July 31, 1944

Dear Emily and Bill,

Most of the boys went up to see all the tanks and gum positions we've knocked out in the past week. We sure play hell with those armored boys.

Let me tell you, I really had myself a time today. Test hopping ships all day. I'd make a pass on everything that came along scaring the hell out of them. They nearly made me change my draws one though. Here I was as big as live making a run on a P-38 when I spotted a ship making a flying school gunnery pattern on me. I racked it in to a tight circle and looked around. So help me God it looked just like a Falk-Wolfe 190, round nose, low wing, perfect for the 190 head on view. I pulled straight up to get out the path of his guns and took a look from the top. Guess what it was, an AT-6, one of our advanced trainers. I never even know we had any over here in France.

That being settled, I headed for a bunch of cumulus clouds. It's just like flying down a very crooked river with cliffs thousands of feet high on both sides. All you do is set it up on one wing and then the other. Just buzzing the hell out of things.

This afternoon I decided to take a sight seeing trip of all the places we had dive bombed in the territory we occupy. We really laid our targets low (Just flew low over them)

I am enclosing a newspaper clipping about us using the port of Cherbourg. I flew around there today and it is a huge place and a beautifully laid out harbor.

It was supposed to have been my day off but rather than do my dirty laundry but I decided to fly and enjoy myself. It was great flying around with nobody shooting at me for a change.

As Ever

Al

P.S. This clipping about Rommel. I sure hope it was me.