WWII Memories from the Diary of My Grandfather

My grandfather was a unique man with a history in WWII that most of the family never knew about until he passed. He would speak about his time fighting in North Africa with the British Army very rarely and only if some asked a specific question. He was a top turret gunner on the B-25, Desert Warrior that flew bombing missions over Northern Africa while fighting against the Nazi troops. He flew a total of 199 hours logging 73 missions over Tripoli, Tunis and Sicily. This amount of flight time was unheard of back then based on the morality rate for top turret gunners. My grandfather was different. He could do anything!

During this time he kept a diary of his daily events in war and how he felt during the scariest times of his life. This diary is just amazing to read and hear about all the battles won or lost at this time. He had some amazing times outlined in the diary that I have grown to cherish. It was this diary which was left to me upon his death that has truly transformed my life and helped me heal from the wounds of the past.

I share with you today a passage from his diary on May 7, 1943 as well as an article that was written about my grandfather in February 1991 as the country is fighting a war in the desert. I hope you enjoy this piece of history on WWII and my grandfather.

The book, The Only Father I’ve Ever Known: How My Grandfathers Love Taught Me Life, will be available in April. Please email me for your advanced copy at Garofalorobin@gmail.com


Article Link:
http://www.lindseywilliams.org/index.htm?LAL_Archives/United_States_Planes_Pioneered_Desert_Tactics.htm~mainFrame


Diary Page May 7, 1943:



God! What a day. This was nothing doing all morning. 8th Army closing in on Tunis. Right after lunch the horn blew and we find ourselves on tap to bomb a heavy Itie cruiser in Tunis harbor. Everyone scared stiff. 9 ship deal and splits. We take off with 6X500lb and head out for target. So scared I was almost sick. As we cross coast A/A starts. Our electric system out. No guns or radio. Very cloudy. We lose formation and can’t see target. Circle about 30 mi decide to bomb Kelibia. Light A/A but no E/A. Thank God! The anticipation on this raid was the worst since our raid on Crete. Never was so glad to set my two feet on ‘ye ‘ol terra firma. Tunis fell our hands. We also had air raid last night. Sure glad this day is over. Very tired. It’ll take a direct hit to get me out of bed before morning. So air raid or not let me sleep.