American Airpower Comes of Age

AMERICAN AIRPOWER COMES OF AGE
The Diary
TRIP TO EUROPE AND RIO
March 31, 1945–May 8, 1945
GENERAL H. H. ARNOLD
Saturday, March 31, 1945 [Washington, D.C. to Bermuda]
Washington to Bermuda: [passengers] Arnold, Beebe, Peterson,
Proctor, Lindsay, Marquardt, Darby and Sheffield. 13
[Crew] 1st Pilot Major Dice
Co-pilot
Major Conde
Navigator
Captain Wagner
Radio Operator M/Sgt Babington
Engineer
M/Sgt Ranger
Engineer M/Sgt Lueck 14
Took off 2:35 P.M., arrived Bermuda, 6:30, distance 830
miles; good trip, no bad weather. Dinner 8:15, bed 9:00.
Bermuda looked wonderful in P.M.; rich colors, vivid contrasts.
Sunday, April 1, 1945 [Bermuda, en route to Azores]
Good breakfast, rode over island, very interesting; lots of
Easter lilies, bananas, coral rocks, coral houses, white and
clean, many different flowers; whites and blacks. Took the
bunch to church, very high Episcopal; they didn’t like it.
Received invitation to lunch with Lord Burghley; no soap. 15
Wanted us to sit in his pew, but was afraid I might have to
read the text as George Marshall did last year. 16 Rode out to
end of point, beautiful view, guide was Burghley’s Naval
aide. 17
Then to Government House and awaited Governor’s return
from other church. He has to visit all of them, it seems, on
Church days. Lord and Lady Burghley arrived after about 3 ⁄4
hour. He was Olympic hurdler 1924, ‘28 and ‘32 [at] Los Angeles,
finalist all three competitions, winner in 1928. 18 Government
House grounds very beautiful. Took movies of everything
from flowers to rare animals and birds. Water scarce, no rain
and below normal for winter. 19 Orve Anderson here with B-17
awaiting hop-off to England. 20 We all took off about 6:30.
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