October 14, 1944

Dear Bill and Emily,

Yesterday was Friday the 13th and I never got off the ground. The first ship I had got stuck in the mud. I got out of that one and into another ship after we bombed it up and taxied out to the runway better then fifty miles per hour. The crew chief was holding on that wing for dear life. When we got to take off the crew chief slipped off to go back, the radio in my ship went out. By this time, the rest of the ships had set course without radio contact. I couldn't have them circle and wait so I missed the mission. Maybe it was good, I may have got my ass shot off although I'm not the least bit superstitious.

You would have died laughing go you could have seen me today. I was dive bombing though a little hole in the overcast and then I pulled out I hit a thunderhead. That's a thunderstorm to you. I was doing better than 500 miles per hour, but let me tell you that currents in that cloud tossed me around like so much paper.

First I would go up a few thousand feet then a down draft would drop me a few thousand plus and then I spun and finally came out of it at 1000 ft. in a steep spiral all by myself. It was raining like hell below the clouds. Just when I got myself flying straight the damn jerries threw up old shoes, kitchen sinks and spare parts off a Model T Ford so I started dodging flak and tried to climb back up but the air was too rough in the storm clouds so I had to fly 20 miles to find a hole big enough to get back up. Me being the only ship below the overcast gave the Hun gunners plenty of target practice. They're not so hot. Famous last words.

Since I became one of the wheels in the operations office, the Major has me leading flights. This by the way makes a lot of the boys that came into the Squadron before me plenty mad. The reason for that is because even they haven't led flights yet. It makes them see green, red and various other colors to knock on the office door and have little old me say, "Come In".

When you check the envelope of my A.P.O. also notice I am not a First Lt.

As Ever

Al