. It rained off and on. I got a new bombardier on my crew -- Lt. Rector. He's a big fellow. About 6' and 200 pounds.
10-19-44 Weather bad; put up four double-decked beds. Rewired our whole room, built a big shelf for clothes and baggage. Made a book case and washstand. Up until 1 a.m.
10-20-44 Up at 6 a.m., but was scratched from the mission because it was P.F.F. It turned out to be a milk run, too. Spent the rest of the day loafing. Listening to the radio, etc. Going on pass to Paris on Sunday.
10-21-44 Nothing to do today. Weather pretty good. No mail for anyone today. Going on leave tomorrow to Paris. GI trucks take us. Distance about 100 miles, rough ride.
10-22-44 Up early, left about 8:30. Got to Paris about 11:30. Staying at Lafayette Hotel. Went to Lida's, Cira's and other nightclubs. Did a little sightseeing and a little shopping. Lots of perfume.
10-23-44 Slept late. Took good hot bath and saw more of Paris. Rode the underground. Saw Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower.
10-24-44 More shopping this morning. Left about 2 p.m. Got back about 5 p.m. Lots of letters waiting. E. J. Cook and many others made 1st Lt. finally. Good to get back. Wish I were home.
10-25-44 Nothing doing again today. Weather pretty good. Food getting worse every day. No mail and no packages. Still doing little things to room.
10-26-44 Beautiful day, but group stood down for maintenance and training. Cook, Rector, and I flew P.D.I. this afternoon for a couple of hours.
10-27-44 Played cards, wrote letters, read books, and listened to the radio. Big day. Another new crew pulled in tonight. We have 27 in the squadron now.
10-28-44 Barracks inspection this morning. Went to St. Quentin in afternoon. Another new crew arrived today. Someone should be going home soon.
10-29-44 Number 51. Took Craven's place and flew number 4 target, a four-track railroad bridge at Euskirchen, Germany. P.F.F. with moderately accurate flak. One hole in our ship. It went through nose hitting Lt. Rector in face; he's OK, but a little scared.
10-30-44 Nothing happened today. We stayed in our room all day. I slept for a few hours this afternoon and feel pretty good now. Weather cold and damp. No mail in four days now.
10-31-44 Payday -- $393.41. Weather bad again, and group was stood down early ground school this morning. Saw a GI movie in the afternoon. Received a box of food from Mom. Wrote up D.F.C.
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11-01-44 Pretty foggy all day long. Sawed wood for about three hours. Peeled potatoes and made french fries. No mail in over a week now. No one gone home yet.
11-02-44 Group briefed for morning mission, but didn't go because of weather. Played a little football in the afternoon. One letter from Gwen today.
11-03-44 Painted our room tonight, put in more lights and put up our window curtains. We got another new crew in our squadron today. Total now 28.
11-04-44 Everyone up early for inspection. We all worked together and had our room clean in no time at all. Ours was the best room on the field.
11-05-44 Number 52. A P.F.F. milk run. Target was an ordnance dept. at Hornberg, Germany. No flak, but the weather was terrible. Three layers of clouds and plenty of ice. Formation spread all over the sky. Flew number four.
11-06-44 Bad weather today. We built an aluminum wash basin and drain board today. Really looks swell. Lt. Gregorius got number 65 yesterday. First one in our squadron. He will go home in about a week.
11-07-44 Another day with nothing doing. Weather pretty good, but the clouds are full of ice. Mail isn't coming in very good. No boxes.
11-08-44 Cook and LaFavre bought more paint today, and we spent half the night putting it on. Nothing else new to report. Cook and Jackson have a crew now.
11-09-44 Number 53. A maximum effort with 54 ships. Cloud cover. Didn't bomb. Scheduled for second one, but my ship wasn't gassed in time. Target was somewhere in Germany -- forgot name.
11-10-44 Not scheduled today. Group flew another P.F.F. and saw several Germans get propelled planes. I slept till almost noon for first time since we've been at this field. (Still no boxes).
11-11-44 Number 54. A beautiful P.F.F. raid this morning. Target, a railroad bridge at Prayen, Germany. No flak, no fighters. Flew number four. CFLT. Box, I. Cook and Jackson flew together for first time.
11-12-44 Alerted all morning, but didn't go. Received our air medals today. Saw a movie, cut wood and ate french fries all evening. No mail.
11-13-44 Weather bad again, so we spent a quiet day in our room. Played cards and painted a drawing. One letter from Mom tonight. Pretty sure of getting the D.F.C. now.
11-14-44 Rained all day. Heard report of 100 German paratroops landing about 40 miles from here last night. They attacked a British truck convoy. Received a little mail today from Gwen.
11-15-44 More rain. No more news about the German paratroops. We played pinochle all day. Marty and I got beat. Supposed to start night flying tonight, but weather bad.
11-16-44 Big Push today. I wasn't scheduled, but the group didn't get off anyway because of bad weather. Pretty cold around here. I leave for Paris again in the morning.
11-17-44 Left for Paris this morning. Made the trip in less than three hours. Stayed at The Day After Club again. Made a round of all the clubs tonight.
11-18-44 Went shopping, but the prices and quality of everything disgusted me. Went on a tour of the city instead. Went to Lida's tonight. Very good show; in bed early.
11-19-44 Got back to camp about 4:30. Group went on a couple of rough missions while we were gone. Tail gunner killed. Bombardier (Pinkey) injured. No packages - four letters.
11-20-44 Rained all day long. We played cards and wrote letters. Received two cards and wrote letters. Received two Christmas boxes tonight. Nothing else new. Lot of boys finishing up and going home now. Sure wish I was.
11-21-44 Weather still bad, and everyone certain we wouldn't fly, but they called a briefing anyway. We didn't go anywhere, but we were all scared.
11-22-44 Still raining and no false alarms today. Played cards and saw a movie. Plenty of drunks tonight.
11-23-44 Stood down early. Two meals today. Turkey pretty good. No mail, awful lonely. Played cards. Power too low for radio. Terrible life; wish I were home.
11-24-44 Stood down again; played more cards to pass the time away. Saw a movie in the afternoon. Had a big feed about midnight.
11-25-44 Clearing up here, but no mission anyway. A little local flying and one crash. Got stuck for O.G. (Officer of the Guard). Weather looks good tonight.
11-26-44 Number 55. Didn't actually go today, but they gave us credit for a mission back on October 5th led by Col. Coiner. Flew local transition tonight. Checked Lt. Sloan out (pretty rusty on night work).
11-27-44 Mission scrubbed early and released for the day. Electric power cut off. Got Typhus shot. Wrote letters by candlelight tonight.
11-28-44 Weather bad again, and another day to ourselves. Received a few letters tonight. One very sweet one from Gwen. I was made air operations officer tonight.
11-29-44 I wasn't on the schedule, but the other boys went out on a milk run. Saw a show in the afternoon. Played cards all evening. No mail tonight.
11-30-44 Number 56. Bombed the town of Stockheim, Germany this morning. Meager flak, no holes. Weather pretty good. Getting new bombardier soon. Should go home for 30 days after 65 missions.
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12-01-44 Group flew another milk run today. Cook has 60 now. Vessels is still waiting for his orders. Received six letters and a package tonight. (Getting awful lonesome now that Christmas is coming).
12-02-44 Rained all day and quite cold. Group ran a mission in the morning and landed in heavy rain. Everyone back OK now.
12-03-44 Heavy rain again. We were briefed for a mission this morning, but scrubbed it before we started to the ships. Lots of boxes tonight, but no letters. I got one box from Frank and Alice.
12-04-44 Briefed twice today, but it was scrubbed both times. We all flew local this afternoon. I took (Biering) my new bombardier up for a little PDI practice today.
12-05-44 Number 57. Target was ground support near Sasrlautern area. Flak was pretty thick, but didn't hit us. We flew deputy lead on Crabtree, A flight, box II. Plenty cold up there, -25&Mac176;C.
12-06-44 Nothing again today. The weather wasn't too good, but they did fly a mission, and it was a big plumber job. Our ships dropped on our own troops by mistake and killed quite a few.
12-07-44 Briefed for mission today, but it rained all day, and they finally scrubbed it. Saw a show in the afternoon, played cards at night. No mail today.
12-08-44 Briefed again this morning, but it was scrubbed, so we went back to the sack. I moved to the Wheel Haven tonight, "Stud Stables." I guess I'll like it here, but I still hated to leave the old gang.
12-09-44 Number 58. Another easy one PFF. I flew deputy on Col. Berkey. No flak, no fighters over enemy territory about two minutes. Weather pretty bad. We picked up a good 1/4" of ice descending through clouds.
12-10-44 Stood down all day for bad weather. Received three new crews, bringing us up to 29 now. Having a bad storm tonight, and we can't keep the house warm.
12-11-44 Weather OK, and boys should have run a mission, but a plane blew a tire and got stuck in the mud holding up the whole group. Going to Paris next Friday again.
12-12-44 Cheryl's birthday, and I had no way of sending a cablegram. Group flew one mission today. Weather pretty bad. I'm on next one.
12-13-44 Number 59. Milk run to Hellenthal, Germany. Lead my first flight. Flew deputy lead. B flight, second box. Weather bad at base on return. Cook finished up today. Lutz and Freeland leave for home tomorrow.
12-14-44 Up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a truck at 4:00 and a train at 5:00 for Paris. Took five hours to go a hundred miles. Staying at the Independence Club this time. Very nice, and meals are good.
12-15-44 Went on a bus tour of the city today; very interesting. Went to Follies Bergere tonight. Met Wicks and Dick Rigg at hotel. Nice weather, but a little cold.
12-16-44 Spent most all day at the hotel. Leaving tonight at 10:00. Nothing new. Sure would rather be spending my leave at home than here. Had a little trouble finding station.
12-17-44 Arrive in St. Quentin at 3:00 a.m. and waiting until 4:30 for trucks. No sleep on train. Read books all the way. Six letters waiting for me.
12-18-44 Germans counterattacked last night and gained about six miles. I flew over to A-74 (394th) and picked up three new ships. Had a flat tire and didn't get back till after dark. Met Lt. Royster over there.
12-19-44 Fog all day, and after two briefings, crews were released. Nothing else happened. I kept busy at operations and went joy riding in the jeep. No mail.
12-20-44 Germans bombed Ruma last night and dropped paratroops in our local area. Fog is still here, and we are unable to fly. Jerry gained more ground in Belgium. No mail!
12-21-44 Bad weather, no flying. M-P's shot two Jerries in next town last night driving one of our jeeps. Killed them both with one shot. Received three boxes tonight, 12 packages of badly needed cigarettes.
12-22-44 Weather a little better, but we still didn't get off. Played cards this evening. Davis and Smitty leave for home tomorrow.
12-23-44 Number 60. Target, a railroad bridge at Eller, Germany. Our worst raid. Flak all the way and also jumped by 50 F.W. 190 and lost two to flak and three to fighters. Ten ships haven't yet returned. Armijo and Piwetz and Ryan all got fighters. (Black Saturday). We left on this mission in good spirits because we figured it would be a milk run. It was a fairly deep penetration, and we got flak the minute we hit enemy lines. Two ships blew up before we got to the target. After dropping our bombs on the pathfinder, we made a left turn and started for home. A minute or so later I heard every gun on our ship blazing away, and then it was like all hell broke loose. About 50 fighters attacked us using company front tactics. Two window ships went down. My number five man got his tail shot off, and three fighters jumped him as he left formation. The whole of Capt. Stephenson's flight went down, with the exception of Lt. Neu, who landed the most shot up plane I ever saw. I was the only one of the squadron to get back without a scratch. We had one 20 M.M. hole in our tail. It's a pretty sad outfit tonight. Although it's still possible some are safe, I don't expect to see many.
12-24-44 Everything ran pretty smooth today. The group flew a milk run in the afternoon, but one ship crashed on landing. Everybody got out OK. Six crews believed lost from our squadron yesterday. Stephenson, Senart, Eiden, McCarthy, Drydan, W.P. Cook.
12-25-44 Pretty sad Christmas. Early mission and two more crews from our squadron failed to return. Lt. Potts and Sloan. Second mission was diverted to another field because of weather. Lt. Buckel, flying with Sloan, was on his last one.
12-25-44 (Sad Christmas). I wasn't on this schedule, but the boys took off at daybreak and Lt. Craven crashed with full bomb load at the end of the runway. Everybody got out OK. We lost two ships to flak over the target. Lt. Pott and Lt. Sloan and Buckel. It was Bucks last mission, too. One ship from the 598th squadron crashed and burned on landing. Lt. Levan and crew all got out OK. Our squadron was unable to put a plane in the air for the second mission. The boys were diverted to another field because of weather. It looks pretty bad for my coming home now because we are so short of crews. I'm pretty shaky, but still determined to do my share as long as I can.
12-26-44 No mission today. We lost 51 men in two days. Sloan, Buckel, and crew bailed out yesterday over the lines and got back to the field today. They were all OK. Jerry was over tonight bombing and strafing.
12-27-44 Group flew a milk run today, but I couldn't go because Crabtree was leading. Won't be going home after 65 unless we get more crews. Cook leaves tomorrow.
12-28-44 Cook left for home this morning, along with Harlan, Wilbanks, Pandian, and Holmes. Fog was thick again. Washed all afternoon; getting sheet metal for our jeep. Getting new crews soon. Reid transferred.
12-29-44 Heavy fog still hanging around. Not much doing for me. Went to show tonight and had two red alerts. Nothing happened, and the show went on as scheduled.
12-30-44 Still cold and cloudy, but the fog has lifted. Schedule changed tonight, and Payne and I are on the next one. Broan, Reid and Hayes transferred to our squadron. No chance for captaincy now. (Three letters).
12-31-44 New Year's Eve. Up at 7:00 for briefing, but it was finally scrubbed after several delays. Spent the rest of the day doctoring my cold here at the house. Awful homesick.
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01-01-45 Number 61. Starting the new year off right. A big milk run today. A P.F.F. with a bridge as our target. The pathfinder went out, and we couldn't bomb visual because of clouds, so we brought the bombs home.
01-02-45 Group was briefed for a maximum effort, but it was scrubbed because of weather. Had the Col. up for turkey supper and then went to the show. Thick fog again tonight. No mail.
01-03-45 Group briefed again, but didn't take off. We went to class again, as usual. Spent the afternoon and evening at the house reading. Getting awful cold tonight. (Twelve letters tonight).
01-04-45 Had our first snow this morning. No mission today. Hauled a load of coal to the house; got two more crews in. Lt. Behrens and Capt. Moorman leave tomorrow for home (30 days).
01-05-45 Number 62. Short mission with target in breakthrough area P.F.F. Didn't drop. Flak was moderately accurate, and we had abut 10 holes in our ship. Several were pretty close. Three more to go and I'll be heading home!!!!!
01-06-45 Briefed for mission similar to yesterday, but didn't go because of weather. Payne got his D.F.C. today. Pappy is working on mine, too. Biering grounded.
01-07-45 Early briefing this morning, but after a three-hour delay, it was scrubbed. Six of the boys drove the jeep to St. Quentin this afternoon to see some nurses. Mitchler and I went to the show. Got 10 letters tonight.
01-08-45 Briefed again and scrubbed again. Changed schedule for tomorrow, and as Crabtree is flying, I'm not on it. Col. Berky and crew left for front lines today. Package from Eleanor tonight. Awful cold and snowing hard.
01-09-45 Slept until 10:00 this morning. Weather still bad; no flying. Got one new crew today. Went visiting in afternoon. Saw "Wake Island" at Thoms tonight. Three letters and a card. I miss you darling.
01-10-45 The boys got off this morning, but the visibility was so bad they just circled the field and landed. Lost one ship from another squadron. Payne, Buckel, and Carr leave for home on Saturday. Snow about four inches deep tonight; still coming down.
01-11-45 Snow was over a foot deep, but the boys took off anyhow. Lt. Reid crashed on takeoff; no one hurt. Lt. Gillette, flying with Jean, was hit by flak and died on the way to the hospital.
01-12-45 Another blinding snow storm and no flying. Payne, Louden, and I drove to town in the command car to pick up our cleaning, but it wasn't ready. Said good-bye to Carr tonight. Held a meeting of all pilots on yesterday's mission.
01-13-45 Group flew a milk run today. Received a little flak, but no damage. Lt. Ellinger had an engine go out and crash landed at A-69. Received the officers of two crews today. Capt. Payne, Lt. Buckel, and Sgt. Carr left for home this morning.
01-14-45 Group flew another one today, but I wasn't scheduled because I'm a bit undecided about what to do. Awful cold today. Crabtree made Major and Craven made Capt. today. Still no mail.
01-15-45 Heavy fog and mist today; no flying. Hauled coal, sawed wood, etc. Saw a swell show tonight, "Saratoga Trunk." Two packages -- one from Mom and one from Mr. and Mrs. Hience; no letters.
01-16-45 Jean lead another one today. Strictly a milk run. Colonel Berkenkamp leaves tomorrow for home. Jean is C.O.; Craven, operations officer; and me, assistant.
01-17-45 No flying today because of rain and ice. We revised the crew roster today, and I am now a flight commander, as well as assistant operations officer. I'm here alone tonight; rest of gang off to see nurses.
01-18-45 Rain and clouds today and no flying. Spent most of the day at operations and got lots of work done because it was quiet for a change. Saw a good French camp show tonight. Received 12 letters and eight cards.
01-19-45 Beautiful day here, but no mission because of weather over the target. Mahlstehed and I flew a weather check in the morning. I put 11 planes up this afternoon for training. Checked new pilots out in formation. OK.
01-20-45 More snow today; no flying. Marty and McCorkle moved up to the house tonight. Maj. Hughes and Chapman leaving for trip to Italy tomorrow.
01-21-45 Heard that Larry Chamberlin was coming to this group, so I had him assigned to our squadron. I'm on duty at group operations tonight. Getting awful cold again.
01-22-45 On duty at group until 6 p.m. Mission went out, but field closed in before they got back. Our ships are spread out all over France. Mickey and crew bailed out. One other crash, and the rest are OK.
01-23-45 Some of our ships got back today, but we still have a few out. I went up for my instrument check this afternoon with Willemsen, but a snow storm forced us to land. Still snowing tonight.
01-24-45 Heavy fog today and very cold. Sending all our new crews to school before we fly them now. They all have to have instrument checks. Got my cleaning back today -- cost me over $3 for a blouse, three shirts, two pants.
01-25-45 Group flew a milk run today, and Willemsen caught up to me in missions. Saw Roscoe Ates U.S.O. show tonight -- very good. Russians still going strong. Claim they will be in Berlin within a week. Will see!!
01-26-45 Mission scrubbed early this morning. Heard a weather lecture this morning. Saw "Dragon Seed" tonight. Still awful cold. No mail tonight.
01-27-45 Mission scrubbed early. Weather was good here, so we flew local in afternoon. I checked out Starkey and Spurrier and called it a day. No mail tonight. Russians only 90 miles from Berlin tonight.
01-28-45 No mail for several days. No flying today because of weather. I got up at 10:30 and didn't leave the house all day long. Boys brought a little French girl home last night.
01-29-45 No flying again today because of the weather, but it cleared up after dinner, and the group flew a late mission. I test hopped #176. Lots of mail tonight. Ten letters for me.
01-30-45 No missions today. Weather bad. Ship took off and later crashed, and all aboard were killed. Larry and crew got in yesterday, but I didn't know about it until today. He looks good and is the same as ever.
01-31-45 Payday, but I didn't have time to go after mine. No flying, but I had several lectures to attend. Snow melting; lots of water; no mail.
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02-01-45 Group flew today; only the first box took off. Weather was very good here. We flew local -- both afternoon and at night. Got paid today -- $165.00 Received 15 letters and three cards tonight.
02-02-45 Went to school in morning. Group took off on mission; all back OK. We swung the compass in #170 in afternoon. Mahlstede, Forsell, Craig, and I all on duty down at group tonight. Taking McCorkle's place.
02-03-45 Up all night long. Mission finally got off after three delays. Very tired tonight. I'm on schedule for next mission. Gene gave Larry his instrument check today. No mail.
02-04-45 Mission scrubbed today before we got to briefing. I spent the whole day at the house. Cleaned up cellar and yard for inspection tomorrow. Local flying tomorrow. Twelve letters tonight.
02-05-45 Briefed and got out to ships before they scrubbed it. Rained all day and everything mud again. Larry entertained us tonight after the meeting with a few card tricks.
02-06-45 Number 63. A.P.F.F. milk run. Larry rode as my Co-pilot, and we lead B flight on first box. Target was railroad bridge in Kall, Germany. Weather pretty bad, but only saw four bursts of flak. Getting credit for 1 1/4 missions now on every lead. Two to go.
02-07-45 Rained all day long again, and the mud is getting steadily worse. Mission was scrubbed early. We listened to a couple of infantry boys tell their experiences this morning. No mail. Steak for supper again tonight.
02-08-45 Number 64. Big maximum effort this morning. I flew deputy B flight, third box. Target was communications in Holland for a big British push. Supposed to be visual, but we found clouds and bombed on Gee. No flak or enemy fighters.
02-09-45 Left camp at 8 a.m. in command car, along with Brownie and four others to Paris. Got a plane at 2:15 and were in England an hour or so later. Road in a real American car to London and got rooms at the Lincoln house.
02-10-45 Slept till noon and too late to start our long journey to Southport. Saw a show this evening. I guess I missed a day of my diary.
02-11-45 We left camp on the 10th instead of the 9th. Oh well, it couldn't have been very important anyway. I sure do like these pictures of Cheryl.
02-12-45 Arrived Palace Hotel, Southport, England about 5:30 p.m. Nice town, big hotel, plenty of everything. Brownie and I have a room together. Went to a show in town tonight -- "Gypsy Wild Cat."
02-13-45 Slept until 1 p.m. Went for a long walk this afternoon; beautiful day. I feel fine; big dance tonight. Good band, and everyone had a swell time.
02-14-45 Another nice day, but nothing to do with it. Played a little tennis today and went for another walk along the seashore. Going to leave a few days early.
02-15-45 Spent the entire day at the hotel. Dance tonight was a flop because the band didn't show up. We got our pass and are leaving in the morning.
02-16-45 Left at 8:30 and got to London about 3:00 this afternoon. We have a nice apartment, and it's costing us plenty. Saw a swell stage show tonight. Sure miss you . . .
02-17-45 Weather is beautiful, just like spring at home. Stores only open until noon today, so we didn't have time for much shopping. Went on a tour of the city.
02-18-45 Just like summer today; can't figure this weather out. Stores all closed tonight. Saw Gary Grant in "Arsenic and Old Lace" tonight, and I'm still laughing. Going back soon.
02-19-45 Accomplished all our shopping today, except for a few things we couldn't find. Saw another movie tonight. Money going fast, but will have some for return.
02-20-45 Tried to get a ride back to France from A.T.C., but can't get reservations until Thursday. Moved to Red Cross today.
02-21-45 Same old thing today. Eat, sleep, and go to shows -- a terrible life. Leaving for France tomorrow. Only heard two V-2's all during our stay in London.
02-22-45 Left London at 12:30 and got a plane at 2:30. Landed in France about an hour later and took bus to Paris. After 6:00, and all stores closed, so saw a stage show and went to bed.
02-23-45 Left Paris at 9:00 this morning and took a 10-hour train ride to St. Quentin. Willemsen, Broan, and Lauder, all Captain's group, went on strafing mission yesterday. Glad to get back. Forty-one letters for me.
02-24-45 Spent the day getting acquainted with all the new boys. I'm now the A flight commander of our squadron and no longer attached to operations. Nothing at all to do until my promotion comes.
02-25-45 Slept until almost noon again, after setting my alarm for 8:00. Boys flying every day and have been plenty lucky, too. Two letters tonight.
02-26-45 Boys flew a milk run today. We took a test in communications this afternoon. Had Louden and Broan over for chicken supper tonight. They are going home tomorrow. Willemsen still at the front.
02-27-45 "Our Wedding Anniversary." Group flew another easy one today. I pulled duty at group for McCorkle this afternoon, so he could get his flying time for the month.
02-28-45 Slept till 11:00 again today. Got paid in the afternoon. Group still out on a mission. Willemsen goes home tomorrow. About three more weeks for me.
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03-01-45 Sure easy one for the boys today. Weather bad after dinner, and it rained all afternoon. Brownie, Chappy and I swung the compasses on two ships. Squadron meeting tonight. Got a typhus shot.
03-02-45 Group flew two missions today. Plenty of flak on the last one, but everybody got back OK. I'm still sitting around doing nothing. Promotion due any day now.
03-03-45 No mission today. They were recalled this morning and scrubbed because of weather this afternoon. Swung some more compasses this afternoon and took a few pictures. Four letters tonight.
03-04-45 Got up for church this morning, but found it started at 9:00 instead of 10:00. Hauled a load of coal and read the rest of the day. No mail today. No news of my captaincy yet either.
03-05-45 Boys still flying everyday, and they all seem to be milk runs. We have a couple of infantry men living with us for a few days. I'm learning to play bridge now and really like it.
03-06-45 Played cards all day today. We saw our boys get beat at the basketball game tonight. No mail from anyone tonight. Gave the dogs a bath.
03-07-45 Group stood down early today because of weather. I spent the day at the house playing cards and reading. Saw a show tonight, "Tall in the Saddle." No mail tonight.
03-08-45 They flew another easy one today. I drove to town and picked up cleaning for the squadron. Another good show tonight and no mail. Piwetz and Armijo still aren't back from England.
03-09-45 The boys flew two missions today; flak was very light on both of them. All ships returned OK. I spent the day at the house reading. No mail again tonight.
03-10-45 Group flew another milk run today. Piwetz and Armijo got back last night sometime. We will fly our last one as window lead. It will probably come up Monday morning.
03-11-45 The boys flew two more milk runs today, and I'm on the next one tomorrow morning. Mahlstede and I went to church today.
03-12-45 Number 65. Target was railroad yards at Arnsberg, the best mission of them all. A beautiful day, and not a shot fired at us. I lead the window formation with Mahlstede as my navigator. It's a great relief to be finished.
03-13-45 The boys hit an airfield at Frankfort, Germany today, and we lost two ships. Larry had all the controls shot out, but he brought it back OK. My captaincy didn't come in today -- maybe tomorrow.
03-14-45 Made Captain today!!! Group flew its 200th mission today, and everyone shot flares and buzzed the field on way back. Hughes trying to make me fly until I leave. Orders due in a week or 10 days.
03-15-45 Boys only flew one today. Troop support and no flak. I spent the day at the house doing nothing. Went up to combat area tonight to see the boys. Larry has 19 missions already. Saw pictures of the baby.
03-16-45 Hughes has me scheduled to fly two more missions if my orders aren't back before they are flown. Spent the day at the house. Five letters tonight; milk run today.
03-17-45 Slept until 11:00. Took duty officer for mickey this afternoon and think I talked my way out of flying any more missions. Went to show tonight -- one terrible picture. Received a letter from you, Mom and Eleanor.
03-18-45 Stayed around the house again today. Didn't got to church because Crease and Johnny took too long to get ready. Cooked three chickens tonight. Marty and I did all the work. Sure was good.
03-19-45 Group flew two today. Flak on both of them. Larry lead C flight on first one. Got back late and landed after dark tonight. I'm flying window lead again tomorrow with Johnny Mahlstede.
03-20-45 Number 66. Uncle Dick and I flew today. It was a long one in the Ruks area. I lead window again. Flak was light and inaccurate, but I didn't see any. Might have to fly again if my orders don't come through soon!!!!!
03-22-45 Group flew two more today; plenty of flak, but everyone OK. I didn't do anything. Four boys in the squadron received their orders to go home today. Ours should be here pretty soon.
03-23-45 Made another trip to Reims today with Gene and Chappy. We got a few more bottles of champagne, but not nearly enough. One letter from Mom tonight, left none from you.
03-24-45 Spent all day getting everything ready for the big party. Turned out to be a huge success. Swell band, plenty to drink. A shortage of girls was the only slip up. In bed 3 a.m.
03-25-45 Slept until noon, ate breakfast and laid around all day. My orders came through this afternoon. Will leave here in three or four days. Senart's plane found; four bodies identified.
03-26-45 Rained all afternoon, and the boys had a rough time landing after the mission. I'm all set to leave and can hardly wait for Thursday a.m.
03-27-45 Cleaned my hat and green pants in 100 octane gas today. Got my clearance from the squadron. No mail tonight. Saw a good movie, "Two Yanks Abroad."
03-28-45 Busy packing and saying goodbye to all the boys. Group flew only one today. Terrible weather, and the planes got lots of ice. No mail. Finally got my pictures, also the D.F.C.
03-29-45 Left about 9:00 this morning. Got to Villa Cubla (A-42) after dinner and waited all afternoon for a plane. Met Marty and gang, and we are spending the night in little hotel by field.
03-30-45 Took off this morning, landing at Stanstead. Took a train to London. Staying at the Jaba Club. No more V-2's. Saw a good show.
03-31-45 HOME!!!
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"SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS" CREW
B-26, European Theater
Marvin Schulze, Pilot
Ervin Cook, Co-Pilot
Vernon Vessels, Bombardier/Navigator
Floridan Piwetz, Engineer
Edward Carr, Radioman/Gunner
Joe Armijo, Tail Gunner
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Left to right: Schulze, Cook, Vessels, Piwetz, Carr, Armijo
February, 1944, Barksdale Field, Louisiana
L to R: Carr, Vessels, Cook, Schulze, Piwetz
July 4, 1944 waiting; mission was scrubbed.
L to R: Schulze and Cook Joe Armijo with his
September 17, 1944 twin 50's.
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