It was early in 1944 when we were all preparing for the coming invasion of France, all officers were required to attend briefings for SOPSSV (standard operating procedures, for a short sea voyage). All equipment, both personal and unit, was to be identified with name, rank, serial no, as well as outfit designation code, including a three bar color code. Thus everything could be accounted for.
Later, I was called to the commanding officer's office, and told that in addition to my
duties as assistant engineering officer, I would be in command of an advance detail that would fly
to France. I would be responsible for preparing the new field for the arrival of the units from England. Men would be selected from all specialties in our service group to travel with me, and we would be responsible for setting up the proper facilities for the arrival of the main body of air force personnel. Trucks, and heavy equipment would be transported on LST's by way of the invasion beaches in Normandy.
The carpenter shop was immediately put to work constructing platforms that would fit in the bomb bays of the B–26's. All portable tools as well as personnel equipment of the selected men were to be carried in the aircraft. Each plane would carry a crew of two, pilot and copilot, plus ten men with all their necessary equipment. On the selected day, the 322nd bomb group flew it's first mission to deliver all these men and their equipment to Beauvais-Teil in France.
As we approached the target, we noticed that the field was actually devastated. The runways had been blown up (was it by the retreating Germans, or by our bombs?) The army engineers had just finished filling the craters with rubble. Lucky for us, we landed without a hitch.
The advance crews started to work immediately after landing unloading their equipment from the aircraft, so the aircraft could return to their base in Great Sailing, England. We set upon preparing the site for the arrival of the main body of personnel. For a couple of weeks, we lived in our pup tents, and survived on K rations We also salvaged the abandoned German quarters.
One day, as the sergeant and I were checking our accomplishments, a small boy riding a bicycle approached us. He said, "You come to my house. My grandmere speek english". First we hesitated. Then we agreed. With weapons ready we went off with the boy. As we approached the village, an elderly lady came to the door of her house and said, "hello yank, how the hell are you? Got a cigarette ?"
This was the extent of her English. With the help of our phrase book, sign language, etc. we learned that Madam Zegre had been a nurse in WW1, and she learned these words from an earlier generation.