| Description | Engineer. His experiences as a fighter pilot in Italy during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; basic training at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, 1942; pre-flight training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, 1942-43; primary flight training at Waco, Texas, 1943; advanced flight training at Foster Field, Victoria, Texas, 1943; fighter training in the P-39 at Thomasville, Georgia, 1943-44; temporary assignment to Constantine, Tunisia, 1944; assignment to the 346th Fighter Squadron at Piombino, Italy, 1944; introduction of P-47 Thunderbolts and transfer to Tarquinia, Italy, 1944; Operation STRANGLE, 1944; his being shot down, October 1, 1944, by flak over Piacenza; his rescue by Italian partisans; his link-up with a British A-4 Mission and his attempt to reach Allied lines; his betrayal by a German agent and his subsequent capture, October 31, 1944; his escape on November 7, 1944, and continued search for Allied lines; his observations of and opinions about the partisans; his second encounter with a British A-4 Mission; his friendship with the Martani family in the village of Tosca; his group’s trek through mountain snow in January and February, 1945, to reach Allied lines; their meeting with British paratroopers; his meeting with African-American soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division; his reunion with his squadron in Pisa on February 16, 1945. |
