American Airpower Comes of Age

AMERICAN AIRPOWER COMES OF AGE
whistling shells and their deafening explosives and our guns
barking. AA guns opening up [against] FW 190’s and [Me]
109’s overhead. Spitfires coming into the fight, bridges out,
infantrymen crouching behind any kind of cover. German
observers watching our movement up the road from the hill
beyond. A tank blown to bits from running over a mine, five
bodies lying in small pieces on the ground. Civilians, men and
women, clinging to desolated and despoiled houses, and mud,
mud, mud. The Germans over on the hill watching us, perhaps
wondering who could be so foolish to come up there.
Such was the view I had of the war in Italy, 60 miles north of
Naples when our troops were meeting the Germans and wresting
one mountain after another from them.
[Accompanied by] Clark, Spaatz, Cannon, O’Donnell, Hank.
Mud, trucks, traffic jams. Back to 34th Division headquarters.
Walker, Jeff Keyes, Lucas, 150 lunch, after reviewing the situation,
a good lunch. [Took] puddle jumpers back to Naples, over
Capua of Sparta’s fame. 151 Reviewed buildings, old forts, modern
trenches and strong points, fox holes, bomb craters, but
no sign of the amphitheater. Naples harbor, ruins, ruins, ships
on their sides, on their backs, with only funnels and masts
showing. Docks destroyed, railroad tracks, cranes torn apart,
wrecks towed, pushed, shoved away so that today 20,000 tons
of shipping are unloaded each day.
[Sailed in] 45 minutes by boat to Capri. 152 No signs of war:
sunshine, Villas, hotels, flowers, cheerful Italians, blue water,
Naples and Vesuvius in the distance. Peace, freedom from
worry, rest, in a Villa the size of a hotel; built and owned by a
contractor who fled to Rome and is now there.
Saturday, December 12, 1943 [Capri to Naples, Italy, to Tunis,
Tunisia, to Marrakesh, Morocco ]
Left Capri 7:30, arrived Naples 8:30. Capri beautiful with
rainbow overhead; raining in Naples. Met newspapermen in
ruins of administration building for interview. 153 Had picture
taken with Hank. Found my B-17 sunk to axles in mud. Said
goodbye to Spaatz, Cannon, House and Hank. Took Spaatz’ B-
17 for Tunis. Off 9:25, arrived Tunis 11:25; picked up
Wildman and gave him hop to Tunis. Had 2 hours with
100