June 6, 1944
Dear Folks: June 6
As you have heard our business was picking up to-day — or should I say blowing up. Are you as excited as we are? You never saw such an eager bunch as is around here to-day.
To-day is a birthday in the family isn’t it? and another next week. I wrote Aunt Hattie a note thanking her for the cookies. I got paid this week after we got back from leave. Are you putting up hay yet? The man with the pup moved away so no doggie.
The boys in another hut have a dachshund pup and call him “Smorgasbord”. If they punish him he sulks and won’t look at anybody. What does Vera Hayes do in Wichita?
I’ll bet news commentators are going nuts. All for now.
Yours truly,
John


I’m loving this blog! I grew up a few miles from the airfield and as a keen amateur historian the little details of day to day life of an airman are fascinating.
It appears John didn’t fly in either of the 391st’s missions on 6 June, however his crew took part in a raid the following day.
From the 391st website
https://www.391bombgroup.org.uk/loadlist_formation_list.php?q=86
7 Jun 1944
Station: 166
Target: Coastal Defences at Aigremont, France
Time Of Take-Off: 08:10 / Time Over Target: 09:17 / Time Landed: 10:37
32 B-26 plus 2 Pathfinder aircraft were dispatched to attack enemy Coastal Defences at Aigremont, France. Each aircraft was loaded with 2x2000LB General Purpose bombs with bombing to be done by boxes of 17 aircraft. Allied fighters will be providing area cover for all groups.
The formation did not encounter any enemy aircraft or FLAK and both boxes dropped 63 bombs with their pathfinder aircraft. Results were unobserved due to the 10/10 cloud cover, but the Pathfinder pilot leading the 1st box commented that he expected the results to be good.
Some crews from the 2nd box commented that they almost ran into barrage balloons at 2,000 feet near Dartford and the outskirts of southern London when coming back directly on the briefed course.
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