Mission 38

May 5, 1943

    Well we finally got off the ground again and the weather was perfect.    We were briefed at 11 o'clock for a sea sweep with 24 planes. We found a big merchant vessel and two small destroyers off the coast of Sicily and every plane went for the big boy. It was hit from stern to bow and right after our squadron dropped their bombs, it blew up again. We felt the explosion, but we were only at 13,000 feet this time. By the time we were five minutes from the target, smoke was above our formation. It looked like big cumulus cloud.    We had 24 P-38's for escort but there wasn't any opposition, except for a few bursts of flak that stopped as sudden as it started.     Thomas led our squadron.

May 8, 1943

    Well, this has been a rather interesting day. First we were briefed for a mission this morning but it was called off.    This afternoon we were honored by the presence of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker. He is making a trip around the world visiting all the fighting forces. He told us about his experience in the Pacific and about the fighting conditions in the Pacific Area.    After his speech, Hart and I drove up in the hills for some target practice and to look the vicinity over in general.

    Just a few minutes ago a train load of Italian and German prisoners came through and of course the were stormed for souvenirs. They seemed very happy and were glad to get away from it all.